Item 1. BUSINESS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a
Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization
or similar business combination, with one or more businesses. We have generated no operating revenues to date, and we do not expect that
we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our initial business combination.
We have concentrated our efforts in identifying
businesses which provide technological services to the financial services industry, with particular emphasis on businesses that provide
data processing, storage and transmission services, data bases and payment processing services. We have sought to acquire established
businesses that we believe are fundamentally sound but potentially in need of financial, operational, strategic or managerial redirection
to maximize value. We do not intend to acquire start-up companies, companies with speculative business plans or companies that are excessively
leveraged.
At December 31, 2021, we had not yet commenced
operations. All activity through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and its initial public offering, and identifying
a target company for our initial business combination.
The registration statement for our initial public
offering was declared effective on December 3, 2020. On December 8, 2020, we consummated the initial public offering of 25,000,000 units
generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial
public offering, we consummated the sale of 640,000 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement to our sponsor,
generating gross proceeds of $6,400,000.
Following the closing of the initial public offering
on December 8, 2020, an amount of $250,000,000 ($10.00 per unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the initial public
offering and the placement units was placed in a trust account and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth
in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185
days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in
direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a business combination,
(ii) the redemption of any public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete a business combination within
24 months from the consummation of the initial public offering; or (iii) the distribution of the trust account, if we are unable to complete
a business combination within the combination period or upon any earlier liquidation of us.
The Merger Agreement
On March 16, 2021, the Company entered into an
Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) among eToro Group Ltd., a company organized under the laws of the British
Virgin Islands (“eToro”), Buttonwood Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of eToro
(“Merger Sub”), and the Company, which provides for, among other things, the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company
(the “Merger”), with the Company surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of eToro (the “Business Combination”).
At the closing of the Business Combination and the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), the stockholders of
the Company will receive certain of the common shares, no par value, of eToro (“eToro Common Shares”), and eToro will list
as a publicly traded company on NASDAQ and will continue to conduct the social trading platform business conducted by eToro prior to the
Business Combination. Concurrently with the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, eToro entered into subscription agreements
(the “PIPE Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors (the “PIPE Investors”), including an affiliate of
our sponsor, pursuant to which the PIPE Investors have committed to subscribe for and purchase up to 65,000,000 shares of eToro Common
Shares at a purchase price per share of $10.00, for an aggregate purchase price of $650,000,000 (the “PIPE Investment”).
Under the Merger Agreement, each of eToro and the
Company had the right to terminate the Merger Agreement if the closing of the Business Combination did not occur by December 31, 2021.
In addition, the PIPE Subscription Agreements were scheduled to terminate automatically in accordance with their terms on that same date.
On December 30, 2021, eToro and the Company entered into an amendment to the Merger Agreement (the “Merger Agreement Amendment”),
pursuant to which the parties thereto agreed, among other things, to extend the Outside Date (as defined in the Merger Agreement) from
December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022, and to change the pre-money valuation of eToro from $9.301 billion to $7.906 billion. In addition,
the number of Price Adjustment Rights (as defined in the Merger Agreement and further described below) that correspond to the $17.50 price
trigger issuable to eToro shareholders was reduced on a one-for-one basis for every warrant to be issued to the investors under the PIPE
Subscription Agreements at the closing of the Business Combination. References to the Merger Agreement mean the Merger Agreement as amended
by the Merger Agreement Amendment (unless otherwise indicated by the context in which such reference is used).
Concurrently with entering into the Merger Agreement
Amendment, eToro entered into amendments to certain of its Subscription Agreements (collectively, the “Subscription Agreement Amendments”).
Under the Amended Subscription Agreements, the relevant parties agreed, among other things, to extend the date on which the Subscription
Agreements would have otherwise automatically terminated from December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022. Additionally, the investors party to
the Amended Subscription Agreements will receive warrants to purchase common shares of eToro if, following the closing, the eToro closing
stock price is equal to or greater than $17.50 over a specified period, which warrants have substantially similar terms to the terms of
the Price Adjustment Rights. Under the Amended Subscription Agreements, as of the date of this communication, eToro has received commitments
under Amended Subscription Agreements for $441 million in the aggregate. eToro has the right, under the Merger Agreement Amendment, to
enter into additional subscription agreements prior to the closing of the Business Combination on the same terms as the Amended Subscription
Agreements so long as the total amount subscribed for under all such subscription agreements does not exceed $650 million. References
to the PIPE Subscription Agreements mean the PIPE Subscription Agreements as amended by the Subscription Agreement Amendments (unless
otherwise indicated by the context in which such reference is used).
The Merger Agreement contemplates an estimated
implied post-money equity value of eToro of approximately $8.8 billion ( assuming, among other things, that no public shares are redeemed
in connection with the Business Combination and that the funding under the PIPE Subscription Agreements totals $441 million). Except with
respect to the Price Adjustment Rights, no purchase price adjustments will be made in connection with the closing of the transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Assuming no public shares are redeemed in connection with the Business Combination, immediately
following the Effective Time, the Company’s public stockholders will own approximately % of
the eToro Common Shares; our sponsor will own approximately % of the eToro Common Shares; the shareholders
of eToro as of immediately prior to the Business Combination (the “Legacy eToro Shareholders”) will own approximately %
of the eToro Common Shares; and the PIPE Investors (as defined below) will own approximately % of
the eToro Common Shares. The pro forma ownership percentages described in the foregoing sentence exclude the Company’s public warrants
and the eToro Common Shares underlying the Price Adjustment Rights. As further described under “Sponsor Surrender and Restriction
Agreement” and “Lock-Up Agreement” below, all of the eToro Common Shares to be issued to our sponsor in the Business
Combination will be subject to contractual restrictions on transfer and only released upon the occurrence of certain time-based, stock-price
performance or other events.
Immediately prior to the Effective Time, subject
to the receipt of applicable approvals of eToro shareholders, (i) each outstanding preferred share of eToro (“eToro Preferred Shares”)
will be converted into eToro Common Shares in accordance with, and based on the applicable conversion ratio set forth in, the memorandum
and articles of association of eToro (the “Conversion”), (ii) immediately following the Conversion, all outstanding eToro
Common Shares, and all eToro Common Shares underlying vested options to acquire eToro Common Shares (“Vested Options”), will
be reclassified into (together, the “Reclassification”) (x) eToro Common Shares and (y) certain rights to receive, without
any further action required by the holders of such rights, in the aggregate, up to an additional 40,000,000 eToro Common Shares (less
the number of shares subject to warrants issued pursuant to the Subscription Agreement Amendments), 50% of which will automatically vest
and be exercised if, at any time on or prior to the last day of the 30th month following the Closing Date (as defined below), the stock
price of the eToro Common Shares is greater than or equal to $15.00 over any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period, and 50%
which will automatically vest and be exercised if, at any time on or prior to the last day of the 60th month following the Closing Date,
the stock price of the eToro Common Shares is greater than or equal to $17.50 over any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period,
subject in either case to the earlier automatic vesting and exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of a liquidation, merger, capital
stock exchange, or other similar transaction that results in all of eToro’s shareholders having the right to exchange their eToro
Common Shares for cash, securities or other property (the “Price Adjustment Rights”), and (iii) immediately following the
Reclassification, eToro will effect a stock split of each then-outstanding eToro Common Share and each eToro Common Share underlying any
outstanding options to acquire eToro Common Shares, whether vested or unvested (“eToro Options”), into such number of eToro
Common Shares determined by multiplying such eToro Common Shares by a “Split Factor” that is equal to the result of (A) $7,096,000,000
divided by (B) the total number of issued and outstanding eToro Common Shares, plus the total number of eToro Common Shares underlying
any outstanding eToro options to acquire eToro Common Shares, with the result of such calculation divided by (C) $10.00, all as further
described in and as calculated in accordance with the Merger Agreement (the “Stock Split” and, together with the Conversion
and the Reclassification, the “Capital Restructuring”). As part of the Business Combination and on the terms and subject to
the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, eToro effected a self-tender offer (“Self-Tender Offer”) to purchase up
to $300,000,000 in eToro Common Shares from the Legacy eToro Shareholders, such purchase in such Self-Tender Offer to be consummated immediately
prior to the closing of the Business Combination in such amount (up to $300,000,000) as is elected by eToro.
At the Effective Time, (i) each share of Company
Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (after giving effect to any redemptions by the Company’s
public stockholders), by virtue of the Merger and upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, will
be converted into and will for all purposes represent only the right to receive one eToro Common Share (the “Per Share Merger Consideration”),
(ii) after giving effect to the Sponsor Forfeiture (as defined below), each share of Company Class B common stock issued and outstanding
immediately prior to the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Agreement,
will be converted into and will for all purposes represent only the right to receive the Per Share Merger Consideration (the aggregate
number of eToro Common Shares into which shares of Company Class A common stock and Company Class B common stock are converted into pursuant
to the Merger Agreement, the “Merger Consideration”) and (iii) all of the shares of Company Class A common stock and
Company Class B common stock converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration will no longer be outstanding and will cease
to exist, and each holder of any shares of Company Class A common stock or Company Class B common stock will thereafter cease to have
any rights with respect to such securities, except the right to receive the applicable portion of the Merger Consideration. The Merger
Consideration does not include any, or any rights to receive any consideration in respect of, the Price Adjustment Rights.
After giving effect to the Sponsor Forfeiture,
the Company’s outstanding warrants to purchase one share of Company Class A common stock shall be converted into the right to receive
an equal number of warrants to purchase one eToro Common Share (“eToro Warrants”).
The Merger Agreement provides that in connection
with the consummation of the Business Combination, eToro will adopt a 2021 Share Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), pursuant to
which service providers will be provided incentive equity opportunities in support of eToro’s business following the closing of
the Business Combination. The number of eToro Common Shares to be reserved for issuance under the Plan will be equal to (i) 3% of the
total outstanding number of eToro Common Share as of immediately after the consummation of the Business Combination, calculated on a fully-diluted
basis including all equity awards, warrants and other convertible securities outstanding as of such time, and the aggregate maximum number
of eToro Common Shares underlying outstanding Price Adjustment Rights, plus (ii) an annual increase equal to the lesser of 3% of the aggregate
number of eToro Common Shares outstanding and the number of eToro Common Shares determined for such purpose by the board of directors
of eToro.
Consummation of the transactions contemplated by
the Merger Agreement is subject to customary mutual conditions of the respective parties, including the effectiveness of eToro’s
registration statement on Form F-4 relating to the Business Combination and receipt of the requisite approvals of the eToro shareholders
and the Company stockholders. The Merger Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the consummation of the Business Combination
by mutual written consent of the Company and eToro and in certain other limited circumstances, including if the closing of the transactions
contemplated in the Merger Agreement has not occurred by June 30, 2022. The Merger Agreement has been approved by the Company’s
board of directors, and the board has recommended that the Company’s stockholders adopt the Merger Agreement and approve the Business
Combination.
Sponsor Commitment Letter
Concurrently with the execution and delivery of
the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, our sponsor and Cohen Sponsor Interests V, LLC, a Delaware limited liability
company (together, the “Sponsor Group”), entered into and delivered to eToro a letter agreement (the “Sponsor Commitment
Letter”) by which (i) the Sponsor Group and eToro acknowledge that the Sponsor Group may, directly or through affiliates, make open
market purchases of Company Class A common stock prior to the Effective Time in an amount of up to $27,500,000, and (ii) the Sponsor Group
will, directly or through affiliates, and contingent upon the satisfaction of the conditions precedent to the Business Combination set
forth in the Merger Agreement, purchase, or cause the purchase of, eToro Common Shares at $10.00 per share and at an aggregate cash purchase
price equal to the amount paid, or required to be paid, by the Company to redeem any Company Class A common stock in excess of 1,250,000
shares of Company Class A common stock, with such purchases to occur at the time of the closing of the Business Combination (after the
Capital Restructuring) (the “Sponsor Commitment”); provided that the amount paid by the Sponsor Group to acquire
eToro Common Shares under the transaction described in clause (ii) shall be reduced by the aggregate amount of documented open market
purchases of Company Class A common stock prior to the Effective Time effected by Sponsor Group directly or through affiliates.
Voting Agreements
Concurrently with the execution and delivery of
the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, our sponsor (each, a “Voting Party” and together, the “Voting
Parties”) entered into a Voting Agreement with eToro (the “FTV Voting Agreement”), pursuant to which each Voting Party
agreed to (i) (whether at a special meeting of the Company’s stockholders or by action by written consent), among other things,
vote all of their shares of Company common stock beneficially owned or held by such Voting Party (together, the “Voting Shares”)
in favor of the Merger Agreement, the Merger and related transactions, and (ii) vote against any action or proposal (a) concerning any
other business combination involving the Company (other than by eToro or its affiliates), (b) that could reasonably be expected to result
in a breach of any covenant or obligation of the Company in the Merger Agreement or in any representation or warranty of the Company set
forth therein becoming inaccurate, and (c) that could reasonably be expected to impede, interfere with, delay, discourage, adversely affect
or inhibit the timely consummation of the Merger or the fulfillment of the Company’s conditions under the Merger Agreement or change
in any manner the voting rights of any class of the Company’s shares. In addition, the FTV Voting Agreement requires each Voting
Party to refrain from taking actions that would adversely affect such Voting Party’s ability to perform its obligations under such
agreement, and provides a proxy to certain officers of the Company to vote such Voting Party’s Voting Shares (or act by written
consent in respect of such shares) accordingly. The FTV Voting Agreement also requires the Voting Parties to (i) take such actions as
are necessary to terminate that certain Registration Rights Agreement dated as of December 3, 2020, by and among the Company and the Voting
Parties, (ii) waive any dissenters’ or appraisal rights, (iii) not participate in any claim against the Company relating in any
manner to the Merger Agreement or the Merger, and (iv) refrain from exercising any redemption rights in respect of the Voting Shares or
making any public statements with the intent to encourage any Company stockholder to exercise any such rights. In addition, each of the
Voting Parties agreed not to transfer, directly or indirectly, any of their Voting Shares until the earlier of the Effective Time and
the date on which the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, subject to certain exceptions described in the FTV
Voting Agreement.
Concurrently with the execution and delivery of
the Merger Agreement, certain directors and officers and all 5% shareholders of eToro (each, an “eToro Voting Party” and together,
the “eToro Voting Parties”) entered into a voting agreement with the Company (the “eToro Voting Agreement”). Under
the eToro Voting Agreement, each eToro Voting Party agreed to (i) (whether at a special meeting of eToro’s shareholders or by action
by written consent), among other things, vote all of their shares of eToro capital stock beneficially owned or held by such eToro Voting
Party (as applicable, and together, the “eToro Voting Shares”) in favor of the Merger Agreement, the Merger and related transactions
(including the Capital Restructuring and the Self-Tender Offer), and (ii) vote against any action or proposal (a) concerning any other
business combination involving eToro (other than by the Company or its affiliates), (b) that could reasonably be expected to result in
a breach of any covenant or obligation of eToro in the Merger Agreement or in any representation or warranty of eToro set forth therein
becoming inaccurate, and (c) that could reasonably be expected to impede, interfere with, delay, discourage, adversely affect or inhibit
the timely consummation of the Merger or the fulfillment of eToro’s conditions under the Merger Agreement or change in any manner
the voting rights of any class of eToro’s shares. In addition, the eToro Voting Agreement requires each eToro Voting Party to refrain
from taking actions that would adversely affect such eToro Voting Party’s ability to perform its obligations under such agreement,
and provides a proxy to certain officers of eToro to vote such eToro Voting Party’s eToro Voting Shares (or act by written consent
in respect of such shares) accordingly. The eToro Voting Agreement also requires the eToro Voting Parties to (i) waive any dissenters’
or appraisal rights, (ii) not participate in any claim against eToro relating in any manner to the Merger Agreement, the Merger, the Capital
Restructuring or Self-Tender Offer and (iii) refrain from exercising any registration or other rights in respect of the eToro Voting Shares.
In addition, each of the eToro Voting Parties agreed not to transfer, directly or indirectly, any of their eToro Voting Shares until the
earlier of the Effective Time and the date on which the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, subject to certain
exceptions described in the eToro Voting Agreement.
Lock-Up Agreement
Concurrently with the execution and delivery of
the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, eToro, certain of the officers and directors of eToro (the “eToro
Management Holders”), and our sponsor entered into and delivered a Lock-Up Agreement (the “Lock-Up Agreement”), pursuant
to which (i) the eToro Management Holders have agreed not to transfer any eToro Common Shares held by them (“Management Holders
Lock-Up Shares”) until 180 days following the Closing Date, subject to early release if the stock price of the eToro Common Shares
exceeds $12.50 for any 20 trading days within any 30 consecutive trading day period, and (ii) our sponsor has agreed not to transfer any
eToro Common Shares acquired by it as Merger Consideration (“Sponsor Lock-Up Shares”, and together with the Management Holders
Lock-Up Shares, the “Lock-Up Shares”) until the date of the first to occur of one (1) year following the Closing Date, subject
to early release if the stock price of the eToro Common Shares exceeds $12.50 for any 20 trading days within any 30 consecutive trading
day period (as further described therein, but in any event not prior to the date that is one hundred and eighty (180) days after the Closing
Date), in each case subject to certain permitted transfers (provided that such permitted transferees agree to be bound by the same transfer
restrictions set forth in the Lock-Up Agreement). The foregoing restrictions on transfer of the Lock-up Shares will terminate and no longer
be applicable on the first to occur of (x) the five (5) year anniversary of the Closing Date, (y) the date on which eToro completes a
liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, or other similar transaction that results in all of eToro’s shareholders having the
right to exchange their eToro Common Shares for cash, securities or other property, and (z) the date all of the Lock-Up Shares are no
longer subject to the transfer restrictions set forth in the Lock-Up Agreement. On or prior to (June 30, 2022, the Sponsor may cause a
portion of the Sponsor Lock-Up Shares be released from foregoing restrictions on transfer of the Sponsor’s Lock-up Shares (such
portion, the “Early Release Shares”) by delivering to eToro a written notice requesting such release for a legitimate business
purpose in connection with the Merger in respect of such release.
The eToro Common Shares held by all other
significant eToro stockholders that are not a party to the Lock-Up Agreement will be subject to the same transfer restrictions applicable
to the Management Holders Lock-Up Shares pursuant to amendments to existing stockholder agreements to which those stockholders are a party
that were executed concurrently with the Merger Agreement and a formal resolution by the eToro board of directors interpreting the terms
of eToro’s 2007 employee stock ownership plan.
Sponsor Surrender and Restriction Agreement
Concurrently with the execution and delivery of
the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, our sponsor, the Company, eToro and the other persons party to that certain
letter agreement dated December 3, 2020, with the Company (the “Insider Letter”), have entered into and delivered a Sponsor
Share Surrender and Share Restriction Agreement (the “Sponsor Surrender and Restriction Agreement”), which provides that (i)
our sponsor will upon the Effective Time, immediately prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, surrender to the Company,
for no consideration, (a) 15% of the shares of Company Class B common stock held by our sponsor (the “Surrendered Shares”)
and (b) 100% of the private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 213,333 shares of our common stock held by our sponsor (the
“Surrendered Warrants”), and such Surrendered Shares and Surrendered Warrants shall be canceled and no longer outstanding
(the “Sponsor Forfeiture”), (ii) if more than 20% of the Company Class A common stock (the “Redemption Floor”)
is submitted for redemption, then our sponsor will upon the Effective Time, immediately prior to the consummation of the Business Combination,
surrender to the Company, for no consideration, a number of shares of Company Class B common stock as is equal to one percent (1%) of
the number of shares of Company Class B common stock outstanding on the date of signing of the Merger Agreement for every additional one
percent (1%) of the number of shares of Company Class A common stock being redeemed in excess of the Redemption Floor, and (iii) 75% of
the number of eToro Common Shares held by our sponsor immediately after giving effect to the Business Combination will be subject to transfer
restrictions (in addition, and subject, to those provided by the Lock-Up Agreement) based on certain closing share price thresholds of
the eToro Common Shares for 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days, subject to certain permitted transfers (provided that such permitted
transferees agree to be bound by the same transfer restrictions set forth in the Sponsor Surrender and Restriction Agreement) and early
release of the Early Release Shares, in each case as described therein.
Registration Rights Agreement
The Merger Agreement contemplates that, at the
Effective Time, eToro, the Company, our sponsor and certain Legacy eToro Shareholders will enter into a Registration Rights Agreement
(the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which eToro will agree to file a shelf registration statement, by no later
than five (5) business days following the Closing Date, to register the resale of the eToro Common Shares and eToro Warrants held by our
sponsor and the Legacy eToro Shareholders party thereto as of the Closing Date. The Registration Rights Agreement also provides our sponsor
with one (1) demand right to conduct an underwritten offering of the Early Release Shares, subject to certain limitations set forth in
the Registration Rights Agreement. From time to time, the Company may admit additional parties to the Registration Rights Agreement and
register their securities on a shelf registration statement. In addition, in connection with the execution of the Registration Rights
Agreement, the existing registration rights agreement of the Company, dated December 3, 2020 will automatically terminate and be of no
further force and effect. The Registration Rights Agreement also provides that eToro will pay certain expenses relating to such registrations
and indemnify the securityholders party thereto against certain liabilities.
PIPE Subscription Agreements
As noted above, concurrently with the execution
and delivery of the Merger Agreement, eToro entered into the PIPE Subscription Agreements with the PIPE Investors, which were then amended
pursuant to the Subscription Agreement Amendments. Under the PIPE Subscription Agreements, the PIPE Investors have committed to subscribe
for and purchase up to 44,100,000 shares of eToro Common Shares at a purchase price per share of $10.00, for an aggregate purchase price
of $441,000,000 (the “PIPE Investment”). Additionally, PIPE Investors will receive warrants to purchase common shares of eToro
if, following the closing, the eToro closing stock price is equal to or greater than $17.50 over a specified period, which warrants have
substantially similar terms to the terms of the Price Adjustment Rights (and which correspondingly reduce the number of Price Adjustment
Rights to be issued under the Merger Agreement). eToro has the right, under the Merger Agreement Amendment, to enter into additional subscription
agreements prior to the closing of the Business Combination on the same terms as the Amended Subscription Agreements so long as the total
amount subscribed for under all such subscription agreements does not exceed $650 million.
The PIPE Subscription Agreements provide for certain
registration rights. In particular, eToro is required to, as soon as practicable but no later than 30 days following the Closing Date,
submit to or file with the SEC a registration statement registering the resale of such shares. Additionally, eToro is required to use
its commercially reasonable efforts to have the registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable after the filing thereof,
but no later than the earlier of (i) the 60th calendar day following the filing date thereof, (ii) the first anniversary of the date of
the PIPE Subscription Agreements and (iii) the 5th business day after the date eToro is notified (orally or in writing, whichever is earlier)
by the SEC that the registration statement will not be “reviewed” or will not be subject to further review. eToro must use
commercially reasonable efforts to keep the registration statement effective until the earliest of: (x) the date the PIPE Investors no
longer hold any registrable shares, (y) the date all registrable shares held by the PIPE Investors may be sold without restriction under
Rule 144 under the Securities Act and (z) three (3) years from the date of effectiveness of such registration statement.
Business Combination Structure
We anticipate structuring our initial business
combination to acquire 100% of the equity interest or assets of the target business or businesses.
NASDAQ rules require that our initial business
combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in
the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive
agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our
board of directors. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination,
we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions
with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
Business Strategy
We will seek to capitalize on the significant financial
services, financial technology and banking experience and contacts of Daniel G. Cohen, our Chief Executive Officer, Betsy Z. Cohen, the
Chairman of our Board of Directors, James J. McEntee, III, our President, and our board of directors to identify, evaluate, acquire and
operate a financial technology business. If we elect to pursue an investment outside of the financial technology industry, our management’s
expertise related to that industry may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information regarding that industry
might not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire.
Members of our management team served as executive
officers and/or directors of FinTech Acquisition Corp., or FinTech I, a former blank check company which raised $100.0 million in its
initial public offering in February 2015 and completed its initial business combination when it acquired FTS Holding Corporation
in July 2016, which we refer to as the FinTech I Acquisition, in connection with which FinTech I changed its name to CardConnect
Corp. The common stock of CardConnect Corp. was traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “CCN” until CardConnect Corp. was acquired
by First Data Corporation in July 2017. Members of our management team also served as executive officers and/or directors of FinTech
Acquisition Corp. II, or FinTech II, a blank check company which raised $175.0 million in its initial public offering in January 2017
and completed its initial business combination when it acquired Intermex Holdings II in July 2018, which we refer to as the FinTech
II Acquisition, in connection with which FinTech II changed its name to International Money Express, Inc. Members of our management team
served as executive officers and/or directors of FinTech Acquisition Corp. III, or FinTech III, a blank check company which raised
$345.0 million in its initial public offering in November 2018 and completed its initial business combination with Paya, Inc. in
October 2020, which we refer to as the FinTech III Acquisition. Members of our management team have also served as executive
officers and/or directors of FinTech Acquisition Corp. IV, or FinTech IV, a blank check company which raised $230.0 million
in its initial public offering in September 2020 and completed its initial business combination with PWP Holdings LP, in June 2021,
which we refer to as the FinTech IV Acquisition. Members of our management team also served as executive officers and/or directors
of FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp., or FTAC Olympus, a blank check company which raised $754.7 million in its initial public offering
in August 2020 and completed its initial business combination with Payoneer Inc. in June 2021, which we refer to as the FTAC
Olympus Acquisition. Additionally, members of our board of directors and management team also currently serve as executive officers,
directors and/or advisors of: FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: FTAA), or FTAC Athena, a blank check company which raised $250.0 million
in its initial public offering in February 2021; FTAC Hera Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: HERA), or FTAC Hera, a blank check company which
raised approximately $850 million in its initial public offering in March 2021; FTAC Parnassus Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: FTPA),
or FTAC Parnassus, a blank check company which raised $250.0 million in its initial public offering in March 2021; FinTech Acquisition
Corp. VI (NASDAQ: FTVI), or FinTech VI, a blank check company which raised $250.0 million in its initial public offering in June 2021;
INSU Acquisition Corp. IV, or INSU IV, a blank check company currently in registration with the SEC; FTAC Zeus Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:
ZING), or FTAC Zeus, a blank check company which raised $402.5 million in its initial public offering in November 2021; and
FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: EMLD), or FTAC Emerald, a blank check company which raised $220 million in its initial public
offering in December 2021. We believe that potential sellers of target businesses will view the fact that members of our board of directors
and management team have successfully closed multiple business combinations with vehicles similar to our company as a positive factor
in considering whether or not to enter into a business combination with us. However, past performance is not a guarantee of success with
respect to any business combination we may consummate.
Daniel G. Cohen, our Chief Executive Officer,
Betsy Z. Cohen, our Chairman of the Board, and James J. McEntee, III, our President, have extensive experience in the financial services
industry generally, and the financial technology industry in particular, as well as extensive experience in operating financial services
companies in a public company environment.
Mr. Cohen, with over 22 years of experience in
financial services and financial technology, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company,
LLC, and serves as the President and Chief Executive of the European Business of Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSE American: COHN), a financial
services company with approximately $2.24 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021, and as President, a director and
the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen & Company Inc.’s indirect majority owned subsidiary, Cohen & Company Financial Limited
(formerly known as EuroDekania Management Limited), a Financial Conduct Authority regulated investment advisor and broker dealer focusing
on the European capital markets (“CCFL”). Mr. Cohen previously served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the
Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC. Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Cohen &
Company Inc. from December 16, 2009 to September 16, 2013 and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors from October 6, 2006 to September
16, 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the executive Chairman of Cohen & Company Inc. from October 18, 2006 to December 16, 2009. In addition,
Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC from 2001 to September 16, 2013, as the Chief Investment
Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from October 2008 to September 16, 2013, and as Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC
from December 16, 2009 to September 16, 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J.V.B. Financial Group,
LLC (formerly C&Co/PrinceRidge Partners LLC), the Company’s indirect broker dealer subsidiary (“JVB”), from July
19, 2012 to September 16, 2013. Mr. Cohen is also a founder, the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Chairman of The Bancorp,
Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), which we refer to as Bancorp, a financial holding company with over $6.3 billion of total assets as of September
30, 2021, whose principal subsidiary is The Bancorp Bank, that provides a wide range of commercial and retail banking products and services
to both regional and national markets. Mr. Cohen currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of FinTech VI and serves as Chairman
of the Board of INSU Acquisition Corp. III (NASDAQ: IIII), or INSU III, a blank check company which raised $250 million in its initial
public offering in December 2020. Mr. Cohen served as Chairman of the Board of Insurance Acquisition Corp., or INSU I, a former blank
check company which raised $150.7 million in its initial public offering in March 2019 and completed its initial business combination
when it merged with affiliates of Shift Technologies, Inc. in October 2020, which we refer to as the INSU I Acquisition. Mr. Cohen
also served as Chairman of the Board of Insurance Acquisition Corp. II, or INSU II, a former blank check company which raised $230.0 million
in its initial public offering in September 2020 and completed its initial business combination when it merged with MetroMile, Inc. in
February 2021, which we refer to as the INSU II Acquisition. Further, Mr. Cohen served as Chief Executive Officer, President and
a director of FinTech I until the FinTech I Acquisition, as Chief Executive Officer and a director of FinTech II until the FinTech II
Acquisition, as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech III until the FinTech III Acquisition and as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech IV
until the FinTech IV Acquisition. Mr. Cohen also recently joined FTAC Parnassus as its Chairman, FTAC Hera as its President and Chief
Executive Officer, FTAC Zeus as its Chairman, and INSU IV as its Chairman. He is also a past Chief Executive Officer of RAIT Financial
Trust, which we refer to as RAIT, formerly a publicly traded real estate finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry,
from December 2006 when it merged with Taberna Realty Finance Trust, to February 2009, and served as a trustee from the date RAIT acquired
Taberna in February 2009 until his resignation from that position in February 2010. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Operation
Officer of Resource America, Inc., formerly a publicly traded asset management company with interests in energy, real estate and financial
services. Mr. Cohen was also a past director of Jefferson Bank of Pennsylvania, a commercial bank and subsidiary of JeffBanks, Inc., a
publicly traded bank holding company, which we refer to as JeffBanks, acquired by Hudson United Bancorp in 1999.
Ms. Cohen, with over 42 years of experience,
was a founder of Bancorp and served as Bancorp’s Chief Executive Officer from September 2000 through December 2014. Ms. Cohen
served as Chairman of the board of directors of FinTech IV until the FinTech IV Acquisition, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of
FTAC Olympus until the FTAC Olympus Acquisition, as Chairman of the board of directors of FinTech III until the FinTech III Acquisition,
as Chairman of the board of directors of FinTech II until the FinTech II Acquisition, and also served as the Chairman of the
board of directors of FinTech I until the Fintech I Acquisition and, following the FinTech I Acquisition, served on the
post-business combination board of directors until May 2017. She is currently the Chairman of the Board of FinTech VI, FTAC
Athena, FTAC Hera and FTAC Emerald. Ms. Cohen is also a founder of RAIT and was its Chairman until December 2010 and its Chief
Executive Officer until December 2006. She was also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of JeffBanks and its subsidiary banks
from 1974 until the merger of JeffBanks into Hudson United Bancorp in 1999.
Mr. McEntee, with over 22 years of experience,
is the Chairman of the board of directors of Bancorp and The Bancorp Bank, was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Alesco Financial,
an investment firm specializing in credit related fixed income investment, until it merged with Cohen & Company and was the Chief
Operating Officer of Cohen & Company. Mr. McEntee served as President of FinTech IV until the FinTech IV Acquisition, President
and Chief Financial Officer of FinTech III until the FinTech III Acquisition, Chief Financial Officer of FinTech II until the FinTech II
Acquisition, and also served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of FinTech I until the Fintech I Acquisition.
He is currently President and Secretary of FinTech VI.
We have identified the following criteria that
we intend to use in evaluating business transaction opportunities. We expect that no individual criterion will entirely determine a decision
to pursue a particular opportunity. Further, any particular business transaction opportunity which we ultimately determine to pursue may
not meet one or more of these criteria:
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History of free cash flow generation. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have a history of, or potential for, strong, stable free cash flow generation, with predictable and recurring revenue streams. |
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Strong management team. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have strong, experienced management teams or those that provide a platform for us to assemble an effective and experienced management team. We have focused on management teams with a proven track record of driving revenue growth, enhancing profitability and creating value for their stockholders. |
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Opportunities for add-on acquisitions. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that we can grow both organically and through acquisitions. In addition, we believe that our ability to source proprietary opportunities and execute transactions will help the business we acquire grow through acquisition, and thus serve as a platform for further add-on acquisitions. |
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Defensible business niche. We have sought to acquire on one or more businesses or assets that have a leading or niche market position and that demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, which may help to create barriers to entry against new competitors. We anticipate that these barriers to entry will enhance the ability of these businesses or assets to generate strong profitability and free cash flow. |
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Diversified customer and supplier base. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have a diversified customer and supplier base, which are generally better able to endure economic downturns, industry consolidation, changing business preferences and other factors that may negatively impact their customers, suppliers and competitors. |
Competitive Strengths
We believe we have the following competitive strengths:
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Management Operating and Investing Experience. Our directors and executive officers have significant experience in the financial services and financial technology industries. Daniel G. Cohen, with over 22 years’ experience in the financial services industry, is a founder of Bancorp, the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of an investment bank and is an affiliate of a broker-dealer subsidiary of the investment bank. Betsy Z. Cohen has over 42 years’ experience in the financial services industry and is a founder of and, until her retirement in December 2014, served as chief executive officer of, The Bancorp, Inc., a financial holding company whose banking subsidiary, The Bancorp Bank, provides banking services principally through the internet. James J. McEntee, III, with over 22 years of experience in the financial services industry, is Chairman of the board of directors of The Bancorp, Inc. and The Bancorp Bank, was previously the Chief Executive Officer of an investment firm specializing in credit related fixed income investment, a managing director of COHN and the Vice-Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer of JVB Financial. Additionally, each of Mr. Cohen, Ms. Cohen and Mr. McEntee served as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech I, FinTech II, FinTech III and FinTech IV and currently serves as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech VI. We believe that this breadth of experience provides us with a competitive advantage in evaluating businesses and acquisition opportunities in our target industry. |
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Established Deal Sourcing Network. As a result of their extensive experience in the financial services industry, our management team members have developed a broad array of contacts in the industry. We believe that these contacts will be important in generating acquisition opportunities for us. |
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Strong Financial Position and Flexibility. With a trust account initially in the amount of $250,000,000 and a public market for our common stock, we offer a target business a variety of options to facilitate a future business transaction and fund the growth and expansion of business operations. Because we are able to consummate an initial business transaction using our capital stock, debt, cash or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to design an acquisition structure to address the needs of the parties. We have not, however, taken any steps to secure third party financing and would only do so simultaneously with the consummation of our initial business transaction. Accordingly, our flexibility in structuring an initial business transaction may be constrained by our ability to arrange third-party financing, if required. |
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Status as a Public Company. We believe our structure makes us an attractive business transaction partner to prospective target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business transaction with us. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock. Once public, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. We believe that being a public company can also augment a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid it in attracting and retaining talented employees. |
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not
engage in, any operations until our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash
from the proceeds of the initial public offering and the private placement, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration
to be paid in our initial business combination.
If we pay for our initial business combination
using stock or debt securities, or we do not use all of the funds released from the trust account for payment of the purchase price in
connection with our business combination or for redemptions or purchases of our common stock, 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 acquired businesses,
the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in consummating our initial business combination, to fund the purchase
of other companies or for working capital.
While we have not contacted any of the prospective
target businesses that FinTech I, FinTech II, FinTech III or FinTech IV had considered and rejected while searching for target businesses
to acquire, we may do so in the future if we become aware that the valuations, operations, profits or prospects of such target business,
or the benefits of any potential transaction with such target business, would be attractive. Accordingly, there is no current basis for
stockholders to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business
combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot
assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those
risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact
a target business.
NASDAQ rules require that our initial business
combination be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust
account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement
in connection with our initial business combination. However, if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ or another securities exchange,
we will no longer be subject to that requirement.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a
private offering of debt or equity securities to finance our initial business combination, and we may effectuate an initial business combination
using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. Subject to compliance with applicable securities
laws, we would consummate such financing only simultaneously with the consummation of our business combination. 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 NASDAQ, we would seek stockholder 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.
Sources of Acquisition Candidates
We anticipate that target business candidates will
be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, venture capital funds,
private equity funds, leveraged buyout funds, management buyout funds, brokers and other members of the financial community and corporate
executives. These target candidates may present solicited or unsolicited proposals. Such sources became aware that we were seeking a business
combination candidate by a variety of means, including publicly available information relating to the initial public offering, public
relations and marketing efforts or direct contact by management following the completion of the initial public offering.
Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates,
may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their contacts. While we do not presently
anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis,
we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other
compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only
if our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders
approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment
of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held
in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated,
be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate,
the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is), other than (i) repayment of loans
made to us prior to the date of the initial public offering by our sponsor to cover offering-relating and organization expenses, (ii)
repayment of loans that our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their respective affiliates or other third parties
may make to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination (provided that if we do not consummate
an initial business combination, we may use working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts, but no proceeds
from our trust account would be used for such repayment), (iii) payments to our sponsor or its affiliate of a total of $20,000 per month
for office space, utilities, and shared personnel services, (iv) at the closing of our initial business combination, a customary advisory
fee to an affiliate of our sponsor, in an amount that constitutes a market standard advisory fee for comparable transactions and services
provided, and (v) to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigation and completing an initial
business combination. None of the initial holders, our officers, our directors or any entity with which they are affiliated will be allowed
to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective acquisition target in connection with a contemplated
acquisition of such target by us. Although some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements
with the acquired business following our initial business combination, the presence or absence of any such arrangements will not be used
as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial
business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates. Additionally, we are
not prohibited from partnering, submitting joint bids, or entering into any similar transaction with such persons in the pursuit of an
initial business combination. If we seek to complete an initial business combination with such a company or we partner with such persons
in our pursuit of an initial business combination, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent
investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair
to our stockholders from a financial point of view. Generally, such opinion is rendered to a company’s board of directors and investment
banking firms may take the view that stockholders may not rely on the opinion. Such view will not impact our decision on which investment
banking firm to hire.
Unless we consummate our initial business combination
with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain a financial fairness opinion from an independent investment banking firm. If
we do not obtain such an opinion, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair
market value and fairness based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. The application of such standards would involve
a comparison, from a valuation standpoint, of our business combination target to comparable public companies, as applicable, and a comparison
of our contemplated transaction with such business combination target to other then-recently announced comparable private and public company
transactions, as applicable. The application of such standards and the basis of our board of directors’ determination will be discussed
and disclosed in our tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business
combination
NASDAQ rules require that we must complete one
or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account
(excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing
a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination
will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted
cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics
of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value
of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity
that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board
of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may
be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount
of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated
industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted
flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our
initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business
combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling
interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If
we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or
businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be taken into account for purposes of NASDAQ’s
80% fair market value test. There is no basis for stockholders to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which
we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination
with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous
risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target
business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, we
expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees,
document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information
that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target
business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently
ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target
business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the
funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period of time after consummation
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 consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
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subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and |
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cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited ability to evaluate the target’s management team
Although we closely scrutinize the management of
a prospective target business when evaluating a target business, our assessment of the target business’ 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 or of our board, 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
business combination, it is presently unknown if any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our 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. The determination as to whether any members of our board of directors will remain
with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to
recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management team 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.
Stockholders may not have the ability to approve a business combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder
vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or NASDAQ, or
we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation
of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law
for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction |
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Whether
Stockholder
Approval is
Required |
Purchase of assets |
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No |
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company |
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No |
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company |
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No |
Merger of the company with a target |
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Yes |
Under NASDAQ’s listing rules, stockholder
approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
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we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding; |
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any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
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the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
Permitted purchases of our securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial
business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules,
our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open
market either prior to or following the consummation of our initial business combination, although as of the date of this Annual Report
they have no commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase
shares in such transactions. They will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information
not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Although they do not currently
anticipate paying any premium purchase price for such public shares, there is no limit on the price they may pay. They may also enter
into transactions to provide such holders with incentives to acquire shares or vote their shares in favor of an initial business combination.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no
longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors,
officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already
elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their
shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules
under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if
the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with
such rules.
The purpose of such purchases would be to (i) vote
such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business
combination or (ii) 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 the business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may
result in the consummation of a business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
As a consequence of any such purchases, the public
“float” of our common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may
make it difficult to obtain the continued listing of our securities on NASDAQ or another national securities exchange in connection with
our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates
anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom they may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders
contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of tender offer or proxy
materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their
affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their
election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against the business combination. Our sponsor, officers,
directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and
other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors
and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent
such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section
9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. 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, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases
of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon consummation of our
initial business combination
We will provide our stockholders with the opportunity
to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the consummation 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 as of two business days prior to the consummation
of the initial business combination, including any amounts representing deferred underwriting commissions and interest earned on the trust
account not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares,
subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is approximately $10.00 per public share (based on the trust
account balance as of December 31, 2021). There will be no redemption rights upon the consummation of our initial business combination
with respect to our warrants. The initial holders, our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect
to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in
connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of
our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 and (iii)
if we fail to consummate a business combination by December 8, 2022 or if we liquidate prior to December 8, 2022. The initial holders
and our directors and officers have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the
consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination
by December 8, 2022. However, the initial holders and our directors and officers will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to
any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate by December 8, 2022.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the
opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination
either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The
decision as to whether we will seek stockholder 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 stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions
and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and
any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner
that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed business
combination. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder
approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal
reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on NASDAQ, we will be required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do
not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation:
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conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
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file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to consummating our initial business combination that will 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, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common
stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, 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 consummate our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period.
In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares,
which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets,
to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny
stock” rules), or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial
business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and
not complete our initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction
is required by law or NASDAQ, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
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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 |
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file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek stockholder approval
of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders
with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete
our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business
combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock
of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote
at such meeting. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and have agreed to vote their founder shares, private
placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder
vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 26.9% of
our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements may make it more likely
that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of
whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001
upon consummation of our initial business combination and, in any event, the terms of the proposed business combination may require our
net tangible assets to be greater than $5,000,001. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration
to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes
or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. If the aggregate
cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly tendered for redemption plus the
amount of any cash payments required pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available
to us, we will not consummate the business combination or redeem any shares and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption
will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on redemption upon consummation of our initial business
combination if we seek stockholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder
approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to
the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate
of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under
Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to an more than aggregate of 15.0% of
the shares sold in the initial public offering without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders
from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights
as a means to force us or management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable
terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15.0% or more of the shares sold in the initial public
offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased
by us or management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability
to redeem no more than 15.0% of the shares sold in the initial public offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small number
of stockholders 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, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of
their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15.0% of the shares sold in the initial public offering)
for or against our business combination.
Tendering stock certificates in connection with redemption rights
We may require our public stockholders 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 mailed to such holders, or up to two
business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials,
or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At
Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of
our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy
such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the
close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the 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.
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 $100.00 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 many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check
companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ 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 redemption
rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him to deliver his certificate
to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the consummation of the business combination
during which he could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he could
sell his shares in the open market before actually delivering his shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption
rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights
surviving past the consummation 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 the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our
proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivers 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 business combination.
If the initial business combination is not approved
or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem
their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered
by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial business combination is not consummated,
we may continue to try to consummate a business combination with a different target until December 8, 2022.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business
combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that we will have only until December 8, 2022 to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate our
initial business combination by December 8, 2022, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly
as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash,
equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account
not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders
(including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably
possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate,
subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable
law. 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 such completion window.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have waived
their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and placement shares held by them
if we fail to complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public
shares in or after the initial public offering, 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 by December 8, 2022.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have
agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
that (i) would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial
business combination by December 8, 2022 or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business
combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon
approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account,
including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes,
divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our
net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the
SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public
shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above) we would not proceed with the amendment or the
related redemption of our public shares.
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 held outside the
trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient
to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued
in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, 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
the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking
into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution
would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors
which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption
amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than the $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution
must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are
sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders.
While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’
claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service
providers (except our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do
business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account
for the benefit of our public stockholders, 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 only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver 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 management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. WithumSmith+Brown,
PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the
trust account.
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. FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC has agreed that it will
be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accountants) 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 (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held
in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case
net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any
and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC will not be responsible to the extent of any liability
for such third party claims We have not independently verified whether FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC has sufficient funds to satisfy
its indemnity obligations and believe that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC’s only assets are securities of our company. We have
not asked FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that
FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against
the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public
share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share
in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our 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 (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent
directors would take legal action on our behalf against FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 if, for example, the cost
of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors
determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to reserve for such indemnification
obligations and we cannot assure you that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we
cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00
per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that FinTech
Investor Holdings V, LLC will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service
providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which 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. We have access to working capital loans with which to pay any
such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation). In the event that we liquidate and it
is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust
account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable
for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion
of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares if we do not consummate our initial
business combination by December 8, 2022 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies
with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against
it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during
which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are
made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s
pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the
third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust
account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not consummate our initial
business combination by December 8, 2022 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution
is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six
years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidation distribution. If we have not
consummated our business combination by December 8, 2022, or earlier at the discretion of our board, 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 any
amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us to pay our franchise and income 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions,
if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of
our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware
law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public
shares as soon as reasonably possible following December 8, 2022 and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As
such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any
liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280,
Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all
existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are
a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses
to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target
businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors,
service providers, prospective target businesses or 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.
As a result of this obligation, the claims that
could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the
trust account is remote. Further, FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts
in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) 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 withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters 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, FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such
third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary
bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy
law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders.
To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our
public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is
not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either
a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover
some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors
and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders
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 stockholders will be entitled to receive
funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination
by December 8, 2022, subject to applicable law, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and
restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we
have not consummated an initial business combination by December 8, 2022 or (b) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’
rights or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in
connection with those shares of our common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described
in this annual report. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection
with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share
of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target
business for our business combination, we encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours,
including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions.
Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or
through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our
ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others
an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash to our public stockholders who
exercise their redemption rights will reduce the resources available to us for an initial business combination and our outstanding warrants,
and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors
may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at
2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2870. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $20,000 per month fee
we pay to our sponsor or its affiliate for office space, utilities, and shared personnel services. We consider our current office space
adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers. These
individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they 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 they devote in any time period varies
based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial business combination
process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, Class A common stock
and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current
reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports contain financial statements audited
and reported on by our independent registered public accountants. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and
information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial
statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders
to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance
with GAAP. We cannot assure you that any particular target business selected by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial
statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in
accordance with GAAP. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While
this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures
as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we
be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as
defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions
from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies”
including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from
the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments
not previously approved. If some stockholders find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market
for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides
that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the
Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay
the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage
of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the
earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of the initial public offering, (b)
in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer,
which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior
June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior
three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Item
1A. RISK FACTORS
You should consider carefully all of the risks described
below, which we believe are the principal risks that we face and of which we are currently aware, and all of the other information contained
in this report. If any of the events or developments described below occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations
could be negatively affected. The risks described below do not include risks relating to our proposed Business Combination with eToro.
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of,
or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
and Post-Business Combination Risks
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote
on our proposed business combination, which means we may consummate our initial business combination even though a majority of our public
stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial
business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or the rules of NASDAQ or
if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we
will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders 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 stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business
combination even if holders of a majority of the public shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination,
our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders
vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the
initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in
connection with an initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any
placement shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after the initial public offering, in favor of our initial business
combination. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 26.9% of our outstanding shares of common stock, including placement shares.
Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval
will be received than would be the case if our sponsor, officers and directors agreed to vote their founder shares, placement shares and
public shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
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
stockholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not
be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors
may consummate a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity
to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only
opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will 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
stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 stockholders 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. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that
would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (so that we are not
subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained
in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would
cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination 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 stockholders to exercise redemption rights
with respect to a large amount of our shares may not allow us to consummate 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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure
the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our 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 are 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 amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the representatives will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed
in connection with a business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption
rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held
by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 stock.
If our 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 is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful,
you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate
liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock 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 stock in the open market.
The requirement that we consummate a business combination by December
8, 2022 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct
due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to
consummate a business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into
negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022.
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 December 8, 2022. 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.
If the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of
the placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until at least December 8, 2022, we may
be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less
than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account
may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until at least December 8, 2022, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed
by that date. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate until at
least December 8, 2022; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion
of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion
of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed
to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies 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 agreement 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination,
our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation.
If the net proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale
of the placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for
a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management
team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable
to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
As of December 31, 2021, only $36,042 was available
to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need
to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate, or we may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor,
members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such
advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business
combination. 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.
If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete
our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate
the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and
our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption
of their shares. Please 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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
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 recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
and the status of debt and equity markets.
The COVID-19 outbreak has and a significant outbreak
of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets
worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely
affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to
restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services
providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our
search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new
information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among
others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other 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 ultimately consummate a business combination,
may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity
and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, 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.
We may not be able to consummate our initial business combination
by December 8, 2022, 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 stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances,
and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that we must complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022. We may not be able to find a suitable target business
and complete our initial business combination by that date. 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. If we have not
completed our initial business combination by December 8, 2022, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up,
(ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price,
payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the
trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided
by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders
(including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably
possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate,
subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable
law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances,
our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination,
our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public stockholders, which may influence
a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” f our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business
combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor,
directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions either
prior to or following the consummation of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase
may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial
owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors
or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise
their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose
of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder
approval of the 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 business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise
not be met. This may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public
“float” of our Class A common stock and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making
it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on NASDAQ.
If a stockholder 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 stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder 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. For example, we may require our public stockholders 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 materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior
to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their
shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares
may not be redeemed. Please see “Business — Tendering stock certificates in connection with redemption rights.”
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
or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive
funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only
in connection with those shares of our Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations
described in this report, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public
shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 or (b) with respect to any other provision relating
to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are
unable to complete an initial business combination by December 8, 2022, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In
addition, if we are unable to consummate an initial business combination by December 8, 2022, compliance with Delaware law may require
that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in
our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond December 8, 2022 before they receive funds from our
trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly,
to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors
of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the initial public offering
and the sale of the placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has
not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because
we had net tangible assets in excess of $5.0 million upon the completion of the initial public offering and the sale of the placement
units and we filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules
promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419 under the Securities Act. Accordingly, investors
will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units were immediately tradable and
we have a longer period of time to complete a business combination than would companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the 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 consummation of an initial business combination.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share on our redemption
of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other
entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships),
other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire.
Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly,
acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical,
human and other resources, or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted
with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire, 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, because we are obligated to pay cash for
the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies
will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place us at a competitive
disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public
stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2021) on the liquidation of our
trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per
share upon our liquidation.
Subsequent to the consummation 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 our stock price, 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 surface all material issues that may be present inside 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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction
in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect
those funds from third party claims against us. Although we seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses
or 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 stockholders, 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 only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed
a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective
target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue. WithumSmith+Brown,
PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the
trust account.
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 management is 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 are unable to
complete our business combination within the required time frame, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our 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 stockholders could be less than the
$10.00 per share initially held in the trust account due to claims of such creditors. FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC has agreed that
it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) 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 (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) 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. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third
party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity
of the underwriters of 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, then FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC will not
be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether FinTech Investor
Holdings V, LLC has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC’s only
assets are securities of our company. We have not asked FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to reserve for such indemnification obligations.
Therefore, we cannot assure you that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any
such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions
could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination,
and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers will
indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our independent directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification
obligations of FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution
to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account
are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors
would take legal action on our behalf against FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 if, for example, the cost of such
legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors
determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. 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 stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims
of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors
to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of
any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly,
any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii)
we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from
bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of
reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might
otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay
the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our
public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a
bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account
to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed,
any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential
transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by
our stockholders. 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, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account
prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our
public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary 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 stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise
be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account
to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed,
the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and
subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete
the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be
reduced.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against
us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for
claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of
our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not consummate our
initial business combination by December 8, 2022 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies
with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against
it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during
which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are
made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s
pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the
third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following
December 8, 2022 in the event we do not consummate our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the
foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280,
Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all
existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However,
because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations are limited to searching for prospective target
businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective
target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to
a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed
to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot
assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially
be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend
beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders
upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 is not
considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section
174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution,
instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the
consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements,
we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ.
Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing
directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an
annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not
be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an
annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an
application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry sector 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’ operations.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target
business in the financial technology industry, we may seek to consummate a business combination with an operating company in any industry
or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to consummate our business
combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. To the extent we consummate 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 revenues or earnings, we may be affected by the risks
inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors 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 ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than
a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to
remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely
to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which
may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of
our management’s area 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. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular
business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors. We
also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment,
if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas
of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and
the information contained in this Annual Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding
of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all the significant
risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction
in the value of their shares. Such stockholders 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 consummate a 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 stockholders 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 stockholder
approval of the transaction is required by law or NASDAQ rules, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal
reasons, it may be more difficult for us to obtain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does
not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may
receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2021), or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation
of the trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00
per share on the redemption of their shares.
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, which could subject us to volatile
revenues or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
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 revenues 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 and difficulties in obtaining
and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business,
we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all 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 from an independent investment
banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and 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 consummate our initial business combination
with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are
not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting
firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders 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 or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related
to our initial business combination.
Because we must furnish our stockholders 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 target historical and/or pro forma
financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents,
whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance
with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial
reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical
financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United
States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some
targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal
proxy rules and consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more
difficult for us to consummate 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. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an
accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our
internal controls over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply
with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal controls over financial reporting. The
fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on
us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our 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.
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in
value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
The SEC Warrant Accounting Statement regarding the
accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by SPACs focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain
tender offers following a business combination. The terms described in the SEC Warrant Accounting Statement are common in SPACs and are
similar to the terms contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. In response to the SEC Warrant Accounting Statement, we
reevaluated the accounting treatment of our public warrants and placement warrants, and determined to classify the warrants as derivative
liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings. As a result, included on our balance
sheet as of December 31, 2021 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained
within our warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement
of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the
fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial
statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly based on factors which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair
value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non- cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount
of such gains or losses could be material.
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over
financial reporting. These material weaknesses could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and
financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management is responsible for establishing and
maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial
reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required,
on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified
through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal
control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial
statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As described elsewhere in this Annual Report, we identified
material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for complex financial instruments, specifically
warrant liabilities, our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption at the closing of our initial public offering and the restatement
of our earnings per share calculation. As a result of these material weaknesses, our management concluded that our internal control over
financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021.
To respond to these material weaknesses, we have devoted,
and plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial
reporting. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements, we plan to enhance these processes
to better evaluate our research and understanding of the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements.
Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication
among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our
remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended
effects. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weaknesses identified related to our accounting for complex
financial instruments, our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption and the restatement of our earnings per share calculation,
see Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report.
Any failure to maintain such internal control could
adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial
statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements
are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our common stock is
listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect on our business. Ineffective
internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect
on the trading price of our stock.
We can give no assurance that the measures we have
taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weaknesses identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements
of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial
reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in
the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair
presentation of our financial statements.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence
of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to consummate a business combination with which a substantial majority of our
stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that
would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (such that we are not
subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our business combination even though
a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder
approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the
tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors
or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock
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, all
shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate
business combination.
In order to complete our initial business combination, we may seek
to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or other governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner
that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination but that our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to complete a business combination, blank
check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant
agreement. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed
industry focus and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash
and/or other securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or other governing instruments or change our
industry focus in order to complete our initial business combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
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 65% of our common stock, 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 certificate of incorporation
and the trust agreement to facilitate the consummation of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of
the initial public offering and the private placement into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances,
and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to
vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended
if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable
provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation or in our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially
own 26.9% of our common stock, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check
companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue
remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant
to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that
would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business
combination by December 8, 2022, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common
stock 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 outstanding public
shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, do not have the
ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of
a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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.
We believe that the net proceeds of the initial public
offering and the sale of the placement units will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination. If the net proceeds
of the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial
business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash
a significant number of shares from stockholders 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per
share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (and not previously released to us to pay our taxes) on
the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing
to complete our 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 officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business
combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share
on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may
receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
Our initial stockholders will control the election 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 elect
all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring
a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own approximately 26.9% of
our outstanding common stock, including placement shares. In addition, the founder shares, all of which are held by our initial stockholders,
entitle the holders to elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Holders of our public
shares have no right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation may only be amended by a majority of at least 90% of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. As a result, you
will not have any influence over the election of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge,
any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities. Factors that would be considered in making
such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, as a result
of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a
stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket
or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders
will exert significant influence over actions requiring a stockholder vote.
Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions
requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own shares representing 26.9%
of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock, including placement shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence
on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares
of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered
in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition,
our board of directors, whose members were elected by certain of our initial stockholders, is divided into two classes, each of which
will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting
of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our business combination, in which case all of the current directors
will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of
our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial
stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders
will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not
consummated, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are
unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less 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 consummate 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 are unable to
complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust account balance
as of December 31, 2021) on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our
public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
We may attempt to simultaneously consummate business combinations
with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to consummate 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 consummate 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
consummate 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. Furthermore,
the relative lack of information about a private company may hinder our ability to properly assess the value of such a company which could
result in our overpaying for that company.
If we effect our initial business combination with a business located
outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such business will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be
able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect our initial business combination with
a business located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such business operates will govern almost all of the
material agreements relating to its operations. The target business may not be able to enforce any of its material agreements or enforce
remedies for breaches of those agreements in that jurisdiction. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction
may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under
any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital. Additionally, if we acquire
a business located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United
States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors
in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments
of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under federal securities
laws.
If we consummate our initial business combination with a company
with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively
impact our operations.
If we consummate our initial business combination with
a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated
with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
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higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
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rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
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complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
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laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
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tariffs and trade barriers; |
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regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
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longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
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tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
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currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
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cultural and language differences; |
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employment regulations; |
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crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
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deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
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government appropriation of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional
risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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 stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets
of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more
of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target sufficient for the post-transaction
company 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 stockholders
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 transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a
substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. 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 shares of common stock,
our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent
to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or
group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that
our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business. 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 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 stockholders’ 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:
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default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
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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 security is payable on demand; |
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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; |
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our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
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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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
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limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
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increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
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limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital
expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the
proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business
which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from the initial public offering
and the sale of the placement units, $250,000,000 is available to complete our business combination and pay related fees and expenses
(which includes up to $10,640,000 for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).
We may complete 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
complete a 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 consummating an initial business
combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments.
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. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the
prospects for our success may be:
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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
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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 developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry
in which we may operate subsequent to our business combination.
Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team
Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination
and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team, some of whom may join us
following our initial business combination. The loss of such people could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination
business.
Our ability to successfully complete our business combination
is dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team. The role of members of our management team in the target business, however,
cannot presently be ascertained. Although some members of our management team may remain with the target business in senior management
or advisory positions following our 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 officers and directors of an acquisition
candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel
could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s
key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that
certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our
initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Members of our management team may negotiate employment or consulting
agreements with a target business in connection with a particular initial 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.
Members of our management team may be able to remain
with the company after the consummation 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 consummation of our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests
of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of
such individuals to remain with us after the consummation 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 members
of our management team will remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any members
of our management team will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any members of
our management team will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Certain of our officers and directors 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 allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination,
we will engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and our officers and directors are
and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar
business.
Our officers and directors 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. 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 another entity prior to its presentation
to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains a waiver of the corporate opportunity doctrine, which provides that
we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless (i) such opportunity is expressly offered
to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company (ii) such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually
permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue and (iii) the director or officer is permitted to refer the
opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. The purpose for the surrender of corporate opportunities is to allow officers,
directors or other representatives with multiple business affiliations to continue to serve as an officer of our company or on our board
of directors. Our officers and directors may from time to time be presented with opportunities that could benefit both another business
affiliation and us. In the absence of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our charter, certain candidates would not be able
to serve as an officer or director. We believe we substantially benefit from having representatives, who bring significant, relevant and
valuable experience to our management, and, as a result, the inclusion of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation provides us with greater flexibility to attract and retain the officers and directors that we
feel are the best candidates.
However, the personal and financial interests of our
directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business
combination. The different timelines of competing business combinations could cause our directors and officers to prioritize a different
business combination over finding a suitable acquisition target for our business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’
discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms,
conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest, which could negatively
impact the timing for a business combination.
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, officers, directors or existing stockholders, which may
raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers
and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors.
Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination
opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our business
combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination
with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated
entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination
as set forth in “Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Selection of a Target Business and Structuring
of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our
agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting
firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international
businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing stockholders, 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 stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts
of interest. Additionally, were we successful in consummating such a transaction, conflicts could invariably arise from the interest of
the initial stockholders or their affiliates in maximizing their returns, which may be at odds with the strategy of the post-business combination
company or not in the best interests of the public stockholders of the post-business combination company. Any or all of such conflicts
could materially reduce the value of your investment, whether before or after our initial business combination.
Since our sponsor, officers, and directors will lose their entire
investment in us if our 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.
Our sponsor currently own 8,546,667 founder shares,
which will be worthless if we do not consummate our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has also purchased 640,000
placement units for an aggregate purchase price of $6.4 million that will also be worthless if we do not consummate our initial business
combination. Holders of founder shares and private placement shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed
business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares or private placement shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve
a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or
director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors 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.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective
target business and, as a result, may complete our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the
skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’
investment in us.
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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer
a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors 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.
Risks Relating to our Securities
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:
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restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
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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:
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registration as an investment company; |
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adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
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reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company
under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other
than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or
trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and
cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business is to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the
post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from
their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal
activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in
United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity
of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which
invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in
other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted
at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or
private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company
Act. Our securities are not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities.
The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our primary business
objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder
vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem
100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (b) with respect to any
other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent a business combination,
our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do
not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject
to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have
not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial
business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31,
2021) on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders
may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. Please 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 stockholders may be less than
$10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange,
which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are
currently listed on NASDAQ. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on NASDAQ in the future or prior to our
initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NASDAQ prior to our initial business combination, we must
maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain an average global market capitalization and
a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination,
we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQ’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQ’s
continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our stock price
would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders (with at
least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500) of our securities. We cannot assure you
that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If NASDAQ delists our securities from trading on
its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted
on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board or the “pink sheets.” If this were to occur, there could be material adverse consequences,
including:
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a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
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reduced liquidity for our securities; |
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a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
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a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act
of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred
to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A common stock and warrants are listed on NASDAQ, our units, Class A
common stock and warrants are covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal
statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity,
then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used
these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state
securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the
sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NASDAQ, our securities would not
be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
If we seek stockholder 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 stockholders are deemed to
hold in excess of 15.0% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class
A common stock.
If we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder
or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange
Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15.0% of the shares sold in the initial
public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares”. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination. Your
inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to consummate a 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 consummate our business combination. As a result, you would continue to hold that
number of shares exceeding 15.0% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell those shares in open market transactions,
potentially at a loss.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable
upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in
place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on
a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common
stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms
of the warrant agreement, we will use our best efforts to file, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination
to have declared effective, a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating
to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions
of the warrant agreement. 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 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, we will be required to permit 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 common stock
is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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 be required to use our best 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. 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 shares of Class A common stock included in the units. 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 shares of Class A common stock for
sale under all applicable state securities laws.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders
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 common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently
with the issuance and sale of the securities in the initial public offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees
can demand that we register their founder shares, after those shares convert to our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business
combination, and placement shares. In addition, holders of our placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register
the placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the placement warrants, and holders of warrants included
in the units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common
stock 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 common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult
to conclude. This is because the stockholders 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 common stock that is expected when the
common stock owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our placement warrants or holders of warrants included in the units issued
upon conversion of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete
our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also
issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock 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 certificate of incorporation.
Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares
of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per
share. There are currently 74,360,000 and 1,453,333 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively,
available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise
of any outstanding warrants or the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are no shares
of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially
at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities
related to our initial business combination.
We may issue a substantial number of additional
shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination (including pursuant to a specified future
issuance) or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our
pre-initial business combination activity). We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock
at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the applicable anti-dilution provisions
contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides,
among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle
the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination.
The issuance of additional shares of common or
preferred stock:
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may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the initial public offering; |
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may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
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could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are 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; and |
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may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
The exercise price for the public warrants is higher than some
similar blank check companies in the past, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire worthless.
The exercise price of the public warrants is higher
than some similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase
price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants is $11.50 per share. As a result, the warrants
are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.
Certain agreements related to the initial public offering may
be amended without stockholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the underwriting
agreement relating to the initial public offering, the investment management trust agreement between us and Continental Stock Transfer&
Trust Company, the letter agreement among us and our initial stockholders, officers and directors, the registration rights agreement
among us and our initial stockholders may be amended without stockholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions that our
public stockholders might deem to be material. For example, the underwriting agreement contains (i) a representation that we will not
consummate any public or private equity or debt financing prior to the consummation of a business combination, unless all investors in
such financing expressly waive, in writing, any rights in or claims against the trust account and (ii) a covenant that the target company
that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of signing the definitive
agreement for the transaction with such target business (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income
earned on the trust account) so long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on NASDAQ. While we do not expect our board
to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in
exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement
in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendment may have an adverse effect on the value of
an investment in our securities.
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. As a result,
the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A
common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants were issued in registered form under
a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides
that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision,
but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects
the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse
to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend
the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such
amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten
the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock 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 outstanding warrants
(excluding any placement warrants held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees) at any time after they become exercisable and prior
to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock equals or
exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading
days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption
and provided certain other conditions are met. 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. Redemption
of the outstanding warrants could force you: (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be
disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your
warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely
to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on
the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to consummate our business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 8,333,333 shares
of our Class A common stock as part of the units sold in the initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of the initial
public offering, we issued to our sponsor in a private placement 640,000 units consisting of one placement share and one-third of
one placement warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial
stockholders currently own 8,546,667 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis,
subject to adjustment. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, such loans may be converted into units, at the price
of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the placement units.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common
stock to consummate our business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common
stock upon exercise of these warrants and 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 shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares
of Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult
to consummate our business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The placement warrants are identical to the warrants
sold as part of the units in the initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees,
(i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not,
subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination
and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
Because each unit contains one-third of one 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-third of one warrant. Because,
pursuant to the warrant agreement, the warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares, only a whole warrant may be exercised
at any given time. This is different from other blank check companies similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and
one warrant to purchase one whole share. We 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 one-third of the
number of shares compared to units that each contain a 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 a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult
for use to consummate an initial business combination.
If (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common
stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination
at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined
in good faith by us and in the case of any such issuance to our sponsors or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder
shares held by our initial stockholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”),
(y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 50% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available
for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions),
and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting
on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”)
is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher
of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent)
to be equal to 180% of 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.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class
A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These
provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series
of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve
payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions
under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more
difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires,
to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees
or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware
and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such
stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers,
other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in
the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service
of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines
that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent
to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive
jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction,
or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District
of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital
stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s
ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees
or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived
our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice
of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action,
we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results
and financial condition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Section 27 of the Exchange
Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the
rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability
created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
General Risk Factors
We are a company with no operating history and no revenues and
you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a company with no operating results, and
we will not commence operations until we consummate our initial business combination. 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 may be unable to complete a business combination. If we fail to complete a business combination, we will never
generate any operating revenues.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any
laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments 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 reporting and other legal requirements.
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 and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our
business, investments 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 and results of operations.
Our ability to provide financial technology products and services
to customers may be reduced or eliminated by regulatory changes.
We expect that the customer base for our products
or services will be principally banks and other financial institutions such as insurance companies and securities firms, all of which
are subject to extensive regulation. Any product or service we supply to these firms likely will be affected by and designed to comply
with the customer’s regulatory environment. If the regulatory environment affecting a particular product or service changes, the
product or service could become obsolete or unmarketable, or require extensive and expensive modification. As a result, regulatory changes
may impair our revenues and our profitability. If we only provide a single product or service a change in the applicable regulatory environment
could cause a significant business interruption and loss of revenue until appropriate modifications are made. Moreover, if the regulatory
change eliminates the need for the product or service, or if the expense of making necessary modifications exceeds our resources or available
financing, we may be unable to continue in business.
Past performance by our management team may not be indicative
of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses
associated with our management team and its affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management
team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able
to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s
performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating
targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase
the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business
combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose
acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies
have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets
for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive
targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate
an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose
acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets
with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive
deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases
in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase
the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result
in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
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 internal controls 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 stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
As a result, our stockholders 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 Class A
common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer
be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. 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 common stock held by non-affiliates equals or
exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during
such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as
of the prior June 30th. 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 management concluded that there
is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $36,042 in its operating
bank accounts and $250,008,357 in securities held in the Trust Account to be used for a Business Combination or to repurchase or redeem
its common stock in connection therewith. As of December 31, 2021, approximately $8,357 of the amount on deposit in the Trust Account
represented interest income, which is available to pay the Company’s tax obligations. If the Company is unable to raise additional
capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to,
suspending the pursuit of a Business Combination. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it
on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. Further, our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may
not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern through our
liquidation date. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this annual report do not include any adjustments that might result
from our inability to consummate a Business Combination or our inability to continue as a going concern.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources
and divert management’s attention.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting
requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (which we refer to as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), the Dodd-Frank Act Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (which we refer to as the Dodd-Frank Act), the listing requirements of NASDAQ and other applicable
securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs,
make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we
are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective
disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure
controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight
may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect
our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these
requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards
relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance
costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in
many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided
by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated
by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and
standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time
and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards
differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory
authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be adversely affected.
However, for as long as we remain an “emerging
growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that
are applicable to “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor
attestation requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports
and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirement of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder
approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no
longer an “emerging growth company.”
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 the initial public offering,
(b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer,
which means the market value of our shares of common stock that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior
June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three year period.
We may be subject to claims from both the firms to whom we provide
our products and services and the clients they serve.
If the products or services we provide relate to
the facilitation of financial transactions, such as funds or securities settlement systems, and a failure or compromise of our product
or service results in loss to a customer or its clients, we may be liable for such loss. The amount of the loss could be significantly
greater that the revenues we derived from providing the product or service.
If we are unable to keep pace with evolving technology and changes
in the financial services industry, our revenues and future prospects may decline.
We expect that the markets for the products and
services of any target business we acquire will likely be characterized by rapid technological change, frequent new product introductions
and evolving industry standards. The introduction of products and services embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry
standards can render existing products and services obsolete and unmarketable in short periods of time. We expect new products and services,
and enhancements to existing products and services, will be developed and introduced by others, which will compete with the products and
services that we offer. Our success will depend upon our ability to enhance current products and services and to develop and introduce
new products and services that keep pace with technological developments and emerging industry standards. If we are unable to develop
and introduce new products and services or enhancements in a timely manner, or if a release of a new product or service does not achieve
market acceptance, our revenues and future prospects may decline.
A failure to comply with privacy regulations could adversely
affect relations with customers and have a negative impact on business.
Depending upon the type of financial technology
business we acquire, in the course of providing services to our customers we may collect, process and retain sensitive and confidential
information on our customers and their clients. A failure of our systems due to security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses,
misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, or other causes could result in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized
disclosure of confidential customer information. Any such failure could result in damage to our reputation with our customers, expose
us to the risk of litigation and liability, disrupt our operations, and impair our ability to operate profitably.
Difficulties with any products or services we provide could damage
our reputation and business.
We expect that market acceptance of our products
and services will depend upon the reliable operation and security of our systems and their connection to the systems of our customers.
Any operational or connectivity failures, system outages or security breaches would likely result in revenue loss to us until corrected
and could result in client dissatisfaction, causing them to terminate or reduce their business dealings with us. It may also damage our
business reputation, making it more difficult for us to obtain new customers and maintain or expand our business.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and we
may be subject to infringement claims.
We expect to rely on a combination of contractual
rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect any proprietary technology of a target business.
Although we intend to protect vigorously any intellectual property we acquire, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual
property or may develop competitive technology. Our competitors may independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products or
services or design around our intellectual property rights. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights,
trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which is expensive, could cause a diversion of resources
and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce intellectual property
protection could harm our business and ability to compete.
We also may be subject to claims by third parties
for infringement of another party’s proprietary rights, or for breach of copyright, trademark or license usage rights. Any such
claims and any resulting litigation could subject us to significant liability for damages. An adverse determination in any litigation
of this type could require us to design around a third party’s intellectual property, obtain a license for that technology or license
alternative technology from another party. None of these alternatives may be available to us at a price which would allow us to operate
profitably. In addition, litigation is time consuming and expensive to defend and could result in the diversion of the time and attention
of management and employees. Any claims from third parties may also result in limitations on our ability to use the intellectual property
subject to these claims.