We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (‘SPACs’)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. As a result of the SEC Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 6,250,000 public warrants and 4,666,667 private placement warrants, and determined to classify the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
Following this issuance of the SEC Statement, on May 12, 2021, our management and our audit committee concluded that, in light of the SEC Statement, it was appropriate to restate our previously issued audited financial statements as of and for the period ended December 31, 2020 (the “Restatement”). Our management and our audit committee also concluded that it was appropriate to restate previously issued financial statements for the Affected Periods. As part of such process, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
As described elsewhere in the First Amended Filing, we have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to the warrants we issued in connection with our initial public offering in September 2020. As a result of this material weakness, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of our derivative warrant liabilities, change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, accumulated deficit and related financial disclosures as of and for the period from August 5, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to our accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to the warrants we issued in connection with the
September 2020
initial public offering, see “Note 2 —Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements” to the accompanying financial statements, as well as Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in the First Amended Filing.
As described elsewhere in this Amendment No. 2, we have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to its accounting classification of the Public Shares. As a result of this material weakness, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. Historically, a portion of the Public Shares was classified as permanent equity to maintain shareholders’ equity greater than $5 million on the basis that the Company will not redeem its Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, as described in the Charter. Previously, the Company did not consider redeemable stock classified as temporary equity as part of net tangible assets. Effective with these financial statements, the Company revised this interpretation to include temporary equity in net tangible assets. Pursuant to the Company’s re-evaluation of the Company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to its accounting classification of the Public Shares, the Company’s management has determined that the Public Shares include certain provisions that require classification of all of the Public Shares as temporary equity. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to the Company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to its accounting classification of the Public Share, see “Note 2” to the accompanying financial statements, as well as Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Following the issuance of the SEC Statement, our management and our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from August 5, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. Our management and our audit committee also concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued financial statements for the Affected Periods. See “—We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.” As part of the restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
As a result of such material weakness, the Restatement, the change in accounting for the warrants, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the Restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a Business Combination.