ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on May 13, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
On September 15, 2020, we consummated our initial public offering (“Public Offering”) of 30,000,000 units, including the issuance of 530,031 units as a result of the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option on October 14, 2020 (the “Over-Allotment”). Each unit consists of one share of Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of $300,000,000. Prior to the consummation of the Public Offering, on May 19, 2020, Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”) for $25,000, or $0.004 per share. The Sponsor surrendered 992,425 Founder Shares for no consideration in connection with the expiration of the remaining underwriters’ over-allotment option. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of Founder Shares outstanding was determined based on the Company’s expectation that the total size of the Public Offering would be a maximum of 34,500,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised in full, and therefore that such Founder Shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the Public Offering.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering, pursuant to the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 8,000,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to our sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $8,000,000. On October 14, 2020, in connection with the Over-Allotment, our sponsor purchased an additional 106,060 Private Placement Warrants, generating additional proceeds of $106,060. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Warrants sold in the Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants, so long as they are held by Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) are not redeemable by the Company, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such Private Placement Warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by such holders until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sale. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants. If the Company does not consummate its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing the Public Offering, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The issuance of the Private Placement Warrants was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Upon the closing of the Public Offering and the Private Placement, $305,300,010 was placed in a Trust Account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee (the “Trust Account”). Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any, and to fund our working capital requirements (subject to an annual limit of  $100,000), our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Charter”) provides that none of the funds held in trust will be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022, subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination by September 15, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders. The proceeds held in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.
After the payment of underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion of $10,500,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions, which amount will be payable upon consummation of our initial business combination if consummated) and approximately $529,972 in expenses relating to the Public Offering, approximately $1,683,236 of the net proceeds of the Public Offering and Private Placement was not deposited into the Trust Account and was retained by us for working capital purposes. The net proceeds deposited into the Trust Account remain on deposit in the Trust Account earning interest. As of December 31, 2020, there was $305,311,303 in investments and cash held in the Trust Account and $1,605,045 of cash held outside the Trust Account available for working capital purposes. As of December 31, 2020, no funds had been withdrawn from the Trust Account to pay the Company’s income taxes.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash held in the Trust Account, our equity, 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 redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the Trust Account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
Sources of Target Businesses
While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. We believe our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors, on fundamentally sound but stressed businesses in the UK and Europe, to create value for our shareholders, and that our contacts and sources, ranging from owners of private and public companies, private equity funds, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants and business brokers in these sectors will allow us to generate attractive acquisition opportunities. Our Charter prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. However, we may 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 shareholders 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 sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities 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 shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and 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 taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital planning experience. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Redemption Rights for Holders of Public Shares Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions 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 rights 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. 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 their founder shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Conduct of Redemptions Pursuant to Tender Offer Rules
We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules.
Submission of Our Initial Business Combination to a shareholder Vote
If we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive approval pursuant to an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination. Each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem its Public Shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial shareholders, 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 their Founder Shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the NYSE rules. However, we understand that they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the Trust Account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the 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 warrantholders 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. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants 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.
Limitation on Redemption Rights Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined in Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to excess shares without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force the Company or management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Public Offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our Sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in the Public Offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against the Company’s initial business combination.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of 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 24-month time period.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our issued and outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Employees
We currently have two officers: Marc Jonas and Edward Hawkes. These individuals 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 they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Available Information
We are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events (e.g., changes in corporate control, acquisitions or dispositions of a significant amount of assets other than in the ordinary course of business and bankruptcy) in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website is located at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 7 Portman Mews South, Marylebone, London W1H 6AY, United Kingdom or by telephone at +44 (0) 207-725-0800.
ITEM 1A.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the prospectus associated with our initial public offering, 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.
We are a blank check 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 blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. In such case, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.
Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding our initial business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders own shares representing approximately 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares and have agreed to vote their shares in favor of an initial business combination. Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive approval pursuant to an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. 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. 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 condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore 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 are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to 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.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
Since it was first reported to have emerged in December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has spread across the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in, a widespread health crisis adversely affecting the economies and financial markets worldwide, potentially including the business of any potential target business with which we intend to consummate a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination at all if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or make it impossible or impractical to negotiate and consummate a transaction with the target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers in a timely manner, if at all. 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 that may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022. 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 (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of applicable law.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants 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 to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the NYSE rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our 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 warrantholders 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.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by September 15, 2022, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder 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.
The NYSE 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 ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE. We cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, following our initial public offering, we must maintain a minimum amount of shareholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
•a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
•reduced liquidity for our securities;
•a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock,” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
•a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
•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 ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the 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 the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined in 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 Public Offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open-market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open-market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter 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 similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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, our results of operations and our share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct 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 within 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 debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 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, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, 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 shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a letter agreement signed in connection with the Public Offering, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. 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 or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, 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 and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency 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 shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders 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 shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency 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 shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may 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;
·adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
·reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our 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 that 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 trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination by September 15, 2022, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders 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 complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 will 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.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination by September 15, 2022, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond 24 months before redemption from our trust account can occur.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination by September 15, 2022, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that, immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offense and may be liable for a fine of $18,292.68 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption from registration. If holders exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of Class A ordinary shares that they will receive upon such cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).
In no event will warrants 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.
If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act. In the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold than upon a cash exercise.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) 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 the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws. 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 will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance in which an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in the Public Offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you do not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company about which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within 20 business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Because we neither are limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have selected any 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.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors, on fundamentally sound but stressed businesses in the UK and Europe. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Information regarding our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team and their affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our shareholders, or of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experiences of our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team or their affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in the Public Offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event that we elect to pursue a business combination 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 our final prospectus 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 ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders 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 guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we pay in our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained therein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with the redemption of our warrants or Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Public Offering;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares;
• could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares 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, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants.
Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Resources could be expended in researching 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 shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, 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, consultants 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 shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception. Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year (and, in the case of the startup exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current taxable year). However, our actual PFIC status for any taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our officers and directors and the members of our advisory board. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers, directors and members of our advisory board, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of 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. However, the role of our key personnel in the target business cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
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 provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with 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, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss 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, which could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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 businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. 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.
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, the members of our management team have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Public Offering. We do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. 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.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our 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 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 a valuation or appraisal firm regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
Approximately $305 million of the net proceeds of the initial public offering and certain of the proceeds of the private placement of warrants were placed in the Trust Account (including $10.6 million of deferred underwriting commissions).
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 developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. 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 business combination 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 shareholders 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 sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities 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 Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We 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 shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination and that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months of the closing of the Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected 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.
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company (or 65% of our ordinary shares with respect to amendments to the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the Public Offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, under Cayman Islands law which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, 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 ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of the Public Offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in the Public Offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
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 memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by September 15, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our shareholders 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, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors may be amended without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors contain provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement may be amended without shareholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer the founder shares for 185 days following the date of our final prospectus will require the prior written consent of the underwriters). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter agreement 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 the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial 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. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial shareholders owned 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the closing of the Public Offering. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in our final prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
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 a majority of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that 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 a majority 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 of public warrants if holders of at least a majority 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 a majority 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 shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If (i) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary 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 Market Value of our Class A ordinary shares is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.
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 closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send proper notice of such redemption to the warrants holders and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) 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.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 15,265,150 of our Class A ordinary shares as part of our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we issued 8,106,060 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. In addition, if our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors makes any working capital loans, such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,500,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and 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 (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
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 that 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 controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders’ derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target 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 initial business 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 we pursue a target 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;
• rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
• complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
• laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
• exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;
• tariffs and trade barriers;
• regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
• local or regional economic policies and market conditions;
• unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
• challenges in managing and staffing international operations;
• longer payment cycles;
• tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
• currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
• rates of inflation;
• challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
• cultural and language differences;
• employment regulations;
• underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;
• corruption;
• protection of intellectual property;
• social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;
• epidemics and pandemics;
• regime changes and political upheaval;
• terrorist attacks and wars; and
• deterioration of political relations with the United States.
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, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States 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, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States 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.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’s ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event that we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
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 Cayman Islands or 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.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
ITEM IB. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
ITEM 2.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
Our executive offices are located at 7 Portman Mews South, Marylebone, London W1H 6AY, United Kingdom. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
ITEM 3.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
As of December 31, 2020, to the knowledge of our management, there was no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding.
ITEM 4.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
PART II
ITEM 5.
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE under the symbols “BSN.U,” “BSN” and “BSN WS”, respectively.
Holders
As of March 25, 2021, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares, one holder of record of our Class B ordinary shares and two holders of record of our warrants. The number of holders of record does not include a substantially greater number of “street name” holders or beneficial holders whose units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
The sales of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants to our Sponsor and our initial shareholders as described herein were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act, in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering.
Use of Proceeds
On September 10, 2020, our registration statement on Form S-l (File No. 333-245663) was declared effective by the SEC for the Public Offering pursuant to which we sold an aggregate of 30,000,000 units at an offering price to the public of $10.00 per unit for an aggregate offering price of $300,000,000, with each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one Warrant. On October 14, 2020, the underwriters purchased 530,301 Over-Allotment Units pursuant to the partial exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. The Over-Allotment Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $5,303,010. Each whole Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as the representative for the underwriters (the “Underwriters”). The Public Offering did not terminate before all of the securities registered in our registration statement were sold. The Public Offering was consummated on September 15, 2020.
The net proceeds from the Public Offering and the Private Placement, including deferred underwriting discounts of approximately $10,685,605, are held in the Trust Account at December 31, 2020. We incurred offering costs of approximately $16.6 million (including $6,106,060 in underwriting discounts). In addition, the Underwriters agreed to defer approximately $10,685,605 in underwriting discounts, which amount will be payable when and if a business combination is consummated. No payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning ten percent or more of our ordinary shares or to their associates, or to our affiliates. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from the Public Offering as described in our final prospectus dated September 10, 2020, which was filed with the SEC.
ITEM 6.
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Not applicable.
Item 7.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion And Analysis
References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Broadstone Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, possible business combinations and the financing thereof, and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-K. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on May 13, 2020. We were formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). We are an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
Our sponsor is Broadstone Sponsor LLP, a United Kingdom limited liability partnership (the “Sponsor”). Our registration statement for the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on September 10, 2020. On September 15, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 30,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $16.6 million, inclusive of approximately $10.5 million in deferred underwriting commissions. On October 14, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 530,301 units (the “Over-Allotment Units”). On October 14, 2020, we completed the sale of the Over-Allotment Units to the underwriters (the “Over-Allotment”), generating gross proceeds of approximately $5.3 million, and incurred additional offering costs of approximately $292,000 in underwriting fees (inclusive of approximately $186,000 in deferred underwriting commissions).
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 8,000,000 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) to our Sponsor, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $8.0 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment Units, on October 14, 2020, we consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 106,060 Private Placement Warrants by our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $106,060.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Over-Allotment and the Private Placement, $305.3 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and was invested only 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 that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, until the earlier of (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination.
If we are unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or September 15, 2022 (the “Combination Period”), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of applicable law.
Results of Operations
Our entire activity since inception through December 31, 2020 related to our formation, the preparation for the Initial Public Offering, and since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial Business Combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had net loss of approximately $236,000, which consisted of approximately $244,000 in general and administrative costs partially offset by income earned on investments in Trust Account of approximately $8,000.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $1.6 million in our operating bank account and working capital of approximately $1.6 million.
To date, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through a payment of $25,000 from our Sponsor to cover certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for the issuance of the Founder Shares to our Sponsor, a loan of approximately $133,000 pursuant to a promissory note issued to our Sponsor and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. We repaid the promissory note on September 15, 2020. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our officers, directors and Initial Shareholders may, but are not obligated to, provide us Working Capital Loans. To date, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity from our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor, or our officers and directors to meet our needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, we will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
We continue to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the balance sheet. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an administrative services agreement to pay our Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us.
Critical Accounting Policies
This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to fair value of financial instruments and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We have identified the following as our critical accounting policies:
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2020, 29,126,270 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the balance sheet.
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the periods. Our statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for ordinary shares subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class A ordinary shares is determined by dividing the income earned on investments held in the Trust Account of $8,300 for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 by the weighted average number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Net loss per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class B ordinary shares is determined by dividing the net loss of approximately $236,000 for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, less income attributable to Class A ordinary shares of $8,300, by the weighted average number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding for the period.
Recent Accounting Standards
Our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
ITEM 7A.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
ITEM 8.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
This information appears following Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 9.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM 9A.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in Company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020 (the “Evaluation Date”). Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15 (e) and 15d-15 (e) under the Exchange Act) were effective.
During the most recently completed fiscal quarter, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
This annual report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting due to a transition period established by rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission for newly public companies. This annual report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. As an emerging growth company, management’s report is not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm.
ITEM 9B.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
PART III
ITEM 10.
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Directors and Executive Officers
Our directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name
Age
Position
Hugh Osmond
Chairman and Director
Marc Jonas
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Edward Hawkes
Chief Financial Officer and Director
Ian Cormack
Director
Rory Cullinan
Director
Philip Bassett
Director
Hugh Osmond has been our Chairman and a member of our board of directors since September 2020. Mr. Osmond is the co-founder of Sun Capital Partners and Osmond Capital Ltd., where he has served as a director since July 2017. Additionally, Mr. Osmond has been a director of Various Eateries Limited since January 2015 and holds multiple other directorships, including Coppa Club, Strada Trading, Apex2100, Mudlark Hotels, Xercise2, Devonshire Place Holdings and Well Barn Farm. Mr. Osmond co-founded Pearl Group in 2005 and Punch Group in 1997, where he served as Executive Chairman, and, in 1993, he led the acquisition of Pizza Express and was a member of its Executive Board until 2001. He studied Medicine at The University of Oxford.
Mark Jonas has been our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since September 2020. Mr. Jonas is a co-founder of Sun Capital Partners and has been a director of SunCap Ltd. since July 2017, Clarendon Park Farms since August 2006 and Auro Property Advisors since November 2014. Mr. Jonas had previously served as Chairman of Pearl Group’s Asset/Liabilities Investment Management Committee and co-founded Wellington Pub Company in 1997 (where he was Managing Director) and Punch Group in 1997 and Mr. Jonas was Executive Chairman of Punch Taverns’ tenanted business prior to its flotation and served as a non-executive director until 2004. Mr. Jonas is a director of Carnegie Capital Estates, a real estate developer in the UK, and also holds several other directorships, including Apex2100, Clarendon Park Estate, Zeta Shares and Carnegie Capital Estates. Mr. Jonas sits on the Investment Committee as a non executive at Marylebone Partners and is on the Advisory Board of Delancey, a real estate company. He studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at The University of Oxford.
Edward Hawkes, has been our Chief Financial Officer and a member of our board of directors since May 2020. Mr. Hawkes is the co-founder of Sun Capital Partners and has been a director of SunCap Ltd. since July 2017. In addition, Mr. Hawkes has served on the board of directors of Keepmoat Group and its shareholding entity KM Baker Street since August 2014. Mr. Hawkes co-founded Pearl Group in 2005 and co-led its acquisition of Resolution Plc in 2008 and its reverse merger into Liberty Acquisitions Holdings (International) Company in 2009. Mr. Hawkes holds multiple directorships, including Heron Farms, Mudlark Hotels and Various Eateries. He studied Economics and Management at The University of Oxford.
Ian Cormack has served as a director since September 2020. Mr. Cormack has been a non-executive director at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Natwest Holdings Ltd., National Westminster Bank Plc and Ulster Bank Ltd since May 2018 and at Just Group Plc since April 2016. Mr. Cormack had also served as the chairman of Maven Income & Growth VCT4 Plc from 2004 to 2019 and had previously been a senior independent director of Phoenix Group Holdings Plc (2009 to 2018), Xchanging Plc (2013 to 2016), Partnership Plc (2013 to 2016) and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (2011 to 2015) and a non-executive director of Qatar Financial Centre Authority (2006 to 2012). Mr. Cormack has also served as the chairman of CHAPS (UK clearing system) and as a non-executive director of Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. and Hastings Group Holdings Plc. Mr. Cormack was the chief executive officer of AIG Europe Inc. from 2000 to 2002 and had spent over 30 years at Citibank until 2000, where he was UK Country Head and the Co-head of the Global Financial Institutions Group. Mr. Cormack studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.
Rory Cullinan has served as a director since September 2020. Mr. Cullinan has been a Non-Executive Director of Cia Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (representing Heineken) since May 2018. Mr. Cullinan was also a Non-Executive Director of J2 Acquisition Limited from September 2016 to October 2019. He previously spent 10 years at the Royal Bank of Scotland (2009 to 2015 and 2001 to 2005), where his positions included Executive Chairman, CIB & Capital Resolutions, CEO of the Capital Resolution Group, CEO of the Non-Core Division and Head of Equity Finance. In 2015, Mr. Cullinan was the Co-Managing Partner of Renaissance Partners in Moscow and a Group Board Member Group Board and Exco. Prior to that he was head of financial services at Permira from 2005 to 2006. In 1992, Mr. Cullinan founded Verdoso Investments, and he was the COO and CFO of Pembridge Investments/DRG Plc from 1989 to 1992. Prior to that Mr. Cullinan worked for Citibank in South Africa, London and New York.
Philip Bassett has served as a director since September 2020. Mr. Bassett founded Brightwell Partners Limited in July 2015 and currently serves as its managing director (since November 2018). In addition, Mr. Bassett is a designated member of Brightwell Equity Partners LLP (since December 2014) and Oxwich Coal House Ltd. (since August 2012). Prior to founding Brightwell, Mr. Bassett spent over 20 years at Permira Advisers LLP, where he was a partner from January 2004 to June 2015 and served as the head of investor relations and fundraising. Mr. Bassett became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1992 and studied Classics at the University of Oxford.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of six members and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Bassett and Mr. Cullinan, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Hawkes and Mr. Cormack, will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Mr. Osmond and Mr. Jonas, will expire at the third annual general meeting.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Director Independence
The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). We have three “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. Cormack, Mr. Cullinan and Mr. Bassett is an “independent director” as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. We intend to have a majority of independent directors on our board within one year following the Public Offering. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Board Committees
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. The rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act generally require that these committees be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
We have an audit committee comprised of Mr. Cormack, Mr. Cullinan and Mr. Bassett, each of whom is independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules.
Mr. Cormack serves as the chair of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Bassett qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
The audit committee is responsible for:
·meeting with our independent accountants regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems;
·monitoring the independence of the independent auditor;
·verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law;
·inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
·pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent auditor, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed;
·appointing or replacing the independent auditor;
·determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work;
·establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies;
·monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of the Public Offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of the Public Offering; and
·reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing holders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have a nominating and corporate governance committee comprised of Mr. Cormack, Mr. Cullinan and Mr. Bassett. Mr. Cullinan serves as the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter that details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
·identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;
·developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines;
·coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and
·reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary.
The charter also provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee
We have a compensation committee comprised of Mr. Cullinan and Mr. Bassett, each of whom is independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Mr. Bassett serves as the chair of the compensation committee. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
·reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer based on such evaluation;
·reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive compensation and equity based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers;
·reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;
·implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
·assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
·approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;
·producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and
·reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed copies of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our audit committee and compensation committee charters as exhibits to our registration statement in connection with the Public Offering. You may review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us in writing at 7 Portman Mews South, Marylebone, London W1H 6AY, United Kingdom or by telephone at +44 (0) 207-725-0800. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our code of ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
ITEM 11.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered. We will reimburse an affiliate of the Sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per month in the event such space and/or services are utilized and we do not pay directly for such services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease making these payments. In addition, the Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to the Sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to the Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
It is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements with the post-transaction company after our initial business combination. Any such arrangements will be disclosed in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination, to the extent they are known at such time.
The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, but we do not believe that such arrangements will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
ITEM 12.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS.
We have no compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary share as of March 30, 2021, by:
·each person known by us to be a beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary share of, on an as-converted basis;
·each of our officers and directors; and
·all of our officers and directors as a group.
The following table is based on 38,162,876 ordinary shares outstanding at March 30, 2021, of which 30,530,301 were Class A ordinary shares and 7,632,575 were Class B ordinary shares. Unless otherwise indicated, it is believed that all persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them.
*Less than one percent
(1)Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 7 Portman Mews South, Marylebone, London W1H 6AY, United Kingdom.
(2)Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described elsewhere herein.
(3) Broadstone Sponsor LLP is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Xercise2 Ltd. and Overwey Capital Ltd. and Messrs. Jonas, Cormack, Cullinan and Bassett are among the members of Broadstone Sponsor LLP and share voting and investment discretion with respect to the ordinary shares held of record by Broadstone Sponsor LLP. Messrs. Osmond and Hawkes are directors of Xercise2 Ltd. and Overwey Capital Ltd., respectively.
(4) According to a Schedule 13G filed on February 12, 2021, on behalf of The Baupost Group, L.L.C., Baupost Group GP, L.L.C. and Seth A. Klarman, the aforementioned persons have beneficial ownership of the securities reported above and the business address of each such person is 10 St. James Avenue, Suite 1700, Boston, Massachusetts 02116.
(5) According to a Schedule 13G filed on February 16, 2021, on behalf of Glazer Capital, LLC and Paul J. Glazer, the aforementioned persons have beneficial ownership of the securities reported above and the business address of each such person is 250 West 55th Street, Suite 30A, New York, New York 10019.
(6) According to a Schedule 13G filed on February 16, 2021, on behalf of Periscope Capital Inc., the aforementioned entity has beneficial ownership of the securities reported above and the business address of such entity is 333 Bay Street, Suite 1240, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2R2.
ITEM 13.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
Founder Shares
On May 19, 2020, Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 of Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”) for $25,000, or $0.003 per share. On October 14, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 530,301 Units. The remaining over-allotment option expired unexercised on October 25, 2020; thus, the Company forfeited 992,425 Class B ordinary shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of Founder Shares outstanding was determined based on the Company’s expectation that the total size of the Public Offering would be a maximum of 34,500,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised in full, and therefore that such Founder Shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the Public Offering.
The Founder Shares are identical to the public shares except that the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below.
Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, capitalization of shares, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering, pursuant to the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 8,000,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to Sponsor at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $8,000,000. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Warrants sold in the Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants, so long as they are held by Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) are not redeemable by the Company, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary share issuable upon exercise of such Private Placement Warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by such holders until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sale. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Warrants included in the Units sold in the Public Offering. If the Company does not consummate its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing the Public Offering, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The issuance of the Private Placement Warrants was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
If the Company does not complete a business combination, then the proceeds will be part of the liquidating distribution to the public shareholders and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed on September 10, 2020. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion the Company’s initial business combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Administrative Services
The Company pays the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of the Company’s management team. Upon completion of a business combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.
ITEM 14.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
The following is a summary of fees paid to WithumSmith+Brown, PC (“Withum”) for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements, reviews of our quarterly financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Withum for audit fees, inclusive of required filings with the SEC for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and of services rendered in connection with our initial public offering, totaled $73,645.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Withum any audit-related fees during the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020.
Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. We did not pay Withum any tax fees during the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020.
All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. We did not pay Withum any other fees during the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020.
PART IV
ITEM 15.
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a)The following documents are filed as part of this report:
(1)Financial Statements
Reference is made to the Index to Financial Statements of the Company under Item 8 of Part II above.
(2)Financial Statement Schedule
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial, not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto in Item 8 of Part II above.
(3)Exhibits
We hereby file as part of this report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.
4.1
Specimen Unit Certificate (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-l (File No. 333-245663), filed with the SEC on September 8, 2020).
4.2
Specimen Ordinary Share Certificate. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-l (File No. 333-245663), filed with the SEC on September 8, 2020).
4.3
Specimen Warrant Certificate. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-l (File No. 333-245663), filed with the SEC on September 8, 2020).
4.4
Warrant Agreement between Broadstone Acquisition Corp. and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, dated as of September 10, 2020 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 16, 2020).
4.5
Description of Securities.
10.1
Letter Agreement, dated September 10, 2020, by and among the Company, its executive officers, its directors and Broadstone Sponsor LLP. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 16, 2020).
10.2
Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated September 10, 2020, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 16, 2020).
10.3
Registration Rights Agreement, dated September 10, 2020, by and among the Company and Broadstone Sponsor LLP (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 16, 2020).
10.4
Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated September 10, 2020, by and among the Company and Broadstone Sponsor LLP (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 16, 2020).
10.5
Administrative Services Agreement, dated September 10, 2020, by and between the Company and Broadstone Sponsor LLP. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 16, 2020).
14.1
Code of Ethics. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14.1 to Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-l (File No. 333-245663), filed with the SEC on September 8, 2020).
31.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2
Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2
Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS
XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
BROADSTONE ACQUISITION CORP.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Broadstone Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Broadstone Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statement, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
March 29, 2021
BROADSTONE ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEET
December 31, 2020
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
BROADSTONE ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM MAY 13, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
BROADSTONE ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM MAY 13, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
BROADSTONE ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM MAY 13, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
BROADSTONE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1-Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Presentation
Broadstone Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on May 13, 2020. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses that the Company has not yet identified (“Business Combination”). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”) and since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s sponsor is Broadstone Sponsor LLP, a United Kingdom limited liability partnership (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Initial Public Offering was declared effective on September 10, 2020. On September 15, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 30,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $16.6 million, inclusive of approximately $10.5 million in deferred underwriting commissions (Note 5). The Company granted the underwriters in the Initial Public Offering a 45-day option to purchase up to 4,500,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any. On October 14, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 530,301 units (the “Over-Allotment Units”). On October 14, 2020, the Company completed the sale of the Over-Allotment Units to underwriters (the “Over-Allotment”), generating gross proceeds of approximately $5.3 million, and incurred additional offering costs of approximately $292,000 in underwriting fees (inclusive of approximately $186,000 in deferred underwriting commissions).
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 8,000,000 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) to the Sponsor, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $8.0 million (Note 4). Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment Units, on October 14, 2020, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 106,060 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $106,060.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Over-Allotment and the Private Placement, $305.3 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and was invested only 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 that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, until the earlier of (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
The Company will provide holders (the “Public Shareholders”) of its Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, sold in the Initial Public Offering (the “Public Shares”), with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). These Public Shares will be classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 and the approval of an ordinary resolution. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem its Public Shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. Subsequent to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, the Company will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) clear all trades with the Company’s legal counsel prior to execution. In addition, the initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined in Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Class A ordinary shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “initial shareholders”) agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with its initial business combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or September 15, 2022 (the “Combination Period”) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of applicable law.
The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders or members of the Company’s management team acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amount will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard.
This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Risk and Uncertainties
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Company’s results of operations, financial position and cash flows will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and related advisories and restrictions. These developments and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the financial markets and the overall economy are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If the financial markets and/or the overall economy are impacted for an extended period, the Company’s results of operations, financial position and cash flows may be materially adversely affected. Additionally, the Company’s ability to complete an Initial Business Combination may be materially adversely affected due to significant governmental measures being implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or treat its impact, including travel restrictions, the shutdown of businesses and quarantines, among others, which may limit the Company’s ability to have meetings with potential investors or affect the ability of a potential target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers to negotiate and consummate an Initial Business Combination in a timely manner. The Company’s ability to consummate an Initial Business Combination may also be dependent on the ability to raise additional equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting market downturn.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had approximately $1.6 million in its operating bank account and working capital of approximately $1.6 million. To date, the Company’s liquidity needs have been satisfied through a payment of $25,000 from the Sponsor to cover certain expenses on behalf of the Company in exchange for the issuance of the Founder Shares (as defined in Note 4), a loan of approximately $133,000 pursuant to the Note issued to the Sponsor (Note 4) and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. The Company fully repaid the Note on September 15, 2020. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s officers, directors and Initial Shareholders may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (see Note 4). To date, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds held outside of the Trust Account for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Note 2-Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had $305,311,303 in cash equivalents held in the Trust Account as of December 31, 2020.
Investments Held in Trust Account
The Company’s portfolio of investments held in trust is comprised solely of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities, or a combination thereof. The Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these investments are included in income earned on investments in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information, other than for investments in open-ended money market funds with published daily net asset values (“NAV”), in which case the Company uses NAV as a practical expedient to fair value. The NAV on these investments is typically held constant at $1.00 per unit.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000, and investments held in Trust Account. At December 31, 2020, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Fair Value
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. U.S. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value.
The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
•Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets;
•Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and
•Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
As of December 31, 2020, the carrying values of cash, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of the instruments. As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account is comprised entirely of investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities. The Company uses NAV as a practical expedient to fair value for its investments in money market funds with published NAV.
Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering
Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting, underwriting commissions and other costs incurred that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering and that were charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in FASB ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2020, 29,126,270 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net (loss) income by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the periods. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 23,371,211, of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for ordinary shares subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class A ordinary shares is determined by dividing the income earned on investments held in the Trust Account of $8,300 for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 by the weighted average number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Net loss per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class B ordinary shares is determined by dividing the net loss of approximately $236,000 for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, less income attributable to Class A ordinary shares of $8,300, by the weighted average number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding for the period.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
FASB ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts were accrued for interest and penalties for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
The Company may be subject to potential examination by U.S. federal, U.S. state or foreign taxing authorities in the area of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with U.S. federal, U.S. state and foreign tax laws. There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman federal income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, deferred tax assets and income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Note 3-Initial Public Offering
On September 15, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 30,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $16.6 million, inclusive of approximately $10.5 million in deferred underwriting commissions. On October 14, 2020, the Company completed the sale of the Over-Allotment Units to the underwriters, generating gross proceeds of approximately $5.3 million, and incurred additional offering costs of approximately $292,000 in underwriting fees (inclusive of approximately $186,000 in deferred underwriting commissions).
Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).
Note 4-Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On May 19, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration for 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”). Up to 1,125,000 Founder Shares were subject to forfeiture to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Founder Shares will represent 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. On October 14, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the Unit Over-Allotment Option to purchase an additional 530,301 Units. The remaining over-allotment option expired unexercised on October 25, 2020; thus, the Company forfeited 992,425 Class B ordinary shares.
The initial shareholders agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of (i) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (ii) the date following the completion of the initial Business Combination on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lockup.
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 8,000,000 Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $8.0 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment Units, on October 14, 2020, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 106,060 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $106,060.
Each warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants was added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.
Sponsor Loan
On May 19, 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan is non-interest bearing and payable upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company borrowed approximately $133,000 under the Note. The Company fully repaid this balance on September 15, 2020.
Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors, may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company will repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. To-date, the Company has no borrowings under any Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Support Agreement
Commencing on the date the Company’s securities are first listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the Company agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to members of the Company’s management team. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. The Company recognized $37,000 in connection with such services for the period from May 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying statement of operations.
Note 5-Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, and securities that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, these holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 4,500,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On October 14, 2020, the Underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 530,301 Over-Allotment Units. The remaining over-allotment option expired unexercised on October 25, 2020.
The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $6.0 million and approximately $0.1 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering in September 2020 and the Over-Allotment in October 2020, respectively. The underwriters reimbursed $390,000 to the Company to reimburse certain expenses in connection with the Initial Public Offering.
In addition, $0.35 per unit, or approximately $10.7 million in the aggregate, will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Note 6-Shareholders’ Equity
Preference Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share and with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of December 31, 2020, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2020, there were 30,530,301 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, including 29,126,270 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption.
Class B Ordinary Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders are entitled to one vote for each Class B ordinary share. As of December 31, 2020, there were 7,632,575 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares have the right to vote on the appointment of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis (as adjusted). In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Warrants - The Public Warrants will become exercisable at $11.50 per share on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, the Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and, following the effective date of the registration statement, the Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its 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 the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, it will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
The warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The exercise price and number of shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital-raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the initial shareholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, plus interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 10-trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price”.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the Public Warrants for redemption (except with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
•in whole and not in part;
•at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
•upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and
•if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
In addition, once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call but is not obligated to the warrants for redemption:
•in whole and not in part;
•at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of Class A ordinary shares to be determined by reference to an agreed table based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares;
•if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and
•if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted).
The “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
Note 7-Subsequent Events
Management has evaluated subsequent events to determine if events or transactions occurring through March 29, 2021, the date the financial statements were available for issuance, require potential adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements and has concluded that all such events that would require recognition or disclosure have been recognized or disclosed.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
March 31, 2021
BROADSTONE ACQUISITION CORP.
By: /s/ Marc Jonas
Name: Marc Jonas
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated below.
Name Title Date
/s/ Hugh Osmond Chairman and Director March 31, 2021
Hugh Osmond
/s/ Marc Jonas Chief Executive Officer and Director March 31, 2021
Marc Jonas (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Edward Hawkes Chief Financial Officer and Director March 31, 2021
Edward Hawkes (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
/s/ Ian Cormack Director March 31, 2021
Ian Cormack
/s/ Rory Cullinan Director March 31, 2021
Rory Cullinan
/s/ Philip Bassett Director March 31, 2021
Philip Bassett