Introduction
We are a blank check company formed for the
purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business
combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this annual report as our initial business combination. While
we have reviewed a number of opportunities to enter into a business combination, we have neither engaged in any operations nor
generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the
Exchange Act because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
Our management team is led by Jeffrey H. Smulyan,
our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Patrick Walsh, our President and Chief Operating Officer.
Our founder, Jeffrey H. Smulyan also founded
and has been the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Emmis Communications Corporation (“Emmis
Communications”), a diversified operating company of media and technology businesses since 1979. Mr. Smulyan has developed
and invested in various media, technology, sports and entertainment companies since founding Emmis Communications.
Our President and Chief Operating Officer,
Patrick M. Walsh also serves as President and Chief Operating Officer, and sits on the board of directors of, Indianapolis-based
Emmis Communications. In his role at Emmis Communications, Mr. Walsh leads the company’s day-to-day business operations,
including its radio division and Lencore Acoustics business.
Our executive offices are located at One EMMIS
Plaza, 40 Monument Circle, Suite 700, Indianapolis, IN 46204 and our telephone number is (317) 266-0100. Our corporate website address
is www.monumentcircleacquisition.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not
deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this annual report. You should not rely on any such information
in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
Company History
In October 2020, our sponsor purchased
an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. In
January 2021, each of our three independent directors purchased 25,000 shares of Class B common stock from our sponsor. In January
2021, we effected a 0.09 for 1 stock dividend for each share of Class B common stock for each outstanding share of Class B
common stock, resulting in our initial stockholders holding an aggregate of 6,267,500 shares of Class B common stock. All share and
per-share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the stock dividends. The number of shares of Class B common stock
issued was determined based on the expectation that the shares of Class B common stock would represent 20% of the outstanding shares
of our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock (collectively, our “common stock”) upon completion of the
initial public offering (the “IPO”). Prior to the completion of the IPO, up to 817,500 shares were subject to
forfeiture. At closing, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option. Accordingly, following the completion of
the IPO, we forfeited 17,500 shares resulting in our initial stockholders holding an aggregate amount of 6,250,000 shares of Class B
common stock.
On January 19, 2020 we consummated the IPO of 25,000,000
units at a price of $10.00 per unit (the “units”), generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000. Each unit consists of one of
the Company’s share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles
the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments.
Concurrently with the completion of the IPO, our
sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,000,000 warrants (the “private placement warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or
$7,000,000 in the aggregate. An aggregate of $250,000,000 from the proceeds of the IPO and the private placement warrants was placed in
a trust account (the “trust account”) such that the trust account held $250,000,000 at the time of closing of the IPO. Each
whole private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share,
subject to certain adjustments.
On March 8, 2021, we announced that, commencing
March 12, 2021, holders of the 25,000,000 units sold in the IPO may elect to separately trade the shares of Class A common stock and the
warrants included in the units. Those units not separated continued to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under
the symbol “MONCU” and the shares of Class A common stock and warrants that were separated trade under the symbols “MON”
and “MONCW,” respectively.
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). We refer to this as the
80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business
or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of The Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority, Inc., or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently
intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is
no assurance that we will not do so. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority
of our independent directors.
We anticipate structuring our initial business
combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders’ own shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding
equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that
the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain
objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if
the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling
interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company
Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more
of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest
in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction.
For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all the outstanding capital
stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a
substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority
of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target
business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned
or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than
one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all the target businesses.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
requires the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors, to
approve our initial business combination (or such other vote as the applicable law or stock exchange rules then in effect may require).
Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
We believe our management team’s significant
transaction experience and deep network of relationships will provide us with a substantial number of potential initial business combination
targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate
relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing
businesses, the reputation of our management team for integrity and fair dealing with sellers, financing sources and target management
teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. In addition,
members of our management team have developed contacts from serving as executives in media, technology, sports and entertainment companies
and providing services to, and serving on, company and industry boards in the media, technology, sports and entertainment industries,
as well as other public, private, and civic boards and committees.
This network has provided our management team with
a flow of referrals that has resulted in numerous transactions where members of our management team have closed more than 75 acquisitions
and dispositions. Notable examples include:
|
·
|
Acquisition of the sound masking business assets of Lencore Acoustics Corp by Emmis Communications in 2020;
|
|
·
|
Formation of MediaCo Holding and the disposition of WQHT (Hot 97) and WBLS by Emmis Communications to Standard General in 2019;
|
|
·
|
Disposition of KPWR (Power 106) Los Angeles to Meruelo Group by Emmis Communications in 2017;
|
|
·
|
Disposition of Texas Monthly to Genesis Park by Emmis Communications in 2016;
|
|
·
|
Local Programming and Marketing Agreement with ESPN affiliate in New York (WEPN), guaranteed by Disney Enterprises, Inc. with license
retained by Emmis Communications in 2012;
|
|
·
|
Acquisition of eight television stations from Lee Enterprises in 2000;
|
|
·
|
Acquisition of 38 large market radio stations and 16 television stations during domestic deregulation of media ownership limits, in
markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Washington DC, Boston, Phoenix, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Austin,
and Indianapolis;
|
|
·
|
Ownership of the first national, commercial radio station in Hungary, and acquisition and sale of radio stations in Argentina, Belgium,
Bulgaria, England and Slovakia;
|
|
·
|
Acquisition of The Seattle Mariners by Jeffrey H. Smulyan as majority owner in 1989; and
|
|
·
|
Acquisition of five NBC radio stations by Emmis Communications in 1988.
|
Our management team has also completed numerous
transactions involving acquisitions and dispositions with high profile media companies and investment firms, notable examples include:
|
·
|
The Walt Disney Company;
|
|
·
|
Sinclair Broadcast Group;
|
|
·
|
Bonneville International;
|
|
·
|
Entercom Communications; and
|
|
·
|
Journal Communications.
|
We believe that the network of contacts and relationships
of our management team will provide us important sources of investment opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business
combination candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment banks and other market
participants, private equity funds, founders, entrepreneurs and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial
business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the business combination
through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete
an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, 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 stating that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team and our independent
directors directly or indirectly own shares of Class B common stock and/or private placement warrants following the IPO and, accordingly,
may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate
our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating
a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business
as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has,
and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer
or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or
directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary
or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination
opportunity to such other entity.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly
offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and such opportunity is one we are legally
and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer
is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary
duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, certain of our officers and directors
may in the future sponsor and/or serve as officers or directors of, other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours. They
may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result,
our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities
to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they are or may become involved. Although we have no formal policy
in place for vetting potential conflicts of interest, our board of directors will review any potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case
basis.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an
attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an
alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business
combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares in the target business
for Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A common stock and cash, allowing us
to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with
being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a
public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer
period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public
offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a
business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination
is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’
ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could
have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional
means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its equity as currency for
acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers
and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
Corporate Information
We are an “emerging growth
company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as
modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (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 of 2002 (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
investors 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 January 1, 2026, (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 and our Class B common stock (collectively, our “common stock”) that is held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the end of the prior fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have
issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth
company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Financial Position
After giving effect to our initial public
offering on January 19, 2021, we have funds available for a business combination in the amount of approximately $241,250,000,
assuming no redemptions and after payment of up to $8,750,000 of deferred underwriting fees, offering a target business a variety of
options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its
operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business
combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most
efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires.
However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion
of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business.
Unlike other entities that have the resources to
complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources
to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination
with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
|
·
|
subject us to 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
|
|
·
|
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 intend to closely scrutinize the management
of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our
assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the
necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team,
if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will
remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is highly unlikely that any of them will devote
their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management
team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel
will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel
will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following our initial business combination, we
may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will
have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary
to enhance the incumbent management.
Effecting our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not
engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following the IPO. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination
using cash from the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these
as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company
or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks
inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for
using equity or debt securities or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection
with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us
from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses,
the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase
of other companies or for working capital.
Members of our management team are from time
to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination,
but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) engaged in any substantive discussions with a business combination target, with
respect to a business combination transaction with us. Please see “Item 1. Business — Sourcing of Potential Business
Combination Targets” for additional information regarding limitations on our access to investment opportunities.
We may seek to raise additional funds in connection
with the completion of our initial business combination through a private offering of equity securities or debt securities or loans, and
we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offerings or loans rather than using the amounts held in
the trust account.
In the case of an initial business combination
funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination
would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by applicable law, 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.
At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds
through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial
business combination
Nasdaq rules require that an initial business combination
must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust
account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if applicable, and excluding the amount of any deferred
underwriting discount). The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or
more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses.
If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion
from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, with respect to the satisfaction
of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business
combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. 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.
Stockholders may not have the ability to approve our initial 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 applicable law or
stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other 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
|
|
Whether Stockholder
Approval is Required
|
Purchase of assets
|
|
No
|
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company
|
|
No
|
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company
|
|
No
|
Merger of the company with a target
|
|
Yes
|
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder
approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
|
·
|
we issue shares of common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our shares of common stock then outstanding
(other than in a public offering);
|
|
·
|
any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest earned on the
trust account (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 stock
or voting power of 5% or more; or
|
|
·
|
the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
|
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder
approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by law will be made by us,
solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited
to:
|
·
|
the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is
either not enough time to seek stockholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result
in other additional burdens on the company;
|
|
·
|
the expected cost of holding a stockholder vote;
|
|
·
|
the risk that the stockholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;
|
|
·
|
other time and budget constraints of the company; and
|
|
·
|
additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to stockholders.
|
Permitted purchases of our securities
In the event 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants
or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our
initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares or warrants such persons may purchase. However, they have no current
commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions.
In the event our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates determine to make any such
purchases at the time of a stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, such purchases could have the effect of influencing
the vote necessary to approve such transaction. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares in such
transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making 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. 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. We adopted an insider trading
policy which requires insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities when they are in possession of any material non-public information
and (2) to clear all trades with our compliance personnel or legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether
our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but
not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant
to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers,
advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who
have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling
stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business
combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules
under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers
determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
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 our
initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net
worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would
otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been
possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public
“float” of our common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may
make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or
any of their respective affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors
or any of their respective affiliates 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 proxy materials in connection with our initial business
combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective 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 our initial business combination. Such persons would select the stockholders
from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such
person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per
share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor,
officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will purchase shares only if such purchases comply with Regulation M
under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors
and/or any of their respective affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made
to the extent such purchases are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under
Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied
with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or any of their respective affiliates
will be restricted from making purchases of common stock if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the
Exchange Act.
Redemption rights for public stockholders in connection with of
our initial business combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the
opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares in connection with 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 our initial business combination, including interest (net of permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of then outstanding public
shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public
share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting
commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption right will include the requirement that any beneficial owner on whose behalf
a redemption right is being exercised must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Each public stockholder may elect to
redeem its public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
There will be no redemption rights with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement
with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any shares of Class B common stock and any
public shares held by them in connection with our initial business combination.
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 either: (1) in connection with a stockholder
meeting called to approve the business combination; or (2) 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 applicable 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 typically 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 currently intend to
conduct redemptions pursuant to a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing
requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do
not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
|
·
|
conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers;
and
|
|
·
|
file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same
financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A
of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
|
Upon the public announcement of our initial business
combination, 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 complete 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 (so that we do not then
become 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 such initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction
is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other
reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
|
·
|
conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates
the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and
|
|
·
|
file proxy materials with the SEC.
|
We expect that a final proxy statement would be
mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would
be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions
in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and
procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq
listing or Exchange Act registration.
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 in connection with our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, unless otherwise
required by applicable law, regulation or stock exchange rules, 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 initial stockholders, officers and
directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any shares of Class B common stock and any public shares held by them
in favor of our initial business combination. 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 without voting, and if they
do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors have
entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any shares
of Class B common stock and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.
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 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Redemptions of our
public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our
initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to
the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or
(3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the
event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all 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,
and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on redemption in connection with 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 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% of the shares sold in the IPO, without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” We believe this restriction
will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to
exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our affiliates to purchase their shares
at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding
more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares
are not purchased by us or our affiliates 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% of the shares sold in the IPO, we believe we will limit the ability of a small
group 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, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or
against our initial business combination.
Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer
or 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 or proxy materials mailed to such holders,
or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials
or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At
Custodian) System, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination 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, which will include the requirement that
any beneficial owner on whose behalf a redemption right is being exercised must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.
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 business 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. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be
not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders
at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders
well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation.
Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced
tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/
Withdrawal At Custodian) System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker
whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require
holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption
rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the
procedures used by 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 or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such
stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had
an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of
the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the
open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to
which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights
surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for
physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once
the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may
be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our
proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of
redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request
that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders
of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved
or completed for any reason, then our public 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 proposed business combination is
not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until the end of the completion window.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business
Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that we will have only the time of the completion window to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete
our initial business combination within such period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) 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 (net of permitted withdrawals 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 (3) 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 the completion
window.
Our initial stockholders, officers and directors
have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust
account with respect to any shares of Class B common stock held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within
the completion window. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers and directors acquires public shares after the IPO, it will be entitled
to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination
within the completion window.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees
have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection
with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within
the completion window, 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 (net of permitted withdrawals), 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 (so that we do not then become
subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules).
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 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 or make other permitted withdrawals, 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 IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without
taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account and any permitted withdrawals or expenses for the dissolution of
the trust, the per share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be $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 $10.00. Please see “Item 1A. Risk Factors — 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 described above. 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 (other than 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 or 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 we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition,
there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of,
any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect
the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third
party (other than our independent 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
(1) $10.00 per public share or (2) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation
of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of permitted
withdrawals, except as to any claims by a third party that executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account
(whether any such waiver is enforceable) and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain
liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds
to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our
sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. Therefore, we cannot
assure you that our sponsor 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. None of our other officers will indemnify us for claims by third
parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account
are reduced below: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the
date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each
case net of permitted withdrawals, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has
no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against
our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent
directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that
our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in certain instances. For example, the cost of
such legal action may be deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or the independent directors
may determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value
of the per share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.00 per share. Please see “Item 1A. Risk Factors — 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 described above.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our
sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other
than our independent registered public accounting firm), 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. Our sponsor will
also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities
under the Securities Act. 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 in the
event we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window 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 complete our initial
business combination within the completion window, 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (1) cease all
operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) 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 (net of permitted withdrawals 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 (3) 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 the expiration of the completion window 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 ten 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 (other than 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 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, our sponsor may be liable only to the
extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) the
actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per
share due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of permitted withdrawals and will not be liable as to any claims
under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
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, and 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. Please see “Item 1A. Risk Factors — 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 the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their
fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.”
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive
funds from the trust account only in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination
within the completion window, if they redeem their respective shares for cash in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance and timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares, or
if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or if they redeem their respective shares for cash
in connection with our initial business combination. 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 our initial 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 described above.
Certain Potential Conflicts of Interest
Mr. Smulyan is the Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer of Emmis Communications; Mr. Walsh is the President, Chief Operating Officer and a director of Emmis Communications;
Mr . Rupe is the Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development of Emmis Communications; Mr. Enright is the Executive
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Emmis Communications and Mr. Hornaday is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer of Emmis Communications. They have responsibilities that include directing Emmis Communications’ strategic
growth and business development. They also have fiduciary and contractual duties to Emmis Communications. As a result, Mr. Smulyan,
Mr. Walsh, Mr. Rupe, Mr. Enright and Mr. Hornaday will have a duty to offer acquisition opportunities that are presented
to them in their capacity as officers and directors of Emmis Communications to Emmis Communications. As a result, Emmis Communications,
such other entities and their respective affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities in the same industries and sectors
as we may target for our initial business combination. If any of them decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from
procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Emmis Communications or any of its affiliates, including
by Mr. Smulyan, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Rupe, Mr. Enright and Mr. Hornaday and other persons who may make decisions for the
company, may be suitable for both us and for Emmis Communications or any of its affiliates or clients, and will be directed initially
to Emmis Communications or such persons rather than to us. None of Mr. Smulyan, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Rupe, Mr. Enright and
Mr. Hornaday or any of their affiliates or members of our management team who are also employed by Emmis Communications or any of
its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware
unless it is offered to them solely in their capacity as a director or officer of the Company and after they have satisfied their contractual
and fiduciary obligations to other parties.
The potential conflicts described above may limit
our ability to enter into a business combination or other transactions. Emmis Communications is a diversified operating company of media
and technology businesses engaged in multiple lines of business that are independent from, and may also from time to time conflict or
compete with, our activities. These circumstances could give rise to numerous situations where interests may conflict. There can be no
assurance that these or other conflicts of interest with the potential for adverse effects on the Company and investors will not arise.
Our sponsor, officers and directors may participate
in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination.
As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination
opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved.
As further described in “Item 1. Business
— Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets” and “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate
Governance — Conflict of Interest,” each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the
future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such
officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our
officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she
has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business
combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines
to present the opportunity to us (including as described above). 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.
The potential conflicts described above may limit our ability to enter
into a business combination or other transactions. These circumstances could give rise to numerous situations where interests may conflict.
There can be no assurance that these or other conflicts of interest with the potential for adverse effects on the Company and investors
will not arise.
Sponsor Indemnity
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable
to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent 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: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) the actual amount
per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due
to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case, net of permitted withdrawals, except as to any claims by a third party
that executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether any such waiver is enforceable) and
except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under
the Securities Act. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations
and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to
satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our
sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. We believe the likelihood of our sponsor having to indemnify the trust account
is limited because we will endeavor to have all vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute
agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at
One EMMIS Plaza, 40 Monument Circle, Suite 700, Indianapolis, IN 46204. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee
that we pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate
for our current operations.
Human Capital Management
We currently have five officers and do not intend
to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team are not obligated
to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs
until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period to our
company will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the
business combination process.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants
are registered under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current
reports with the SEC. the SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains such reports, proxy and information
statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically 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 accounting
firm.
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. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled
to United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as promulgated
by the international accounting standards board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements
may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards to he Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”).
These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable
to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete
our initial business combination within the completion window. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by
us as a potential business combination 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 the requirements outlined above. To the extent that
these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential
business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control
procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to
be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company will we be required to have our internal
control procedures audited. A target business 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 filed a registration statement on Form 8-A with
the SEC to register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations
promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under
the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
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 investors 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 January 1, 2026, (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 common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the prior fiscal year’s second fiscal
quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year
period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
An investment in our securities involves a high
degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this
annual report, the prospectus associated with our IPO and the registration statement of which such prospectus forms a part before making
a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results
may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part
of your investment.
Risk Factors Summary
Our
business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks associated with:
|
·
|
being a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues;
|
|
·
|
our ability to complete our initial business combination, including risks arising from the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19
pandemic;
|
|
·
|
our public stockholders’ ability to exercise redemption rights;
|
|
·
|
the requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the completion window;
|
|
·
|
the possibility that Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange;
|
|
·
|
being declared an investment company under the Investment Company Act;
|
|
·
|
complying with changing laws and regulations;
|
|
·
|
the performance of the prospective target business or businesses;
|
|
·
|
our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;
|
|
·
|
the pool of prospective target businesses available to us and the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential
business combination opportunities;
|
|
·
|
the issuance of additional Class A common stock in connection with a business combination that may dilute the interest of our stockholders;
|
|
·
|
the incentives to our sponsor, officers and directors to complete a business combination to avoid losing their entire investment in
us if our initial business combination is not completed;
|
|
·
|
our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business
or in approving our initial business combination;
|
|
·
|
our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business
combination;
|
|
·
|
our ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
|
|
·
|
our ability to amend the terms of warrants in a manner that may be adverse to the holders of public warrants;
|
|
·
|
our ability to redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise;
|
|
·
|
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; and
|
|
·
|
provisions in our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation and Delaware law that may have the effect of inhibiting a takeover of us and discouraging lawsuits against our directors
and officers.
|
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation
of or Inability to Consummate, an Initial Business Combination
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to
vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our shares of Class B common stock will participate
in such vote, which means we may complete 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 stock exchange
listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, Nasdaq rules currently allow
us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking
to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were
structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval
of such business combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, 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. Even if we seek stockholder approval, the holders
of our shares of Class B common stock will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business
combination even if holders of a majority of our outstanding public shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please
see “Proposed Business — Stockholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination”
for additional information.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination,
our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders
vote.
Our initial stockholders, officers and directors
have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote any shares of Class B common stock and any public shares held by them
in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ shares of Class B common stock,
we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5%, of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in the IPO to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all
issued and outstanding shares are voted) in order to have such initial
business combination approved. We expect that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our outstanding
shares of common stock at the time of any such stockholder vote. 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 initial stockholders
and their permitted transferees agreed to vote their shares of Class B common stock 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 such 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 any target businesses. Additionally, since our board of
directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity
to vote on the business combination. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment
decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which
will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public 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. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the
underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred
underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. 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 (so that we do not then become
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 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. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, 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 may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our
capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our
initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need
to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial
business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price or requires us
to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements
or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected,
we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing.
Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable
levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock results
in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock
at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters
is not required to be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The above considerations
may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public 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 initial business combination agreement requires
us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing,
the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful,
you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate
liquidity, you could attempt to sell your 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 complete our initial business combination
within the completion window may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit
the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution
deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter
into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within the completion
window. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not
complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination
with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited
time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive
investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination
within the completion window, 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 receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain
circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed
that we must complete our initial business combination within the completion window. We may not be able to find a suitable target business
and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be
negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein.
If we have not completed our initial business combination
within such time period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably
possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the
aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (net of permitted withdrawals 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 (3) 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 receive only $10.00 per share, or less
than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 herein.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust
account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the aggregate value of the assets held in the trust account such that
the per share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than your anticipated per share redemption amount.
The funds in the trust account will be invested
only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds that meet certain conditions
under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act and that invest only in direct U.S. government obligations. While short-term U.S.
government treasury bills currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years.
Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal
Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we
are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation,
our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income
not released to us, net of taxes payable. Negative interest rates could impact the per share redemption amount that may be received by
public stockholders.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination,
our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from the public,
which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants
or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our
initial business combination, although they are under no obligation or other duty to do so. Please see “Item 1. Business — Permitted
purchases of our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which stockholders to seek to acquire shares
or warrants. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such public 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 any of their respective affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions
from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling public stockholders would be required
to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount
per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. 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 our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires
us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such
requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination
and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition
in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business
combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could
be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval
in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial
business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16
of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. Please see “Item 1. Business — Permitted
purchases of our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates
will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
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 maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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 or proxy materials documents 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 procedures,
its shares may not be redeemed. Please see “Item 1. Business — Redemption rights for public stockholders in connection
with our initial business combination —Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or 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 earlier to occur of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination,
and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject
to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted 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 provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our
public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window; and (3) the redemption of
all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, subject to
applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the
completion window for any reason, 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 the completion window 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. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the
proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to
sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition
for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable
to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain
circumstances, on our redemption of their stock, 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 will be numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the
net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain
target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. Our sponsor, any of its affiliates or any of
their respective clients may make additional investments in us, although our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or other duty
to do so.
This inherent competitive limitation gives others
an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial
business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for public shares that are redeemed, it will potentially reduce the resources available
to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating
and completing a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive
only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire
worthless. 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 herein.
If the funds available to us outside of the trust account are
insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the completion window, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust
account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the completion window, assuming that our initial business combination
is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans
to address this need for capital through the IPO and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in “Item 7. Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans
to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any
such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
We believe that the funds available to us outside
of the trust account, including permitted withdrawals and loans or additional investments from our sponsor, will be sufficient to allow
us to operate for at least the completion window; 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 or investors
on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have
any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger 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 approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain
circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 herein.
We will depend on permitted withdrawals and loans from our sponsor
or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain
such loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of
the private placement warrants, $800,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements.
In addition, our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors may, but none of them is obligated to, loan us funds
as may be required to fund our working capital requirements. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate
approximately $218,000 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year); however, we can provide no assurances regarding
this amount. 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 may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their respective affiliates
is under any obligation or other duty to loan funds to us in such circumstances. Any such loans would be repaid only from funds held outside
the trust account or from funds released to us in connection with 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. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants
will expire worthless. 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
herein.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination,
we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative
effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of
your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a
target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present
with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence,
or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be
forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in
our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known
risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and
not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions
about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be
subject as a result of assuming pre- existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing.
Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination
could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders 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 will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than
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 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. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of
a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of
other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute
a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a
result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account
for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the
completion window, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be
required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years
following redemption. Accordingly, the per share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per
share amount initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to
us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent 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: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) the actual amount per public share held in
the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value
of the trust assets, in each case net of permitted withdrawals, except as to any claims by a third party that executed a waiver of any
and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether any such waiver is enforceable) and except as to any claims under our
indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have not independently
verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for
such indemnification obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were
successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced
to less than $10.00 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 or directors 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 our sponsor, 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: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as
of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets,
in each case net of permitted withdrawals, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification
obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor
to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf
against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their
business judgment may choose not to do so in certain instances. For example, the cost of such legal action may be deemed by the independent
directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or the independent directors may 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.
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 the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their
fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust
account to our public 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
some or 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 by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims
of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to
our public 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 public stockholders in connection with our liquidation
would be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment
Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it
difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
|
·
|
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
|
|
·
|
restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
|
|
·
|
restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
|
|
·
|
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
|
|
·
|
registration as an investment company with the SEC;
|
|
·
|
adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
|
|
·
|
reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and compliance with other rules and regulations that we are currently
not subject to.
|
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 will be 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. The IPO was 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 to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for
the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do
not complete our initial business combination within the completion window; and (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
within the completion window, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $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 if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window. 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 herein.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any
laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination,
and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations
enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are be required to comply with certain SEC 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, including our ability to
negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating target businesses
in a particular industry nor have we identified any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination,
you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may seek to complete a business combination
with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we are not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation,
permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
Because we have not yet identified or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis
to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity,
financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent
in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking
an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable
or 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 units
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 or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business
combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy
for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that
we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target
that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination
may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and
guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business
combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not
meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does
meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does
not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of 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 applicable law or stock exchange rules, or we decide to
obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain 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 approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the
liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in acquisition targets
that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination in sectors
which may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise if such business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine
that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside
of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or
operation, and the information contained in this Yearly Report on Form 10-K 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 of the significant risk factors relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders
who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value
of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and 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
sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These
risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues
or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our 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 of
the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be
outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target
business.
We are not required to obtain an opinion 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 stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination
with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion 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 stockholders from a financial point of view.
In addition, if our board of directors is not able
to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, in connection with Nasdaq rules that require that an initial
business combination be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets
held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if applicable, and excluding the amount
of any deferred underwriting discount), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA
or from an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
Other than the two circumstances described above,
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. 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 documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional shares of Class A 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 described herein. 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 240,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 60,000,000 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 204,000,000 and 55,000,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class B common stock, respectively, available
for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants. Shares of Class B
common stock are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination,
initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional
shares of Class A common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial business combination 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 additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation or on our initial business combination or that would entitle holders thereof to receive funds from the trust account).
We may also issue shares 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 anti-dilution provisions described herein. 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 (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote on any initial business combination.
The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
|
·
|
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the IPO;
|
|
·
|
may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common
stock or may result in holders of additional common stock having greater voting rights, board representation or other corporate governance
rights; and
|
|
·
|
could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of 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 may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, common stock and/or warrants.
|
Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition
companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional Class A common stock if we issue shares to consummate an initial business
combination.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically
convert into Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination
on a one-for-one basis. However, if additional Class A common stock or any other equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued
in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of
Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of Class A
common stock outstanding upon completion of the IPO plus (ii) the total number of shares of common stock issued, or deemed issued
or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection
with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A common stock or equity-linked
securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business
combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans, provided that such conversion
of shares of Class B common stock will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Resources could be wasted in researching initial business combinations
that are not completed, 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 approximately $10.00 per share,
or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific
target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require
substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a
specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable.
Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination
for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred
which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to
complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain
circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 herein.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with
the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business
which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may materially negatively impact our operations
and profitability.
The net proceeds from the IPO and the sale of
the private placement warrants provided us with $250,000,000 (reflecting the partial exercise of over-allotment) that we may use to complete our
initial business combination (inclusive of 8,750,000 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
We may effectuate our initial business combination
with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able
to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence
of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present
operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing
our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive
and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting
of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different
areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
|
·
|
solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
|
|
·
|
dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
|
This lack of diversification may subject us to
numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry
in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations
with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased
costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several
businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent
on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete
our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens
and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional
risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating
business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with
a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as
profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek
to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private
companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of
limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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 a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for
us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that
does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders
prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending
on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we
issue a substantial number of new shares of 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 our control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The
absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial 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 (such that we do not then become 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. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial 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 initial 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 any of their respective
affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of 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
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 effectuate an initial business combination, blank
check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their
warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing
instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination
that some of our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination,
blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including
their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption
thresholds, extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant
agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend
our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial
business combination. We will offer to redeem our public shares in connection with a vote to extend the completion window or to modify
the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination.
Certain 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 not less than 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 completion 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 (other than amendments relating to the election and removal of directors prior to our initial business
combination, which require the approval by a majority of at least 90% of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting) related to
pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to fund the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified
circumstances and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of at
least 65% of our common stock, 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. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
provides that it may be amended by holders of a majority of our common stock, 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 on our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders, who beneficially own 20% of our common stock, may 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
will govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability
to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. 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 written agreement, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to
modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business
combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window,
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, divided by the
number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor,
officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will
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.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of
the IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination,
because we have not yet identified any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular
transaction. If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because
of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the
obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from 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. In addition, even if we do not need additional
financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target
business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of
the target business. None of our 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 receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our
warrants will expire worthless.
There may be specific risks related to the industries which we
are targeting.
Business combinations with companies in the media,
technology, sports and entertainment sectors require special considerations due to the unique risks inherent in the industry. If we are
successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by,
the following risks:
|
·
|
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have significant impact on these industries, including the unknown future of these industries once
the risks of the pandemic have been resolved, potential changes to revenues from in-person attendance at events, and the unknown length
of time during which the pandemic will impact the world;
|
|
·
|
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of some sporting and entertainment events and may lead to the future cancellation
of such events, which would have a negative commercial impact on the enterprise;
|
|
·
|
The popularity of sports may be impacted by the performance of the franchise in competition, over which influence may be exerted but
control may not exist, meaning that negative performances could adversely affect supporter enthusiasm and potentially decrease revenues;
|
|
·
|
Seasonal concerns, including weather-related challenges and the potential impact of global environmental change, may impact the team’s
performance and ability to compete, and may adversely impact demand for tickets to attend the team’s performances;
|
|
·
|
Fewer people consuming various forms of entertainment and subsequently diminished advertising revenue and capital inflows into media;
|
|
·
|
Business interruptions due to natural disasters, terrorist incidents, outbreak of disease and other events;
|
|
·
|
Delays and interruptions to entertainment production due to COVID-19 restrictions;
|
|
·
|
If our security is compromised or if our platform is subjected to attacks that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access
our products and services, our users, advertisers, and partners may cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether, which
could seriously harm our business;
|
|
·
|
Mobile malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, spamming, and improper or illegal use of our products could seriously harm
our business and reputation;
|
|
·
|
If we are unable to successfully grow our user base and further monetize our products, our business will suffer;
|
|
·
|
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and our
business may be seriously harmed;
|
|
·
|
We may be subject to regulatory investigations and proceedings in the future, which could cause us to incur substantial costs or require
us to change our business practices in a way that could seriously harm our business;
|
|
·
|
An inability to deal with subscribers’ or customers’ privacy concerns;
|
|
·
|
An inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend;
|
|
·
|
An inability by us, or a refusal by third parties, to license content to us upon acceptable terms;
|
|
·
|
Potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials
that we may distribute; and
|
|
·
|
Competition for the media and entertainment time and discretionary spending of subscribers or customers, which may intensify in part
due to advances in technology and changes in consumer expectations and behavior.
|
Any of these risks could adversely impact our operations
or the value of the enterprise following a business combination. Certain acquisition opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for
us may not be deemed appropriate by management or may not be available to us due to these challenges. Management’s efforts to identify
prospective target businesses will not be limited to the sports, media and entertainment sectors. In the event that the company acquires
a business in a separate industry, the risks outlined above may not impact us, though we will be impacted by other risks attendant with
the specific industry in which the company operates, none of which can be presently ascertained until that company and its industry are
identified.
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 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”)
outbreak.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization
officially declared the outbreak of the COVID-19 a “pandemic.” Significant outbreaks of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases
could result in widespread health crises 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 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.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
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
listed on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to the IPO we expect to meet the minimum initial listing standards set forth in Nasdaq
listing standards, 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. In general, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholder’s equity (generally
$2,500,000) and a minimum of 300 public holders. Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required
to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial 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 per share, our stockholder’s equity would
generally be required to be at least $5 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our unrestricted
securities (with at least 50% of such round-lot holders holding unrestricted securities with a market value of at least $2,500). We cannot
assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists any of our securities from trading
on its exchange and we are not able to list such securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be
quoted on an over-the- counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
|
·
|
a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
|
|
·
|
reduced liquidity for our securities;
|
|
·
|
a determination that our Class A 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;
|
|
·
|
a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
|
|
·
|
a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
|
The National Securities Markets Improvement
Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are
referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock
and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will qualify as covered securities
under such statute. 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 qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our
securities.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to
investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale
of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has
not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the U.S. securities laws. However, because have
net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet of our company
demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419.
Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units
will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject
to Rule 419. Moreover, if the IPO were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds
held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion
of our initial business combination.
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% 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% of the shares sold in the
IPO, without our prior consent, 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
initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial
business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions.
Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination.
And as a result, you will continue to hold the Excess Shares and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your Excess
Shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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 complete
our initial business combination within the completion window 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
the 24th month from the closing of the IPO in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not
intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we do not intend to comply 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 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, consultants, 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 complete our initial business combination within the
completion window 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
we consummate our initial business combination and you will not be entitled to any of the corporate protections provided by such a meeting.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance
requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our fiscal year end following our listing on
Nasdaq. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination and thus may not
be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing
directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore,
if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our 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.
Moreover, our Class B stockholders will be entitled to elect all of our directors prior to the completion of our initial business
combination and may elect to do so by written consent without a meeting.
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 have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the
closing of our initial business combination, we will use our reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days
following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of
Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A
common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts
or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial
statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the
shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, 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 or qualification 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 use our reasonable 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, or issue securities or other
compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under
applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so
registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such
warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase
of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the 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
and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such
rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into
concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the IPO, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can
demand that we register the resale of their shares of Class B common stock after those shares convert to shares of our Class A
common stock at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that
we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the
private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we
register the resale of such warrants or the Class A 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 complete. 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 or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants owned by our sponsor, the warrants issued in connection
with working capital loans are registered for resale.
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.
Although we have no commitments as of the date
of this annual report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following the IPO, we may choose
to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless
we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account.
As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence
of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
|
·
|
default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our
debt obligations;
|
|
·
|
acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach
certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
|
|
·
|
our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
|
|
·
|
our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing
while the debt security is outstanding;
|
|
·
|
our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
|
|
·
|
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, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; limitations
on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; and
|
|
·
|
increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government
regulation; and limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service
requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
|
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.
Upon the closing of the IPO, our initial
stockholders owned 20% of our outstanding common stock. In addition, the shares of Class B common stock, all of which are held by
our initial stockholders, will entitle the holders to elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business
combination. Holders of our public shares will 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, other than as disclosed in this annual
report. 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.
Please see “Item 1. Proposed Business — Permitted purchases of our securities.”
Our sponsor contributed $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per
share of Class B common stock, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A
common stock.
The difference between the public offering price
per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and
the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after the IPO constitutes the dilution to you and
the other investors in the IPO. Our sponsor acquired the shares of Class B common stock at a nominal price, significantly contributing
to this dilution. Upon the closing of the IPO, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the
other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 92.5% (or $9.25 per share), the difference
between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.75 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. In addition,
because of the anti-dilution rights of the shares of Class B common stock, any equity or equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued
in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be
adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result,
the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the warrants could be converted into cash or stock (at a ratio different than
initially provided), 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 50% 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 50% 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 50% of the then outstanding
public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of
the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or
decrease the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant. Our initial stockholders may purchase
public warrants with the intention of reducing the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters
submitted to warrant holders for approval, including amending the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to the interests
of the registered holders of public warrants. While our initial stockholders have no current commitments, plans or intentions to
engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for such transactions, there is no limit on the number
of our public warrants that our initial more acute as the deadline for completing our initial business combination nears.
stockholders may purchase and it is not currently known how many public warrants, if any, our initial stockholders may hold at the
time of our initial business combination or at any other time during which the terms of the public warrants may be proposed to be
amended. Please see “Item 1. Business — Permitted purchases of our securities.”
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 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 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 we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. 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 to: (1) exercise your
warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so (2) sell your warrants
at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption
price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market
value of your warrants.
Our warrants and shares of Class B common stock may have an adverse
effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 12,500,000
shares of our Class A common stock (reflecting a partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), at a
price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the units offered by annual report.
Concurrently with the completion of the IPO, we issued in the Private Placement an aggregate of 7,000,000 private placement
warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment
as provided herein. Our initial stockholders, which include our sponsor, currently hold 6,250,000 shares of Class B common stock. The shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of Class A common
stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or
certain of our officers and directors make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants,
at the price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement
warrants.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common
stock to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A
common stock upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business.
Any such issuance will increase the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A
common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants and shares of Class B common stock may make it more
difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to
the warrants sold as part of the units in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees:
(1) they will not be redeemable by us; (2) 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 by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion
of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders thereof
(including with respect to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the City of New
York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and
exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability
of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to
applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will
be brought and enforced in the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court
for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the
exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts
represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions
of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim
for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing
or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions
in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement,
is filed in a court other than a court of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court
for the Southern District of New York, a “foreign action” in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be
deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection
with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions, and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant
holder in any such action brought in such court to enforce the forum provisions by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in
the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a
warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may
discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or
unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated
with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition
and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult
for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if
|
(i)
|
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 a newly issued price of less than $9.20 per share;
|
|
(ii)
|
the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available
for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions),
and
|
|
(iii)
|
the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading
day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination is below $9.20 per share,
|
then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal
to 115% of the greater of the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period
starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination 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 greater of the volume weighted
average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on
which we consummate our initial business combination and the newly issued price. This will make it more difficult for us to consummate
an initial business combination with a target business.
The determination of the offering price of our units and
the size of the IPO is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry.
You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than
you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to the IPO there has been no public market
for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the
underwriters. In determining the size of the IPO, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters,
both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed
they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of the IPO, prices and terms of the units,
including the Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
|
·
|
the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
|
|
·
|
prior offerings of those companies;
|
|
·
|
our prospects for acquiring an operating business;
|
|
·
|
a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
|
|
·
|
an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying suitable acquisition opportunities;
|
|
·
|
general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the IPO; and
|
|
·
|
other factors as were deemed relevant.
|
Although these factors were considered, the determination
of our offering size, price and the terms of the units, including the Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units,
is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations
or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market
for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities.
Stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following
the IPO, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic
conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop
or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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 include 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 complete our initial business
combination within the completion window.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make
it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase
the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires
that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31,
2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth
company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal
control over financial reporting. 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 control over financial reporting. The fact that
we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared
to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance
with the provisions of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of
any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such initial
business combination.
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 three-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series
of preferred shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve
payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Section 203 of the DGCL affects the ability
of an “interested stockholder” to engage in certain business combinations, for a period of three years following the
time that the stockholder becomes an “interested stockholder.” We elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject
to Section 203 of the DGCL. Nevertheless, our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that have the same effect as Section 203
of the DGCL, except that it provides that affiliates of our sponsor and their transferees will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders,”
regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and will therefore not be subject to such restrictions. These charter
provisions may limit the ability of third parties to acquire control of our company.
Risks Relating to Our Management Team
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other
businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of
interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to,
and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations
and our search for a business combination and their other responsibilities. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to
the completion of our business combination. Each of our officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which
he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number
of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, Mr. Smulyan is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Emmis Communications;
Mr. Walsh is the President, Chief Operating Officer and a director of Emmis Communications; Mr. Rupe is the Senior Vice President,
Strategy and Corporate Development of Emmis Communications; Mr. Enright is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
of Emmis Communications; and Mr. Hornaday is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Emmis Communications.
They may make investments in securities or other interests of or relating to companies in industries that we may make target for our initial
business combination. They will not have any duty to offer acquisition opportunities to us. In addition, they may have time and attention
requirements for other blank check companies that Emmis Communications may sponsor in the future.
If our officers’ and directors’ other
business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could
limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” for a discussion of our officers’ and directors’
other business affairs.
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their departure
could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively
small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until
we have completed our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of any
of our other directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental
effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination
and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial
business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial
business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however,
cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory
positions following our initial business combination, we do not currently expect that any of them will do so. 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.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements
with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned
on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may cause our key personnel to have conflicts of interest in determining
whether to proceed with a particular business combination. However, we do not expect that any of our key personnel will remain with us
after the completion of our initial business combination.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with
our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting
agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of
the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our
securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make
such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. 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 completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our
decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination, as we do not expect that any of our key
personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. The determination as to whether any of our
key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective
target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the
skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our
initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited
due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore,
may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’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 or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder
or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders
or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an initial business
combination 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 initial business
combination 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 initial
business combination 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. As a result, we may need to reconstitute the management team of the post-transaction company
in connection with our initial business combination, which may adversely impact our ability to complete an initial business combination
in a timely manner or at all.
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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity or other transaction should
be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination,
we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are,
or may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar
business. We do not have employment contracts with our officers and directors that will limit their ability to work at other businesses.
In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank
check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts
of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which
they may become involved.
As described in “Item 1. Business — Sourcing
of Potential Business Combination Targets” and “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts
of Interest,” each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual
or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present
a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination
opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he
or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present
it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us (including as described in
“Item 1. Business — Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets”). 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 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.
Please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive
Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related
Party Transactions” for a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and potential conflicts of
interest.
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective
affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits
our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment
to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. We do not have a policy that expressly
prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such
persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
In particular, affiliates of our sponsor, our directors
and our officers have invested, and may in the future invest, in a broad array of sectors, including those in which our company may invest.
As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that
would make an attractive target for such other affiliates. Please see “Proposed Business — Certain Potential Conflicts
of Interest” for additional information.
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 or directors which may raise potential
conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers
and directors with other businesses, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with or competitive with our sponsor,
officers and directors, and their respective affiliates. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including,
without limitation, those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts
of Interest.” 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 initial business combination with any entities with which they
are affiliated, and there have been no substantive 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 “Proposed Business — Effecting
our Initial Business Combination” and “— Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination”
and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and 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 stockholders from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated
with our sponsor, officers or directors, 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.
Since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment
in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may hold), a conflict of
interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In October 2020, our sponsor purchased
an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per
share. The number of shares of class B common stock issued was determined based on the expectation that the shares of Class B common
stock would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon the completion of the IPO. In January 2021, each of our
three independent directors purchased 25,000 shares of Class B common stock from our sponsor. In January 2021, we effected 0.09 for
1 stock dividend for each share of Class B common stock for each outstanding share of Class B common stock, resulting in our
initial stockholders holding an aggregate of 6,267,500 shares of Class B common stock. Prior to the completion of the IPO, up to
817,500 shares were subject to forfeiture. At closing, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment
option. Accordingly, following the completion of the IPO, we forfeited 17,500 shares, resulting in our initial stockholders holding
an aggregate amount of 6,250,000 shares of Class B common stock. The shares of Class B common stock will be worthless if we do not
complete an initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor has subscribed to purchase
an aggregate of 7,000,000 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $7,000,000, or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless
if we do not complete our initial business combination. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share
of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
The shares of Class B common stock are
identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in IPO, except that: (1) only
holders of the shares of Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election and removal of directors prior to our initial
business combination; (2) the shares of Class B common stock are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more
detail below; (3) our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have
agreed to: (a) waive their redemption rights with respect to any shares of Class B common stock and any public shares held by
them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (b) waive their redemption rights with respect to
any shares of Class B common stock and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to
our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the
redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have
not consummated our initial business combination within the completion window; and (c) waive their rights to liquidating
distributions from the trust account with respect to any shares of Class B common stock held by them if we fail to complete our
initial business combination within the completion window (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the
trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the
completion window); (4) the shares of Class B common stock are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common
stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain
anti-dilution rights, as described herein; and (5) the holders of shares of Class B common stock are entitled to registration
rights.
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor,
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. This risk may become more
acute as the deadline for completing our initial business combination nears.
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign
Countries
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities
outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing
to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional
risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If our management team pursues a company with operations
or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border
business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting
due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes
in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with
such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting,
including any of the following:
|
·
|
costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements
of overseas markets;
|
|
·
|
rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
|
|
·
|
complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
|
|
·
|
laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
|
|
·
|
tariffs and trade barriers;
|
|
·
|
regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
|
|
·
|
currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
|
|
·
|
challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
|
|
·
|
cultural and language differences;
|
|
·
|
employment regulations;
|
|
·
|
crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
|
|
·
|
deterioration of political relations with the United States;
|
|
·
|
obligatory military service by personnel; and
|
|
·
|
government appropriation of assets.
|
We may not be able to adequately address these
additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination or, if we complete such initial
business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial
condition.
If our management following our initial business combination
is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead
to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, any
or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the Company, and the management of the target business at the
time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws.
If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws.
This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
General Risk Factors
We are a newly incorporated 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 newly incorporated company with no operating
results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through the IPO. Because we lack an operating history, you have no
basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or
more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination
and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never
generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by Emmis Communications and our management team
is not indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses
associated with, Emmis Communications and our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by Emmis
Communications and 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 Emmis Communications and our management team’s performance as indicative of our future performance or of an investment
in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. Our officers and directors have had limited experience
with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the past.
Certain agreements related to the IPO may be amended without
stockholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the underwriting
agreement relating to the IPO, the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors, and 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. 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 amendments would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination
that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities
Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make
our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company”
within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting
requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being
required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations
regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding
advisory vote on executive compensation and 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 common stock
held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer
be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive
because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions,
the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities
and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act
exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies
(that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered
under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company
can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but
any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a
standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company,
can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our
financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has
opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards
used.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
will require, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any derivative
action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or
former director, officer, employee, agent to us or our stockholders, (c) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision
of the DGCL, the amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (d) any action asserting a claim governed by the
internal affairs doctrine shall be the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware
lacks jurisdiction over such action or proceeding, then another court of the State of Delaware or, if no court of the State of Delaware
has jurisdiction, then the United States District Court for the District of Delaware). Unless we consent in writing to the selection of
an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any
complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Although we believe this forum provision benefits us by providing
increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this
provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our
directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the
rules and regulations thereunder. Further, if any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of Delaware (a “foreign action”)
in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to (i) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal
courts located within the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement
action”), and (ii) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such stockholder’s
counsel in the foreign action as agent for such stockholder.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
does not purport to require suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act to be brought in the Court of Chancery
of the State of Delaware or another court of the State of Delaware. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction
over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.