|
PAGE |
PART I
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
29 |
|
|
71 |
|
|
71 |
|
|
72 |
|
|
72 |
|
|
|
PART II
|
|
|
|
72 |
|
|
74 |
|
|
74 |
|
|
78 |
|
|
78 |
|
|
78 |
|
|
78 |
|
|
79 |
|
|
79 |
|
|
|
Part III
|
|
|
|
80 |
|
|
91
|
|
|
92 |
|
|
94 |
|
|
95 |
|
|
|
PART IV
|
|
|
|
96
|
|
|
96 |
CERTAIN
TERMS
Unless
otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this
“Report”), or the context otherwise requires, references to:
|
• |
“Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the
Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;
|
|
• |
“company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or “our company” are to ARYA
Sciences Acquisition Corp IV, a Cayman Islands exempted
company;
|
|
• |
“founders” are to Joseph Edelman, Adam Stone, Michael Altman
and Konstantin Poukalov, senior executives of Perceptive
Advisors;
|
|
• |
“founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially
issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to our Initial
Public Offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued
upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the
time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of
doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public
shares”);
|
|
• |
“initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and each other
holder of founder shares upon the consummation of our Initial
Public Offering;
|
|
• |
“Initial Public Offering” refers to our initial public
offering for our Class A ordinary shares;
|
|
• |
“management” or “our management team” are to our executive
officers and directors (including our directors who became
directors at the consummation of our Initial Public
Offering);
|
|
• |
“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our
Class B ordinary shares;
|
|
• |
“Perceptive Advisors” are to Perceptive Advisors, LLC, an
affiliate of our sponsor;
|
|
• |
“private placement shares” are to the Class A ordinary shares
issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with
the closing of our Initial Public Offering (which private placement
shares are identical to the shares sold in our Initial Public
Offering, subject to certain limited exceptions, as described
herein) and upon conversion of working capital loans;
|
|
• |
“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares,
including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor
and/or members of our management team purchase public shares,
provided that our
sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a
“public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public
shares;
|
|
• |
“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares in our
Initial Public Offering (whether they are purchased in our Initial
Public Offering or thereafter in the open market); and
|
|
• |
“sponsor” are to ARYA Sciences Holdings IV, a Cayman Islands
exempted limited company.
|
CAUTIONARY NOTE
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
AND RISK FACTOR
SUMMARY
Some of the
statements contained in this Report may constitute “forward-looking
statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations,
hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In
addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or
other characterizations of future events or circumstances,
including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking
statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,”
“estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,”
“potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar
expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the
absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not
forward-looking.
The
forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on
our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments
and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that
future developments affecting us will be those that we have
anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of
risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or
other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to
be materially different from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties (some of
which are beyond our control) or other factors:
|
• |
we have no operating history and no revenues, and you have no
basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business
objective;
|
|
• |
our ability to select an appropriate target business or
businesses;
|
|
• |
our ability to complete our initial business
combination;
|
|
• |
our expectations around the performance of a prospective
target business or businesses;
|
|
• |
our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required
in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial
business combination;
|
|
• |
our officers and directors allocating their time to other
businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our
business or in approving our initial business combination;
|
|
• |
our potential ability to obtain additional financing to
complete our initial business combination;
|
|
• |
our pool of prospective target businesses;
|
|
• |
our ability to consummate an initial business combination due
to the uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic and
the military conflict that started between the Russian Federation,
Belarus and Ukraine in February 2022;
|
|
• |
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number
of potential business combination opportunities;
|
|
• |
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
|
|
• |
the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available
to us from interest income on the trust account balance;
|
|
• |
our ability to continue as a going concern;
|
|
• |
the trust account not being subject to claims of third
parties;
|
|
• |
our financial performance following our Initial Public
Offering; and
|
|
• |
the other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors”
and elsewhere in this Report.
|
Should one or
more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of
our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in
material respects from those projected in these forward-looking
statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required under
applicable securities laws.
PART I
Summary
We are a blank
check company incorporated in August 24, 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, which
we refer to throughout this Report as our initial business
combination. We have generated no operating revenues to date and we
do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we
consummate our initial business combination. We have generated no
operating revenues to date and we do not expect that we will
generate operating revenues until we consummate our initial
business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to
organizational activities, activities related to our Initial Public
Offering as well as the search for a prospective business
combination.
While we may
pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector
or geographical location, we focus on industries that complement
our management team’s background, and to capitalize on the ability
of our management team to identify and acquire a business, focusing
on the healthcare or healthcare-related industries. In particular,
we are targeting North American or European companies in the life
sciences and medical technology sectors where our management has
extensive investment experience. We may pursue a transaction in
which our shareholders immediately prior to the completion of our
initial business combination would collectively own a minority
interest in the post-business combination company.
Our
Founders
Our sponsor is
an affiliate of Perceptive Advisors, a leading life sciences
focused investment firm with over $10 billion of regulatory assets
under management as of December 31, 2021. Since its launch in 1999,
Perceptive Advisors has focused exclusively on the healthcare
industry. Our founders are the founder and management of Perceptive
Advisors. Joseph Edelman, our Chairman, founded Perceptive Advisors
in 1999. Adam Stone, our Chief Executive Officer, is the Chief
Investment Officer of Perceptive Advisors, Michael Altman, our
Chief Financial Officer, is a Managing Director at Perceptive
Advisors and Konstantin Poukalov, our Chief Business Officer, is a
Managing Director at Perceptive Advisors. Perceptive Advisors’
investment activity is focused on identifying both private and
public companies in the life sciences and medical technology
sectors and has investments in over 200 companies as of December
31, 2021. The team at Perceptive Advisors consists of trained
scientists, physicians and financial analysts who are passionately
committed to identifying innovation that can drive critical change
to current treatment paradigms. Perceptive Advisors invests across
the capital structure and throughout a company’s growth cycle which
provides access to a broad universe of management teams and
companies seeking flexible capital solutions. Perceptive Advisors
is also an active investor in pre-IPO financing rounds known as
“crossovers.” Perceptive Advisors has invested in over 120 private
companies since 2013 and in 2021 met with over 250 private
companies in evaluation of private growth financing rounds,
crossovers, and pre-IPO analysis.
Experience
with Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicles
Our management
team has previous experience in the execution of public acquisition
vehicles. In July 2020, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. consummated
its initial business combination with Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH
(“Immatics”). The ordinary shares of the combined company, Immatics
N.V., are traded on Nasdaq under the symbol “IMTX.” Mr. Stone
continues to serve on the supervisory board of Immatics N.V.
following the consummation of the business combination.
Additionally,
in October 2020, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II consummated its
initial business combination with Cerevel Therapeutics (“Cerevel”).
The ordinary shares of the combined company, Cerevel Therapeutics
Holdings, Inc., are traded on Nasdaq under the symbol “CERE.”
In June 2021,
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III consummated its initial business
combination with Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. (“Nautilus”). The
common stock of the combined company trades on Nasdaq under the
symbol “NAUT.” Michael Altman continues to serve on the board of
Nautilus.
In February
2021, our management team founded ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V,
which was formed for substantially similar purposes as our company.
In July 2021, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V completed its
initial public offering, in which it sold 14,950,000 Class A
ordinary shares, for an offering price of $10.00 per share,
generating aggregate proceeds of $149,500,000. ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp V’s Class A ordinary shares are trading on Nasdaq
under the ticker symbol “ARYE.”
Our founders
and our directors and officers, Perceptive Advisors, or its
affiliates expect in the future to become affiliated with other
public special purpose acquisition companies that may have
acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. See “Risk Factors
— Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team — Our officers
and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may
have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other
entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly,
may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a
particular business opportunity should be presented.”
The past
performance of the members of our management team or their
affiliates, including ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp., ARYA
Sciences Acquisition Corp II, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III,
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V and Perceptive Advisors, is not a
guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for
our initial business combination or of success with respect to any
business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the
historical record or the performance of our management team or
their affiliates, including ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp., ARYA
Sciences Acquisition Corp II, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III,
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V and Perceptive Advisors or any of
their affiliates’ or managed fund’s performance as indicative of
our future performance.
Industry
Opportunity
While we may
acquire a business in any industry, our focus will be on the
healthcare industry in the United States and other developed
countries. We believe the healthcare industry, particularly the
life sciences and medical technology sectors, represents an
enormous and growing target market with a large number of potential
target acquisition opportunities. In 2019, total U.S. national
health expenditures represented approximately $3.8 trillion.
According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in
2018, total U.S. national health expenditures represented
approximately $3.6 trillion, accounting for approximately 18% of
total U.S. Gross Domestic Product. According to IBISWorld, in
February 2020, the global biotechnology market is expected to grow
almost 2.9% to over $303.2 billion in revenue in 2021.
The Current
Life Sciences IPO Market
We believe
that current dynamics in the life sciences and medical technology
IPO market may enhance our ability to locate an attractive target.
Over 300 life sciences and medical technology companies have gone
public since 2016 in the United States. Despite the current level
of IPO activity, according to BiotechGate, in 2021 there were
estimated to be approximately 20,000 biotechnology companies
globally, only a fraction of which are publicly traded.
We also
believe that the process for life sciences and medical technology
IPO demand generation often produces offerings that are
significantly oversubscribed but where a majority of the offering
is allocated to the top ten investors, some of whom may be existing
investors in these companies or are industry specialists. As a
result, we believe that there may be numerous investors who have
not been able to receive meaningful, or any, allocations in recent
life sciences and medical technology IPOs who may be interested in
a potential target opportunity that we identify.
We believe
that life sciences and medical technology companies, at a certain
stage in their development, will see material benefits from being
publicly-traded, including greater access to capital, more liquid
securities and increased customer awareness. An acquisition by a
special purpose acquisition company with a management team that is
well-known to, and respected by, life sciences founders, their
current third-party investors and their management teams, we
believe, can provide a more transparent and efficient mechanism to
bring a private healthcare company to the public markets.
Acquisition
Strategy
We believe our
management team is well positioned to identify unique opportunities
in our target sectors. Our selection process leverages our
relationships with leading venture capitalists and growth equity
funds, executives of private and public companies, as well as
leading investment banking firms, which we believe should provide
us with a key competitive advantage in sourcing potential business
combination targets. Given our profile and dedicated industry
approach, we anticipate that target business candidates may be
brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, and in
particular investors in other private and public companies in our
networks. We also believe that Perceptive Advisors’ reputation,
experience and track record of making investments in the healthcare
space will make us a preferred partner for these potential
targets.
Consistent
with our strategy, we have identified the following criteria to
evaluate prospective target businesses. We may, however, decide to
enter into our initial business combination with a target business
that does not meet these criteria. We intend to seek to acquire
companies that we believe:
|
• |
have a scientific or other competitive advantage in the
markets in which they operate and which can benefit from access to
additional capital as well as our industry relationships and
expertise;
|
|
• |
are ready to be public, with strong management, corporate
governance and reporting policies in place;
|
|
• |
will likely be well received by public investors and are
expected to have good access to the public capital markets;
|
|
• |
have significant embedded and/or underexploited growth
opportunities;
|
|
• |
exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics that we
believe have been misevaluated by the market based on our rigorous
analysis and scientific and business due diligence review;
and
|
|
• |
will offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our
shareholders.
|
We are focused
on target businesses with valuations of $300 to $500 million or
more and that have the potential to be $1 billion or more market
capitalization companies. We may use other criteria as well. Any
evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business
combination may be based on these general criteria as well as other
considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem
relevant.
Initial
Business Combination
Our initial
business combination must occur with one or more target businesses
that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80%
of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount
of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable
on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing
the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. If
our board of directors is not able to independently determine the
fair market value of the target business or businesses or we are
considering an initial business combination with an affiliated
entity, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment
banking firm or an independent valuation or accounting firm with
respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our shareholders may
not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able
to rely on such opinion. While we consider it unlikely that our
board will not be able to make an independent determination of the
fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be
unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with
the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of
uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects,
including if such company is at an early stage of development,
operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a
complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the
board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or
necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if
obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the
target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such
opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a
target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not
anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our
shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy
statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with a
proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate
structuring our initial business combination so that the
post-business combination company in which our public shareholders
own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or
assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however,
structure our initial business combination such that the
post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100%
of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet
certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or
for other reasons, but we will only complete such business
combination if the post-business combination company owns or
acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the
target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target
sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment
company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
“Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-business combination
company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of
the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may
collectively own a minority interest in the post-business
combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target
and us in the business combination transaction. 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
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 the completion of 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-business combination
company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned
or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net
assets test. 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 and we will treat
the target businesses together as the initial business combination
for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval,
as applicable. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a
definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination
without the prior consent of our sponsor.
In addition,
our sponsor has indicated an interest to purchase up to an
aggregate of $25,000,000 of our ordinary shares in a private
placement that would occur concurrently with the consummation of
our initial business combination. However, because indications of
interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our
sponsor may determine not to purchase any such shares, or to
purchase more or fewer shares than it has indicated an interest in
purchasing. Furthermore, we are not under any obligation to sell
any such shares. If we sell shares to our sponsor (or any other
investor) in connection with our initial business combination, the
equity interest of investors in our Initial Public Offering in the
combined company may be diluted and the market prices for our
securities may be adversely affected. In addition, if the per share
trading price of our ordinary shares is greater than the price per
share paid in the private placement, the private placement will
result in value dilution to you.
Other
Considerations
We are not
prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or
subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with
Perceptive Advisors or our sponsor, founders, officers or
directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business
combination with a company that is affiliated with Perceptive
Advisors, our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or
directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain
an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an
independent valuation or accounting firm that such initial business
combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial
point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any
other context.
Affiliates of
Perceptive Advisors and members of our board of directors will
directly or indirectly own founder shares and private placement
shares following our Initial Public Offering and, accordingly, may
have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular
target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate
our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and
directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to
evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or
resignation of any such officers or directors were to be included
by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect
to our initial business combination.
Perceptive
Advisors may manage multiple investment vehicles and raise
additional funds and/or successor funds in the future, which may be
during the period in which we are seeking our initial business
combination. These Perceptive Advisors investment entities may be
seeking acquisition opportunities and related financing at any
time. We may compete with any one or more of them on any given
acquisition opportunity.
Our sponsor
and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special
purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may 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, we
do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially
affect our ability to complete our initial business
combination.
In addition,
certain of our founders, officers and directors presently have, and
any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and
contractual duties to other entities, including without limitation,
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V and any future special purpose
acquisition companies we expect they may be involved in, and
investment funds, accounts, co-investment vehicles and other
entities managed by affiliates of Perceptive Advisors and certain
companies in which Perceptive Advisors or such entities have
invested. As a result, if any of our founders, officers or
directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which
is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current
fiduciary or contractual obligations (including, without
limitation, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V and any future special
purpose acquisition companies we expect they may be involved in and
any Perceptive Advisors funds or other investment vehicles), then,
subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or
she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to
present such business combination opportunity to such entity,
before we can pursue such opportunity. If these funds or investment
entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded
from pursuing the same. In addition, investment ideas generated
within or presented to Perceptive Advisors or our founders may be
suitable for both us and a current or future Perceptive Advisors
fund, portfolio company or other investment entity and, subject to
applicable fiduciary duties, will first be directed to such fund,
portfolio company or other entity before being directed, if at all,
to us. None of Perceptive Advisors, our founders or any members of
our board of directors who are also employed by Perceptive Advisors
or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any
opportunity for a potential business combination of which they
become aware solely in their capacities as officers or executives
of Perceptive Advisors.
However, we do
not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to
complete our initial business combination. In addition, our
founders, 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 management time among various
business activities, including identifying potential business
combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. In
particular, certain of our officers and directors serve as an
officer and/or director of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V, which
is a blank check company sponsored by an affiliate of Perceptive
Advisors, and in the future we expect they may be officers and/or
directors of other future special purpose acquisition companies.
Moreover, our founders, officers and directors have, and will have
in the future, time and attention requirements for current and
future investment funds, accounts, co-investment vehicles and other
entities managed by Perceptive Advisors. To the extent any conflict
of interest arises between, on the one hand, us and, on the other
hand, investments funds, accounts, co-investment vehicles and other
entities managed by Perceptive Advisors (including, without
limitation, arising as a result of certain of our founders,
officers and directors being required to offer acquisition
opportunities to such investment funds, accounts, co-investment
vehicles and other entities), Perceptive Advisors and its
affiliates will resolve such conflicts of interest in their sole
discretion in accordance with their then-existing fiduciary,
contractual and other duties and there can be no assurance that
such conflict of interest will be resolved in our favor.
Unlike other
initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies,
investors in our Initial Public Offering will not receive warrants
that would become exercisable following completion of our initial
business combination.
Status as a
Public Company
We believe our
structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to
target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target
business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering
through a merger or other business combination with us. In a
business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target
business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares
or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A
ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a
combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to
tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We
believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious
and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the
typical initial public offering. The typical initial public
offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than
the typical business combination transaction process, and there are
significant expenses in the initial public offering process,
including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be
present to the same extent in connection with a business
combination with us.
Furthermore,
once a proposed business combination is completed, the target
business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial
public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to
complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which
could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or have negative
valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business
would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of
providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’
interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for
acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by
augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and
vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we
believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds
make us an attractive business partner, some potential target
businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as
our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek
shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination,
negatively.
We are an
“emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as
modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the
JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain
exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable
to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies”
including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with
the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced
disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our
periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the
requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive
compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute
payments not previously approved. If some investors find our
securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active
trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities
may be more volatile.
In addition,
Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth
company” can take advantage of the extended transition period
provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying
with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an
“emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain
accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to
private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of
this extended transition period.
We will remain
an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of
the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the
completion of our Initial Public Offering, (b) in which we have
total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in
which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means
the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by
non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and
(2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in
non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. References
herein to “emerging growth company” have the meaning associated
with it in the JOBS Act.
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 30, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded
$100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value
of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds
$700 million as of the prior June 30.
Financial
Position
As of December
31, 2021, we had approximately $144,300,000 available to consummate
an initial business combination after payment of $5,232,500 of
deferred underwriting fees. With these funds available for a
business combination, we offer a target business a variety of
options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners,
providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its
operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt
ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business
combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a
combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the
most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the
consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs
and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third
party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available
to us.
Effectuating
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 following our Initial Public Offering.
We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash
from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, the sale of the
private placements shares, 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, 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 apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust
account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance
or expansion of operations of the post-business combination
company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness
incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund
the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We may need to
obtain additional financing to complete our initial business
combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than
is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or
because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our
public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which
case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection
with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our
ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our
initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any
arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to
raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the
incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Although our
management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target
business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this
assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target
business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be
outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control
or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a
target business.
Sources of
Target Businesses
Our process of
identifying acquisition targets leverages Perceptive Advisors’ and
our management team’s unique industry experiences, proven deal
sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships
in numerous industries, including executives and management teams,
private equity groups and other institutional investors, large
business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers and other
investment market participants, restructuring advisers,
consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should
provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. The
collective experience, capability and network of Perceptive
Advisors, our founders, directors and officers, combined with their
individual and collective reputations in the investment community,
helps to create prospective business combination
opportunities.
In addition,
target business candidates may be brought to our attention from
various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and
private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our
attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being
solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also
introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be
interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources
will have read this Report and know what types of businesses we are
targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates,
may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which
they become aware through their business contacts as a result of
formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well
as attending trade shows or conventions.
While we do
not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional
firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions
on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals
in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting
fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length
negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a
finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of
a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be
available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis
with a potential transaction that our management determines is in
our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is
customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any
such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account.
In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing
officers or directors, or any entity with which they are
affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other
compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they
render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial
business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it
is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any
of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any
compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective
business combination target in connection with a contemplated
acquisition of such target by us. We have agreed to pay our sponsor
a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and
administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any
out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and
completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers
and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements
with the post-business combination company following our initial
business combination.
We are not
prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or
subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with
Perceptive Advisors or our sponsor, founders, officers or
directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business
combination with a company that is affiliated with Perceptive
Advisors, our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or
directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain
an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an
independent valuation or accounting firm that such initial business
combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial
point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any
other context.
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, including any future special purpose acquisition
companies we expect they may be involved in and entities that are
affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or
director is or will be required to present a business combination
opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or
directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which
is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current
fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or
her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business
combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary
duties under Cayman Islands law.
Evaluation of
a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business
Combination
In evaluating
a prospective target business, we conduct a thorough due diligence
review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with
incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of
customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a
review of financial, operational, legal and other information which
will be made available to us. 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 identify 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. In addition, we have agreed
not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial
business combination without the prior consent of our
sponsor.
Lack of
Business Diversification
For an
indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial
business combination, the prospects for our success may depend
entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike
other entities that have the resources to complete business
combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries,
it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our
operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of
business. By completing our initial business combination with only
a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
|
• |
subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory
developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse
impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our
initial business combination; and
|
|
• |
cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single
product or limited number of products or services.
|
Lack of
Business Diversification
For an
indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial
business combination, the prospects for our success may depend
entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike
other entities that have the resources to complete business
combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries,
it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our
operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of
business. By completing our initial business combination with only
a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
|
• |
subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory
developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse
impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our
initial business combination; and
|
|
• |
cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single
product or limited number of products or services.
|
Limited
Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we
closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business
when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business
combination with that business, our assessment of the target
business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the
future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications
or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future
role of members of our management team, if any, in the target
business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The
determination as to whether any of the members of our management
team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time
of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one
or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity
with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely
that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs
subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot
assure you that members of our management team will have
significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of
the particular target business.
We cannot
assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior
management or advisory positions with the combined company. The
determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain
with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial
business combination.
Following a
business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to
supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We
cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit
additional managers, or that additional managers will have the
requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the
incumbent management.
Shareholders
May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business
Combination
We may conduct
redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer
rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and
restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will
seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or
stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval
for business or other reasons.
Under Nasdaq’s
listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our
initial business combination if, for example:
|
• |
we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary
shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the
number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding (excluding
the private placement shares) or (b) have voting power equal to or
in excess of 20% of the voting power then issued and outstanding
(excluding the private placement shares);
|
|
• |
any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as
defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such
persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or
indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or
otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares
could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or
voting power of 5% or more; or
|
|
• |
the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will
result in our undergoing a change of control.
|
The Companies
Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not
aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder
approval of our initial business combination.
The decision
as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed
business combination in those instances in which shareholder
approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our
discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which
include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
|
• |
the timing of the transaction, including in the event we
determine shareholder approval would require additional time and
there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or
doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the
transaction or result in other additional burdens on the
company;
|
|
• |
the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote;
|
|
• |
the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the
proposed business combination;
|
|
• |
other time and budget constraints of the company; and
|
|
• |
additional legal complexities of a proposed business
combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present
to shareholders.
|
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities and
Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities
If we seek
shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do
not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business
combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor,
directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may
purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in
the open market either prior to or following the completion of our
initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior
to our initial business combination, subject to applicable
securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic
information), our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors
or their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and
others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares,
vote their public shares in favor of our initial business
combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have
no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such
transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for
any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will
be used to purchase public shares in such transactions. If they
engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making
any such purchases when they are in possession of any material
non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such
purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
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 or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business
combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke
their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote
against our initial business combination. We do not currently
anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender
offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a
going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under
the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time
of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules,
the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
The purpose of
any such transactions could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of
the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of
obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii)
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. 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 may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders
of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to
maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our
securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor,
officers, directors and/or their affiliates may identify the
shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their
affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either
the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of
redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class
A ordinary shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy
materials in connection with our initial business combination. To
the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their
affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify
and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders who
have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata
share of the trust account or vote against our initial business
combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted
a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only
if such shares have not already been voted at the shareholder
meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor,
executive officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will
select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on the
negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that
they may deem relevant, and will be restricted from purchasing
shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the
Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Our sponsor,
officers, directors and/or their affiliates will be restricted from
making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section
9(a) (2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. We expect any such
purchases to be reported by such person pursuant to Section 13 and
Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are
subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption
Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial
Business Combination
We will
provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all
or a portion of their 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not
previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided
by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the
limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is
initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share
amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their
shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions
we will pay to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Jefferies LLC, the
underwriters of our Initial Public Offering (the “Underwriters”).
The redemption rights may include the requirement that a beneficial
holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.
Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even
if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its shares,
if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and our
management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to
which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with
respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and any
public shares purchased during or after our Initial Public Offering
in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business
combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to
our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A)
that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to
provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have
their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business
combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not
complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the
closing of our Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any
other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A
ordinary shares.
Limitations on
Redemptions
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 (so that
we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules).
However, the proposed business combination may require (i) cash
consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to
be transferred to the target for working capital or other general
corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other
conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business
combination. 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,
and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be
returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of
Conducting Redemptions
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 either (i) in connection with a
shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or
(ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will
seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or
conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our
discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the
timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction
would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law
or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to
be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer
rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset
acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require
shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we
do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of
our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private
placement shares) or seek to amend our amended and restated
memorandum and articles of association would typically require
shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in
connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is
not required by applicable law or stock exchange rule or we choose
to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the
SEC for business or other reasons.
If we held a
shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we
will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles
of association:
|
• |
conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy
solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which
regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the
tender offer rules; and
|
|
• |
file proxy materials with the SEC.
|
If we hold a
shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we
will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles
of association:
|
• |
conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy
solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which
regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the
tender offer rules; and
|
|
• |
file proxy materials with the SEC.
|
In the event
that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business
combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection
therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption
rights described above upon completion of the initial business
combination.
If we seek
shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business
combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares, represented
in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a
shareholder meeting are voted in favor of the business combination.
In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team
have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares
and public shares purchased during or after our Initial Public
Offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result,
in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and private
placement shares, we would need 5,356,751, or 35.83%, of the
14,950,000 public shares sold in our Initial Public Offering to be
voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have
our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and
outstanding shares are voted and the private placement shares
issued to our sponsor are voted in favor of the transaction). Each
public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares
irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed
transaction or vote at all. In addition, our sponsor and our
management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to
which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with
respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and any
public shares purchased during or after our Initial Public Offering
in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business
combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to
our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A)
that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to
provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have
their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business
combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not
complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the
closing of our Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any
other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A
ordinary shares.
If we conduct
redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will,
pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of
association:
|
• |
conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation
14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers;
and
|
|
• |
file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing
our initial business combination which contain substantially the
same financial and other information about the initial business
combination and the redemption rights as is required under
Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the
solicitation of proxies.
|
Upon the
public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our
sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule
10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market if we
elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply
with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event
we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our
offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in
accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will
not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until
the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender
offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more
than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If
public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to
purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the
initial business combination.
Limitation on
Redemption 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that a
public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder
or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert
or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act),
will be restricted from 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 us or our
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 our Initial Public Offering could
threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares
are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management team 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 our Initial Public Offering without our
prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small
group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability
to complete our initial business combination, particularly in
connection with a business combination with a target that requires
as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a
certain amount of cash.
However, we
would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of
their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial
business combination.
Tendering
Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption
Rights
Public
shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether
they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will
be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our
transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy
solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to
such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent
electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/
Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each
case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote
to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or
tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to
holders of our public shares in connection with our initial
business combination will indicate the applicable delivery
requirements, which may include the requirement that a beneficial
holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.
Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send
out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer
period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled
vote on the proposal to approve the business combination if we
distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if
it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the
relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it
is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their
public shares.
There is a
nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process
and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through
the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the
tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up
to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming
holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether
or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to
tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of
exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such
delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing
is different from the procedures used by many blank check
companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with
their business combinations, many blank check companies would
distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial
business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a
proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card
indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her
redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the
company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to
deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result,
the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of
the business combination during which he or she could monitor the
price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose
above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares
in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to
the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights,
to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the
shareholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past
the completion of the business combination until the redeeming
holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or
electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming
shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business
combination is approved.
Any request to
redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to
two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the
proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise
agreed to by us. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share
delivered its certificate in connection with an election of
redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable
date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply
request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically
or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be
distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem
their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of
our initial business combination.
If our initial
business combination is not approved or completed for any reason,
then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their
redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for
the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case,
we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public
holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial
proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to
try to complete a business combination with a different target
until 24 months from the closing of our Initial Public
Offering.
Redemption of
Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business
Combination
If our initial
proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to
try to complete a business combination with a different target
until 24 months from the closing of our Initial Public
Offering.
Redemption of
Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business
Combination
Our amended
and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we
have only 24 months from the closing of our Initial Public Offering
to consummate an initial business combination. If we do not
consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from
the closing of our Initial Public Offering, we will (i) cease all
operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly
as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days
thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable
in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust
account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust
account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes,
if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution
expenses), divided by the number of the then-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 the case of clauses
(ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to
provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other
applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of
association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior
to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will
follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of
the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more
than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman
Islands law.
Our sponsor
and each member of our management team have entered into an
agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive
their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account
with respect to any founder shares or private placement shares they
hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination
within 24 months from the closing of our Initial Public Offering
(although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from
the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we
fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months
from the closing of our Initial Public Offering).
Our sponsor,
executive officers and directors 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 (i)
that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to
provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have
their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business
combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not
complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the
closing of our Initial Public Offering or (ii) with respect to any
other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A
ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the
opportunity to redeem their public 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not
previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided
by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. However, we
may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our
net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not
then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this
optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive
number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net
tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment
or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This
redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any
such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive
officer or director, or any other person.
We expect that
all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of
dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded
from amounts remaining out of the approximately $501,000 of
proceeds held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2021)
plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us
to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that
there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
If we were to
expend all of the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and
the sale of the private placement shares, other than the proceeds
deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account
interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution
would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could,
however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would
have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We
cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount
received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we
intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we
will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’
claims.
Although we
will seek to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our
independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target
businesses and other entities with which we do business execute
agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of
any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the
benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they
will execute such agreements or even if they execute such
agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims
against the trust account, including, but not limited to,
fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other
similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of
the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect
to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the
trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement
waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our
management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available
to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that
has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third
party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us
than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may
engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the
engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise
or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior
to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver
or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider
willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee
that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in
the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations,
contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against
the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts
held in the trust account, our sponsor agreed that it will be
liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for
services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target
business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction
agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the
lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount
per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the
liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public
share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each
case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax
obligations, 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 seek access to the trust account
nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the
Underwriters of our Initial Public Offering against certain
liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the
event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against
a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of
any liability for such third party claims. 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. Our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations.
None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by
third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and
prospective target businesses.
In the event
that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser
of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per
public share held in the trust account as of the date of the
liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public
share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each
case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax
obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy
its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification
obligations related to a particular claim, our independent
directors would determine whether to take legal action against our
sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we
currently expect that our independent directors would take legal
action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its
indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our
independent directors in exercising their business judgment may
choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we
cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value
of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per
public share.
We will seek
to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify
the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have
all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent
registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses
or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with
us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to
monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be
liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the Underwriters of
our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including
liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to
approximately $501,000 from the proceeds held outside of the trust
account (as of December 31, 2021) with which to pay any such
potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in
connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more
than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it
is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and
liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from
our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors;
however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds
from our trust account received by any such shareholder.
If we file a
bankruptcy petition or winding up petition or an involuntary
bankruptcy petition or winding up 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, we cannot assure you
we will be able to return $10.00 per public share to our public
shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or
winding up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition or
winding up 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 or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all
amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of
directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to
our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby
exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by
paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to
addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that
claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public
shareholders are entitled to receive funds from the trust account
only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we
do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months
from the closing of our Initial Public Offering, (ii) 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 provide holders of our Class A
ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in
connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100%
of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business
combination within 24 months from the closing of our Initial Public
Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the
rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) if they
redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the
initial business combination. Public shareholders who redeem their
Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote
described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be
entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent
completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we
have not consummated an initial business combination within 24
months from the closing of our Initial Public Offering, with
respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other
circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any
kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder
approval in connection with our initial business combination, a
shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination
alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us
for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such
shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights
described above. 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.
Competition
In
identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our
initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition
from other entities having a business objective similar to ours,
including other blank check companies, private equity groups and
leveraged buyout funds, public companies, operating businesses
seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well
established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting
business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover,
many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical,
human and other resources than 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 properly exercise their redemption rights may reduce the
resources available to us for our initial business combination, and
the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed
favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may
place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating
an initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently
maintain our executive offices at 51 Astor Place, 10th Floor, New
York, New York 10003. The cost for our use of this space is
included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor for
office space, administrative and support services. We consider our
current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently
have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated
to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they
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.
Periodic
Reporting and Financial Information
We registered
our Class A ordinary shares under the Exchange Act and have
reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file
annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance
with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports
contain financial statements audited and reported on by our
independent registered public accountants.
We will
provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the
prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or
tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These
financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance
with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the
circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be
required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the
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 statements in time for us to disclose
such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete
our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing
of our Initial Public Offering. We cannot assure you that any
particular target business identified by us as a potential
acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in
accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the
potential target business will be able to prepare its financial
statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To
the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be
able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit
the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe
that this limitation will be material.
We will be
required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. 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 would we be required to comply with the independent
registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on
internal control over financial reporting. A target business may
not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of
the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to
complete any such acquisition.
Prior to the
date of this Report, we filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A
with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section
12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules
and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no
current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or
other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the
consummation of our initial business combination.
We are a
Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman
Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman
Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain
provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we applied
for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman
Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax
Concessions Act (2020 Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period
of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is
enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on
profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our
operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits,
income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate
duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our
shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the
withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other
distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a
payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a
debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an
“emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the
Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are
eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various
reporting requirements that are applicable to other public
companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but
not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor
attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,
reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in
our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the
requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive
compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute
payments not previously approved. If some investors find our
securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active
trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities
may be more volatile.
In addition,
Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth
company” can take advantage of the extended transition period
provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying
with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an
“emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain
accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to
private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of
this extended transition period.
We will remain
an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of
the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the
completion of our Initial Public Offering, (b) in which we have
total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in
which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means
the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by
non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and
(2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in
non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Additionally,
we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of
Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of
certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other
things, providing only two years of audited financial statements.
We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of
the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary
shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of
the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded
$100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value
of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds
$700 million as of the prior June 30.
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 Report, before making a
decision to invest in our Class A ordinary shares. 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.
Our
shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our
proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete
our initial business combination even though a majority of our
shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may not
hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination
unless the business combination would require shareholder approval
under applicable Cayman Islands law or stock exchange listing
requirements or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for
business or other reasons. For instance, the Nasdaq rules currently
allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a shareholder
meeting but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval
if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and
outstanding shares (excluding any private placement shares to be
issued in connection with an initial business combination) to a
target business as consideration in any business combination.
Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that
required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding
ordinary shares (excluding the private placement shares), we would
seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However,
except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, the
decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a
proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell
their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in
our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as
the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the
transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder
approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business
combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding
ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we
consummate.
Your only
opportunity to affect the 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 any target businesses.
Since our board of directors may complete a business combination
without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not
have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination,
unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, your only
opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential
business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption
rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20
business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to
our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business
combination.
If we seek
shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our
sponsor and members of our management team agreed to vote in favor
of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public
shareholders vote.
Our sponsor
owns, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our outstanding ordinary
shares (excluding the private placement shares). Our sponsor and
members of our management team also may from time to time purchase
Class A ordinary shares prior to the completion of our initial
business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and
articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder
approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if
a majority of the ordinary shares, represented in person or by
proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a shareholder meeting
are voted in favor of the business combination. As a result, in
addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and private
placement shares, we would need 5,356,751, or 35.83%, of the
14,950,000 public shares sold in our Initial Public Offering to be
voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have
our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and
outstanding shares are voted and the private placement shares
issued to our sponsor are voted in favor of the transaction).
Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial
business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and our
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.
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,
potentially at a loss.
Our public
shareholders are entitled to receive funds from the trust account
only upon the earlier 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 described herein, (ii) the redemption of
any public shares properly tendered 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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares
the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our
initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares
if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24
months from the closing of our Initial Public Offering or (B) with
respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of
our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public
shares if we have not consummated an initial business within 24
months from the closing of our Initial Public Offering, subject to
applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders
who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a
shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence
shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the
subsequent completion of an initial business combination or
liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business
combination within 24 months from the closing of our Initial Public
Offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed.
In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or
interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Accordingly, to
liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public
shares, potentially at a loss.
The ability of
our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make
our financial condition unattractive to potential business
combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter
into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to
enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a
prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we
have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many
public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not
be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not
be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in
no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would
cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that
we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules).
Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption
requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than
$5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing
condition as described above, we would not proceed with such
redemption and the related business combination and may instead
search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets
will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter
into a business combination transaction with us.
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 a large number of shares are submitted
for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to
reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or
arrange for additional third party financing. Raising additional
third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the
incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The
above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most
desirable business combination available to us or optimize our
capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting
commissions payable to the 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 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 funds in the trust
account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of
immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the
open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a
discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In
either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment
or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our
redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares
in the open market.
The
requirement that we consummate an initial business combination
within 24 months after the closing of our Initial Public Offering
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 consummate an
initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of
our Initial Public Offering. Consequently, such target business may
obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination,
knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination
within the required time period 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.
In December
2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced
in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout
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 and a significant outbreak of other
infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that
could adversely affect the economies and financial markets
worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with
which we consummate a business combination could be materially and
adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a
business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19
continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings
with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors
and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate
a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19
impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future
developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted,
including new information which may emerge concerning the severity
of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its
impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other
matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time,
our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations
of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business
combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition,
our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the
ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by
COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased
market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party
financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at
all.
Finally, the
outbreak of COVID-19 may also have the effect of heightening many
of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such
as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border
transactions.
We may not be
able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months
after the closing of our Initial Public Offering, 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 consummate an initial
business combination within 24 months after the closing of our
Initial Public Offering. 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. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19
continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the
extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future
developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial
business combination, including as a result of increased market
volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing
being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Additionally, the COVID-19 outbreak may negatively impact
businesses we may seek to acquire. Further, financial markets may
be adversely affected by current or anticipated military conflicts
(including the military conflict between Ukraine, the Russian
Federation and Belarus that started in February 2022), terrorism,
sanctions or other geopolitical events.
If we have not
consummated an initial business combination within such applicable
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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not
previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up
to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by
the number of the then-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 the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our
obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of
creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended
and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that,
if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our
initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing
procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as
promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days
thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either
such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per
public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the
redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims
against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced
and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be
less than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors
herein.
If we seek
shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our
sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their
affiliates may elect to purchase public shares, 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, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may
purchase public shares 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. However, other than as expressly stated herein, 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 public shares in such transactions.
In the event
that our sponsor, directors, executive 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 transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business
combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining
shareholder approval of the business combination or (2) 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. 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 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. 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. See “Item 1. Business—Permitted Purchases
and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities” for a
description of how our sponsor, directors, executive officers,
advisors or their affiliates will select which shareholders to
purchase securities from in any private transaction.
If a
shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our
public shares in connection with our initial business combination,
or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares,
such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply
with the 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 solicitation or tender offer
materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of
the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy
solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will
furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our
initial business combination will describe the various procedures
that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender
public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with
these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
As the number
of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets
increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be
more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the
cost of our initial business combination and could even result in
our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business
combination.
In recent
years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that
have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential
targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already
entered into an initial business combination, and there are still
many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for
their initial business combination, as well as many such companies
currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive
targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort
and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate
an initial business combination. In addition, because there are
more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an
initial business combination with available targets, the
competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or
business models may increase, which could cause target companies to
demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become
scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector
downturns, geopolitical tensions or increases in the cost of
additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate
targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of,
delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and
consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our
inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms
favorable to our investors altogether.
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 do not complete
our initial business combination within the required time period,
our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per
public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation
of our trust account.
We expect to
encounter intense competition from other entities having a business
objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may
be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check
companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing
for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these
individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive
experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly,
acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to
various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater
technical, human and other resources or more local industry
knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively
limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors.
While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could
potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our Initial Public
Offering and the sale of the private placement shares, 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 have not consummated our initial
business combination within the required time period, our public
shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public
share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our
trust account. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the
proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less
than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein.
If the net
proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private
placement shares not being held in the trust account are
insufficient to allow us to operate for the 24 months following the
closing of our Initial Public Offering, it could limit the amount
available to fund our search for a target business or businesses
and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend
on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and
to complete our initial business combination.
As of December
31, 2021, we had approximately $501,000 in cash held outside the
trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe
that, upon the closing of our Initial Public Offering, the funds
available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds
available from loans from our sponsor, members of our management
team or any of their affiliates will be sufficient to allow us to
operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of our
Initial Public Offering; however, our estimate may not be accurate,
and our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their
affiliates are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such
circumstances. Of the funds available to us, we expect to use a
portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to
assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use
a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop”
provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target
businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other
companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target
businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business
combination, although we do not have any current intention to do
so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the
right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were
subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of
our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to
continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a
target business.
If we are
required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds
from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their
affiliates or other third parties to operate or may be forced to
liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor
any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to
us in such circumstances. Any such advances may be repaid only from
funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us
upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to
$1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into shares of the
post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per share at
the option of the lender. The shares would be identical to the
private placement shares. Prior to the completion of our initial
business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties
other than our sponsor, members of our management team or any of
their affiliates as we do not believe third parties will be willing
to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights
to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we do not complete
our initial business combination within the required time period
because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be
forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.
Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated
$10.00 per public share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our
public shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the
proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less
than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein.
We may seek
business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity
that require significant operational improvements, which could
delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek
business combination opportunities with large, highly complex
companies that we believe would benefit from operational
improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to
the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve
the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as
successful as we anticipate.
To the extent
we complete our initial business combination with a large complex
business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also
be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the
business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us
from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will
endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target
business and its operations, we may not be able to properly
ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we
complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve
our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take
longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains
that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and
complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no
ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and
complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such
combination may not be as successful as a combination with a
smaller, less complex organization.
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. Claims may 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 offence and may be liable
for a fine of $18,292.68 and imprisonment for five years in the
Cayman Islands.
We may not
hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after the consummation
of our initial business combination.
In accordance
with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required
to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our
first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. As an
exempted company, there is no requirement under the Companies Act
for us to hold annual or shareholder meetings to elect directors.
Until we hold an annual meeting of shareholders, public
shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to elect directors
and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of
directors is divided into three classes with only one class of
directors being elected in each year and each class (except for
those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of
shareholders) serving a three-year term.
We may seek
acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may
not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will
consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of
expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and
we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition
opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor
to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business
combination target, we may not adequately ascertain or assess all
of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an
investment in our Class A ordinary shares will not ultimately prove
to be less favorable to investors in our securities than a direct
investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business
combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition
outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our
management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its
evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this
Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not
be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to
acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately
ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors.
Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities
following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction
in the value of their securities. Such holders 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.
Our initial
shareholders may receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we
issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
We will
consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of
expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and
we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition
opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor
to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business
combination target, we may not adequately ascertain or assess all
of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an
investment in our Class A ordinary shares will not ultimately prove
to be less favorable to investors in our securities than a direct
investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business
combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition
outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our
management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its
evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this
Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not
be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to
acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately
ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors.
Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities
following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction
in the value of their securities. Such holders 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.
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 do not provide
a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event
will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our
net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not
then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). 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, 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, blank check companies
have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their
charters and other governing instruments. We may seek to amend our
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or
governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us
to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders
may not support.
In order to
effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in
the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and
governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have
amended the definition of business combination, increased
redemption thresholds, and extended the time to consummate a
business combination. Amending our amended and restated memorandum
and articles of association require at least a special resolution
of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the
approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares
who attend and vote at a shareholder meeting of the company. In
addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of
association require 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 (i) that would modify the substance or timing of our
obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the
right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial
business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we
do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months
from the closing of our Initial Public Offering or (ii) with
respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of
our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments
would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the
securities offered through our Initial Public Offering, we would
register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected
securities.
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 own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our issued and
outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private placement
shares). 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 shares in our Initial Public Offering or
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
sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors,
have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other
than as disclosed in this Report. 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 elected by our
sponsor, is divided into three classes, each of which will
generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of
directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual
meeting of shareholders to elect 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
meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors,
only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for
election and our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will
control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares
will have the right to vote on the election of directors and to
remove directors prior to our initial business combination.
Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least
until the completion of our initial business combination. In
addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement
regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent
of our sponsor.
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.
In particular,
there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands
or any other applicable jurisdictions would recognize and enforce
judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or
officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the
securities laws of the United States or any state in the United
States or entertain original actions brought in the Cayman Islands
or any other applicable jurisdiction’s courts against us or our
directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the
United States or any state in the United States.
You will not
be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many
other blank check companies.
Since the net
proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private
placement shares are intended to be used to complete an initial
business combination with a target business that has not been
selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the
United States securities laws. However, because we have net
tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of our
Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement
shares and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an
audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from
rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check
companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be
afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other
things, this means that since our shares were immediately tradable
and we have a longer period of time to complete our initial
business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419.
Moreover, if our Initial Public Offering were subject to Rule 419,
that rule would have prohibited the release of any interest earned
on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds
in the trust account were released to us in connection with our
completion of an initial business combination.
Subsequent to
our completion of our initial business combination, we may be
required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and
impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative
effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the
share price of our securities, 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,
this diligence may not surface all material issues with a
particular target business. In addition, factors outside of the
target business and outside of our control may later arise. As a
result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or
write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment
or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if
our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected
risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a
manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even
though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an
immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges
of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions
about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may
cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be
subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target
business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt
financing. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their
securities following the business combination could suffer a
reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders 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 public
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 (excluding our independent registered public
accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities
with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any
right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies
held in the trust account for the benefit of our public
shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even
if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from
bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not
limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary
responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims
challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order
to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets,
including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party
refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies
held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis
of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an
agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if
management believes that such third party’s engagement would be
significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of
possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses
to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party
consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by
management to be significantly superior to those of other
consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where
management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute
a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities
will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a
result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or
agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust
account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we
have not consummated an initial business combination within 24
months from the closing of our Initial Public Offering, 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, our sponsor agreed that it will be liable to us
if and to the extent any claims by a third party (excluding our
independent registered public accounting firm) for services
rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business
with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement,
reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i)
$10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per share held
in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust
account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in
the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest
that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, 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 seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any
claims under our indemnity of the Underwriters of our Initial
Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities
under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed
waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our
sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for
such third party claims. 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. Our sponsor may not be
able to satisfy those obligations. 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 public share and (ii) the actual amount per share
held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the
trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to
reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of
the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, 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 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 public share.
If, after we
distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public
shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or winding up or an
involuntary bankruptcy or winding up 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 winding up petition or an
involuntary bankruptcy or winding up 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
winding up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding up
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 winding up petition or an
involuntary bankruptcy or winding up 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.
Holders of
Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any
election of directors we hold prior to the completion of our
initial business combination.
Prior to the
completion of our initial business combination, only holders of our
founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of
directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to
vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition,
prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders
of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the
board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have
any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation
of an initial business combination.
Because we are
neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular
industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses
with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be
unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target
business’s operations.
We may pursue
business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we
are not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of
association, permitted to effectuate our initial business
combination with another blank check company or similar company
with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected 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 may
not 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.
An investment in our Class A ordinary shares may not ultimately
prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment,
if such opportunity were available, in a business combination
target. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their
securities following our initial business combination could suffer
a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders 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.
Because we
intend to seek a business combination with a target business in the
healthcare industry, we expect our future operations to be subject
to risks associated with this industry.
Because we
intend to seek a business combination with a target business in the
healthcare industry, we expect our future operations to be subject
to risks associated with this industry.
Healthcare-related companies are generally subject to greater
governmental regulation than most other industries at the U.S.
state and federal levels, and internationally. In recent years,
both local and national governmental budgets have come under
pressure to reduce spending and control healthcare costs, which
could both adversely affect regulatory processes and public funding
available for healthcare products, services and facilities. In
March 2010, comprehensive healthcare reform legislation was enacted
in the United States. These laws are intended to increase health
insurance coverage through individual and employer mandates,
subsidies offered to lower income individuals, tax credits
available to smaller employers and broadening of Medicaid
eligibility.
While one
intent of healthcare reform is to expand health insurance coverage
to more individuals, it may also involve additional regulatory
mandates and other measures designed to constrain medical costs,
including coverage and reimbursement for healthcare services.
Healthcare reform has had a significant impact on the healthcare
sector in the United States and consequently has the ability to
affect companies within the healthcare industry. The ultimate
effects of federal healthcare reform or any future legislation or
regulation, or healthcare initiatives, if any, on the healthcare
sector, whether implemented at the federal or state level or
internationally, cannot be predicted with certainty and such
reform, legislation, regulation or initiatives may adversely affect
the performance of a potential business combination.
Changes in
governmental policies may have a material effect on the demand for
or costs of certain products and services. A healthcare related
company must receive government approval before introducing new
drugs and medical devices or procedures. This process may delay the
introduction of these products and services to the marketplace,
resulting in increased development costs, delayed cost recovery and
loss of competitive advantage to the extent that rival companies
have developed competing products or procedures, adversely
affecting the company’s revenues and profitability. Failure to
obtain governmental approval of a key drug or device or other
regulatory action could have a material adverse effect on the
business of a target company. Additionally, expansion of facilities
by healthcare related providers is subject to “determinations of
need” by the appropriate government authorities. This process not
only increases the time and cost involved in these expansions, but
also makes expansion plans uncertain, limiting the revenue and
profitability growth potential of healthcare related facilities
operators.
Certain
healthcare-related companies depend on the exclusive rights or
patents for the products they develop and distribute. Patents have
a limited duration and, upon expiration, other companies may market
substantially similar “generic” products that are typically sold at
a lower price than the patented product, causing the original
developer of the product to lose market share and/or reduce the
price charged for the product, resulting in lower profits for the
original developer. As a result, the expiration of patents may
adversely affect the profitability of these companies. The
profitability of healthcare-related companies may also be affected,
among other factors, by restrictions on government reimbursement
for medical expenses, rising or falling costs of medical products
and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient
services, a limited product offering, industry innovation, changes
in technologies and other market developments. Finally, because the
products and services of healthcare-related companies affect the
health and well-being of many individuals, these companies are
especially susceptible to product liability lawsuits.
The healthcare
industry spends heavily on research and development. Research
findings (e.g., regarding side effects or comparative benefits of
one or more particular treatments, services or products) and
technological innovation (together with patent expirations) may
make any particular treatment, service or product less attractive
if previously unknown or underappreciated risks are revealed, or if
a more effective, less costly or less risky solution is or becomes
available. Any such development could have a material adverse
effect on the companies that are target businesses for investment.
In recent years, both local and national governmental budgets have
come under pressure to reduce spending and control healthcare
costs, which could both adversely affect regulatory processes and
public funding available for healthcare products, services and
facilities.
Although we
have identified general criteria 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 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.
Although we
have identified general criteria for evaluating prospective target
businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we
enter into our initial business combination will not have all of
these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business
combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these
criteria, such combination may not be as successful as a
combination with a business that does meet all of our general
criteria. In addition, if we announce a prospective business
combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria,
a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption
rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing
condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum
net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder
approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock
exchange rule, 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. If we do
not complete our initial business combination within the required
time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately
$10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the
liquidation of our trust account.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from
an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and
consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source
that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our
shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we
complete our initial business combination with an affiliated
entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an
independent accounting firm or independent investment banking firm
that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders 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 solicitation or tender offer
materials, 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 in our amended and restated memorandum and
articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the
interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended
and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the
issuance of up to 479,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value
$0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value
$0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value
$0.0001 per share. There are 463,551,000 and 16,262,500 authorized
but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares,
respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take
into account shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B
ordinary shares, if any. The Class B ordinary shares are
automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time
of our initial business combination as described herein and in our
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. There
are no preference shares issued and outstanding.
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
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 described in the final
prospectus relating to our Initial Public Offering. However, our
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association
provide, among other things, that prior to the completion of 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 on any initial business combination
or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in
connection with the completion of an 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 our investors,
which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in
the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A
ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion
of the Class B ordinary shares;
|
|
• |
may subordinate the rights of holders of 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 our
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;
|
|
• |
may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of
control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a
person seeking to obtain control of us; and
|
|
• |
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A
ordinary shares.
|
Resources
could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed,
which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to
locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not
complete our initial business combination within the required time
period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately
$10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the
liquidation of our trust account.
We anticipate
that the investigation of each specific target business and the
negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements,
disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial
management time and attention and substantial costs for
accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a
specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to
that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be
recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a
specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial
business combination for any number of reasons including those
beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of
the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect
subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another
business. If we do not complete our initial business combination
within the required time period, our public shareholders may
receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in
certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust
account.
Compliance
obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult
for us to effectuate a business combination, require substantial
financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs
of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our
system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event
we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated
filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we
be required to comply with the independent registered public
accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control
over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check
company makes compliance with the requirements of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to
other public companies because a target business with which we seek
to complete our initial business combination may not be in
compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding
adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal
control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to
complete any such acquisition.
We may have a
limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target
business and, as a result, may affect our initial business
combination with a target business whose management may not have
the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public
company.
When
evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business
combination with a prospective target business, our ability to
assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a
lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the
capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may
prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills,
qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target
business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or
abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and
profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively
impacted. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their
securities following our initial business combination could suffer
a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are
unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may issue
notes or other debt, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to
complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our
leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the
value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we
have no commitments as of the date of this Report to issue any
notes or other debt, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may
choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business
combination. We and our officers agreed that we will not incur any
indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of
any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies
held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect
the per share amount available for redemption from the trust
account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety
of negative effects, including:
|
• |
default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating
revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to
repay our debt obligations;
|
|
• |
acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even
if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we
breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain
financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of
that covenant;
|
|
• |
our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest,
if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
|
|
• |
our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the
debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such
financing while the debt is outstanding;
|
|
• |
our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary
shares;
|
|
• |
using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal
and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for
dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses,
capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate
purposes;
|
|
• |
limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to
changes in our business and in the industry in which we
operate;
|
|
• |
increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general
economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes
in government regulation; and
|
|
• |
limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for
expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service
requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and
other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less
debt.
|
We may only be
able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our
Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement
shares, 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.
As of December
31, 2021, we had approximately $144,300,000 available to consummate
an initial business combination after payment of $5,232,550 of
deferred underwriting fees.
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.
|
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 (if there are multiple sellers) and
the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of
the operations and services or products of the acquired companies
in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately
address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability
and results of operations.
We may attempt
to complete our initial business combination with a private company
about which little information is available, which may result in a
business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we
suspected, if at all.
In pursuing
our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial
business combination with a privately held company. Very little
public information generally exists about private companies, and we
could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a
potential initial business combination on the basis of limited
information, which may result in a business combination with a
company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Because we
must furnish our shareholders with target business financial
statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise
advantageous initial business combination with some prospective
target businesses.
The federal
proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote
on our proposed business combination include historical and/or pro
forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same
financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer
documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer
rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in
accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or
international financial reporting standards as issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the
circumstances and the historical financial statements may be
required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or
PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of
potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may
be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose
such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete
our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing
of our Initial Public Offering.
If we do not
consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from
the closing of our Initial Public Offering, our public shareholders
may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from
our trust account.
If we do not
consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from
the closing of our Initial Public Offering, the proceeds then on
deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the
funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us
to pay our income taxes, if any (less 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 Act. In that case, investors may be
forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of our Initial
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, prior thereto, we consummate our
initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, 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 do not complete our initial business combination and do not
amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and
articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and
articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other
reason prior to the consummation of our initial business
combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect
to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably
possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to
applicable Cayman Islands law.
If we are
deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company
Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance
requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make
it difficult for us to complete our initial business
combination.
If we are
deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company
Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
|
• |
restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
|
|
• |
restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may
make it difficult for us to complete our initial business
combination.
|
In addition,
we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements,
including:
|
• |
registration as an investment company with the SEC;
|
|
• |
adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
|
|
• |
reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure
requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently
not subject to.
|
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-business
combination 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 principal activities will subject us to the
Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust
account may only be invested in United States “government
securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the
Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in
money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in
direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust
agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other
securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds
to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at
acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on
buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or
private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an
“investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company
Act. An investment in our securities is not intended for persons
who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or
investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding
place for funds pending the earliest to occur of (i) the completion
of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any
public shares properly tendered 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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have
their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business
combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not
complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the
closing of our Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any
other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A
ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if
we have not consummated an initial business within 24 months from
the closing of our Initial Public Offering, subject to applicable
law and as further described herein. 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 do not complete our initial business combination
within the required time period, our public shareholders may
receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in
certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust
account.
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 a
special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at
least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a
shareholder meeting of the company, which is a lower amendment
threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be
easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated
memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion
of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders
may not support.
Some other
blank check companies have a provision in their charter which
prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including
those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination
activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s
shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions
typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the
company’s shareholders. 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 our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the
private placement shares 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, meaning holders of at
least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a
shareholder 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 at least 65% of
our ordinary shares; provided that the provisions of our amended
and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the
appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business
combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by
holders representing at least two-thirds of our outstanding Class B
ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, and their permitted
transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own, on an
as-converted basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the
closing of our Initial 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 blank check 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,
executive officers and directors 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 (i)
that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to
provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have
their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business
combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not
complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the
closing of our Initial Public Offering or (ii) with respect to any
other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A
ordinary shares, 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account
and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any,
divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our
shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of,
this agreement and, as a result, will not have the ability to
pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers and
directors for any breach of this agreement. As a result, in the
event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a
shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
We may be
unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial
business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a
target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a
particular business combination. If we are unable to complete our
initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive
only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain
circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account.
Although we
believe that the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and
the sale of the private placement shares will be sufficient to
allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we
have not yet finalized the acquisition of a target business we
cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular
transaction. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and
the sale of the private placement shares prove to be insufficient,
either because of the size of our initial business combination, the
depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target
business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of
shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with
our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated
transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial
business combination, we may be required to seek additional
financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. Such
financing may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The
current economic environment may make difficult for companies to
obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional
financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our
initial business combination, we would be compelled to either
restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business
combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If
we do not complete our initial business combination within the
required time period, our public shareholders may receive only
approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain
circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account. 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.
Risks Relating
to our Securities
The securities
in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a
negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the
assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount
received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per
share.
The proceeds
held in the trust account were 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, which invest only in direct U.S.
government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government
treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest,
they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years.
Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero
in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal
Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future
adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we
are unable to complete our initial business combination or make
certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and
articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to
receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust
account, plus any interest income, net of income taxes paid or
payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial
business combination, $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution
expenses). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the
assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount
received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per
share.
If we seek
shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do
not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if
you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of
15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to
redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary
shares.
If we seek
shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do
not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business
combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and
restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a
public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder
or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert
or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act),
will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to
more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our Initial
Public Offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without
our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our
shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess
Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your
inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence
over our ability to complete our initial business combination and
you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you
sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you
will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the
Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And
as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares
exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be
required to sell your shares in open market transactions,
potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq may
delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could
limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and
subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our Class A
ordinary shares are listed on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect
to our Initial Public Offering we expect to continue to meet, on a
pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in
Nasdaq’s listing standards, our securities may not be, or may not
continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to the
completion of our initial business combination. In order to
continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to the completion
of our initial business combination, we must maintain certain
financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must
maintain a minimum amount in 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 Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements,
which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing
requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our
securities on Nasdaq. For instance, the share price of our
securities would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per
share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to
be at least $5,000,000 and we would be required to have a minimum
of 300 round-lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot
holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500).
We may not be able to meet those initial listing requirements at
that time.
If Nasdaq
delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not
able to list our securities on another national securities
exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an
over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face
significant material adverse consequences, including:
|
• |
a limited availability of market quotations for our
securities;
|
|
• |
reduced liquidity for our securities;
|
|
• |
a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny
stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary
shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a
reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market
for our securities;
|
|
• |
a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
|
|
• |
a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain
additional financing in the future.
|
The National
Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal
statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale
of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered
securities.” Because our Class A ordinary shares are listed on
Nasdaq, our Class A ordinary shares qualify as covered securities
under the statute. Although the states are preempted from
regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does
allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion
of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then
the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a
particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used
these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued
by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain
state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably
and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to
hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their
states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our shares
would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we
would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our
shares.
A market for
our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the
liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of
our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential
business combinations and general market or economic conditions,
including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, an
active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if
developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your
securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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 will include a staggered board of directors, the ability
of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new
series of preference shares, and the fact that prior to the
completion of our initial business combination only holders of our
Class B ordinary shares, which have been issued to our sponsor, are
entitled to vote on the election of directors, which may make more
difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions
that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing
market prices for our securities.
The grant of
registration rights to our initial shareholders may make it more
difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the
future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market
price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to a
registration and shareholders rights agreement, our initial
shareholders, and their permitted transferees can demand that we
register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are
convertible and the private placement shares, including the private
placement shares that may be issued upon conversion of Working
Capital Loans. 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 securities that is
expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders or
their permitted transferees are registered for resale.
Risks Relating
to Our Sponsor and Management Team
We are
dependent upon our executive 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 executive officers and directors. We believe that
our success depends on the continued service of our officers and
directors, at least until we have completed our initial business
combination. In addition, our executive 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. In particular, certain of our officers and directors
serve as an officer and/or director of ARYA Sciences Acquisition
Corp V, which is a blank check company sponsored by an affiliate of
Perceptive Advisors. We do not have an employment agreement with,
or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or
executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or
more of our directors or executive officers could have a
detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to
successfully effect our initial business combination and to be
successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of
our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial
business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively
impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination
business.
Our ability to
successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent
upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key
personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be
ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the
target business in senior management or advisory positions
following our initial business combination, it is likely that some
or all of the management of the target business will remain in
place. While we 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. In
addition, pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights
agreement entered into at closing of our Initial Public Offering,
our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business
combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for
election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds
any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights
agreement.
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.
Our executive
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 executive
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 executive officers
is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she
may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive
officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of
hours per week to our affairs. In particular, certain of our
officers and directors serve as an officer and/or director of ARYA
Sciences Acquisition Corp V, which is a blank check company
sponsored by an affiliate of Perceptive Advisors. Our independent
directors also serve as officers and board members for other
entities. If our executive 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, including another blank check company, and, accordingly,
may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a
particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we
consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in
the business of identifying and combining with one or more
businesses. 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, including ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp V, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under
Cayman Islands law. 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.
In addition,
our founders and our directors and officers, Perceptive Advisors,
or its affiliates may in the future become affiliated with other
blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are
similar to ours. 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 such
other blank check companies, including ARYA Sciences Acquisition
Corp V, prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’
and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide
that we renounce our interest in any business combination
opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such
opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or
her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an
opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable
basis.
Our executive
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, executive
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 executive officers, although we do not
intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits
any such persons from engaging for their own account in business
activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons
or entities may have a conflict between their interests and
ours.
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 may 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, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders
which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of
the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors
with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more
businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers,
directors or initial shareholders. Our directors also serve as
officers and board members for other entities. Our sponsor and our
officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose
acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business
or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an
initial business combination. 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 or an independent
valuation or accounting firm regarding the fairness to our company
from a financial point of view of a business combination with one
or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our
sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders,
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.
Our management
may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our
initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target
business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications
or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may
structure our initial business combination so that the
post-business combination 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-business combination company owns
or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the
target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target
business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an
investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not
consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if
the post-business combination company owns 50% or more of the
voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the
completion of our initial business combination may collectively own
a minority interest in the post-business combination company,
depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in 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 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 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.
Since our
sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire
investment in us if our initial business combination is not
completed (other than with respect to public shares they may
acquire during or after our Initial Public Offering), a conflict of
interest may arise in determining whether a particular business
combination target is appropriate for our initial business
combination.
On January 4,
2021, we issued to our sponsor 3,737,500 founder shares in exchange
for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per
share. In February 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder
shares to each of Todd Wider, Leslie Trigg and Michael Henderson.
Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the
sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. Prior
to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor,
the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share
price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount
contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued.
The founder shares and private placement shares will be worthless
if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition,
our sponsor purchased 499,000 private placement shares at a price
of $10.00 per share ($4,990,000 in the aggregate), in a private
placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of our
Initial Public Offering. The personal and financial interests of
our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation
in identifying and selecting a target business combination,
completing an initial business combination and influencing the
operation of the business following the initial business
combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month
anniversary of the closing of our Initial Public Offering nears,
which is the deadline for our consummation of an initial business
combination.
General Risk
Factors
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains
an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our
ability to continue as a “going concern.”
Our
independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an
explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our
ability to continue as a “going concern.”As of December 31, 2021,
we had approximately $501,000 in our operating bank account, and
negative working capital of approximately $5.1 million. Further, we
have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in
pursuit of our initial Business Combination. We cannot assure you
that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial
Business Combination will be successful. These factors, among
others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a
going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this
Report do not include any adjustments that might result from our
inability to continue as a going concern.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over
financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to
adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations
and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management
is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a
quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal
controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses
identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A
material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of
deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such
that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement
of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented
or detected on a timely basis.
As described
elsewhere in this Report, we have identified a material weakness in
our internal control over financial reporting related to the
company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to its accounting
classification of the public shares. As a result of this material
weakness, our management has concluded that our internal control
over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021.
Historically, a portion of the public shares was classified as
permanent equity to maintain shareholders’ equity greater than $5
million on the basis that the company will not redeem its public
shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be
less than $5,000,001, as described in the amended and restated
memorandum and articles of association. Pursuant to the company’s
re-evaluation of the company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to
its accounting classification of the public shares, the company’s
management has determined that all of the redeemable public shares
should be reclassified as temporary equity regardless of the net
tangible assets redemption limitation contained in the amended and
restated memorandum and articles of association. For a discussion
of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified
related to the company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to its
accounting classification of the public share, see Part II, Item
9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Report.
To respond to
this material weakness, we plan to devote, significant effort and
resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal
control over financial reporting. While we have processes to
identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting
requirements, we plan to enhance these processes to better evaluate
our research and understanding of the nuances of the complex
accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our
plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting
literature, research materials and documents and increased
communication among our personnel and third-party professionals
with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The
elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over
time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will
ultimately have the intended effects.
Any failure to
maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability
to report our financial position and results from operations on a
timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not
accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our
operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on
a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations
by the stock exchange on which our ordinary shares are listed, the
SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, a material
adverse effect on our business could be the result of ineffective
internal controls. Ineffective internal controls could also cause
investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information,
which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our
stock.
We can give no
assurance that the measures we plan to take in the future will
remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional
material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not
arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain
adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention
of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in
strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those
controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify
irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of
our financial statements.
We are a
recently incorporated company with no operating history and no
revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to
achieve our business objective.
We are a
recently incorporated company established under the laws of the
Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence
operations until obtaining funding through our initial public
offering. 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.
Past
performance by our management team or their affiliates, including
Perceptive Advisors, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp., ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp II, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III and ARYA
Sciences Acquisition Corp V, may not be indicative of future
performance of an investment in us.
Information
regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our
management team or their affiliates, including Perceptive Advisors,
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp., ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II,
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III and ARYA Sciences Acquisition
Corp V, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past
experience of and performance by our management team or their
affiliates, including Perceptive Advisors, ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp., ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II, ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp III and ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V, is not a
guarantee either (i) that we will be able to successfully identify
a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii)
of any results with respect to any initial business combination we
may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our
management team, Perceptive Advisors or any of their affiliates’ or
managed fund’s performance as indicative of the future performance
of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to,
generate going forward. An investment in us is not an investment in
Perceptive Advisors.
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.
Changes in
laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and
regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our
ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination,
and results of operations.
We are subject
to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local
governments. In particular, we are 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.
We are an
emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the
meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain
exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging
growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make
our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more
difficult to compare our performance with other public
companies.
We are an
“emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act,
as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain
exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable
to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies”
including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with
the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding
executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy
statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a
nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder
approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain
information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth
company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us
to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our
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 (i) the market value of our ordinary
shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior
June 30, or (ii) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during
such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary
shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior
June 30. 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.
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 executive
officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts
against our directors or officers.
Our corporate
affairs and the rights of shareholders are governed by our amended
and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies
Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time)
and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are also 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.
Shareholders
of Cayman Islands exempted companies like the Company have no
general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate
records or to obtain copies of the register of members of these
companies. Our directors have discretion under our amended and
restated memorandum and articles of association to determine
whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records
may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make
them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult
for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts
necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other
shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
We have been
advised by 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.
Since only
holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the
election of directors prior to our initial business combination,
Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the
meaning of Nasdaq’s rules and, as a result, we may qualify for
exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that
would otherwise provide protection to shareholders of other
companies.
Only holders
of our founder shares have the right to vote on the election of
directors. As a result, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled
company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s corporate governance
standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company
of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of
directors is held by an individual, a group or another company is a
“controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain
corporate governance requirements, including the requirements
that:
|
• |
we have a board that includes a majority of “independent
directors,” as defined under Nasdaq rules;
|
|
• |
we have a compensation committee of our board that is
comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter
addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
|
|
• |
we have independent director oversight of our director
nominations.
|
We do not
intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the
corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq, subject to applicable
phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize
some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same
protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject
to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements.
We may be a
passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result
in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S.
investors.
If we are a
PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in
the holding period of a beneficial owner of our Class A ordinary
shares who or that is (i) an individual who is a citizen or
resident of the United States as determined for U.S. federal income
tax purposes, (ii) a corporation (or other entity taxable as a
corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or
under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the
District of Columbia, (iii) an estate whose income is subject to
U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust,
if (a) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary
supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more
U.S. persons (as defined in the Code) have authority to control all
substantial decisions of the trust or (b) it has a valid election
in effect under Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person
(a “U.S. Holder”), such U.S. holder may be subject to certain
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. Our actual PFIC status
for any taxable year, however, 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 written 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.
We urge U.S. investors to consult their 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 under the Companies Act,
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.
Risks
Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign
Countries
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;
|
|
• |
tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws
as compared to the United States;
|
|
• |
currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
|
|
• |
challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
|
|
• |
cultural and language differences;
|
|
• |
employment regulations;
|
|
• |
underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory
systems;
|
|
• |
protection of intellectual property;
|
|
• |
social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil
disturbances;
|
|
• |
regime changes and political upheaval;
|
|
• |
terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars, including the
military conflict between Ukraine, the Russian Federation and
Belarus that started in February 2022; 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 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 may 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
social conditions and government policies, developments and
conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic,
political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of
the country in which our operations are located could affect our
business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and
among various 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
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 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 SEC, 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 seeking a business
combination target.
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 1B. |
Unresolved Staff Comments
|
None.
We currently
maintain our executive offices at 51 Astor Place, 10th Floor, New
York, New York 10003. The cost for our use of this space is
included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor for
office space, administrative and support services. We consider our
current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. |
Legal Proceedings
|
To the
knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently
pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or
directors in their capacity as such or against any of our
property.
Item 4. |
Mine Safety Disclosures
|
Not
applicable.
PART II
Item 5. |
Market for Registrant’s Common
Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity
Securities
|
Our Class A
ordinary shares are traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “ARYD.”
Our Class A ordinary shares commenced public trading on February
26, 2021.
On December
31, 2021, there were two holders of record of our Class A ordinary
shares and four holders of record of our Class B ordinary
shares.
We have not
paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not
intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial
business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future
will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital
requirements and general financial condition subsequent to
completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any
cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will
be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time,
and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share
premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under
Cayman Islands law. In addition, our board of directors is not
currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share
dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any
indebtedness in connection with a business combination, our ability
to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may
agree to in connection therewith.
(d) |
Securities Authorized for Issuance
under Equity Compensation Plans
|
None
Not
applicable.
(f) |
Recent Sales of Unregistered
Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
|
Unregistered
Sales
On January 4,
2021, we issued 3,737,500 of our Class B ordinary shares to our
sponsor, in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or
approximately $0.007 per share. Such securities were issued in
connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from
registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of
Regulation D.
Our sponsor
purchased, pursuant to a written agreement, 499,000 private
placement shares at a price of $10.00 per private placement share
($4,990,000 in the aggregate), in a private placement that closed
simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering.
These issuances were made pursuant to the exemption from
registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Our sponsor, as purchaser, is an accredited investor for purposes
of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
No
underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to
such sales.
Use of
Proceeds
On March 2,
2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 14,950,000
Public Shares, including the 1,950,000 Public Shares as a result of
the Underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option, at
an offering price of $10.00 per Public Share, generating gross
proceeds of $149.5 million, and incurring offering costs of
approximately $8.8 million, inclusive of approximately $5.2 million
in deferred underwriting commissions. The securities in the
offering were registered under the Securities Act on registration
statements on Form S-1 (File No. 333-252960) that was declared
effective on February 25, 2021.
In connection
with the Initial Public Offering, we incurred offering costs of
approximately $8.8 million, inclusive of approximately $5.2 million
in deferred underwriting commissions. Other incurred offering costs
consisted principally of preparation fees related to the Initial
Public Offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and
commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be
payable upon consummation of the initial business combination, if
consummated) and the Initial Public Offering expenses,
approximately $149.5 million of the net proceeds from our Initial
Public Offering and certain of the proceeds from the private
placement of the private placement shares (or $10.00 per share sold
in the Initial Public Offering) was placed in the trust account.
The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain
proceeds from the sale of the private placement shares are held in
the trust account and invested as described elsewhere in this
Report.
There has been
no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the
Initial Public Offering and private placement as is described in
the Company’s final prospectus relating to the Initial Public
Offering.
(g) |
Purchases of Equity Securities by
the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
|
None.
Item 7. |
Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
|
References to the “Company,” “ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp IV,”
“ARYA,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp
IV. 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.
Overview
We are a
blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted
company on August 24, 2020. We were formed for the purpose of
effecting a Business Combination that we have not yet identified.
Our sponsor is ARYA Sciences Holdings IV, a Cayman Islands exempted
limited company (the “Sponsor”).
Our
registration statement for our Initial Public Offering was declared
effective on February 25, 2021. On March 2, 2021, we consummated
its Initial Public Offering of 14,950,000 Class A ordinary shares
(the “Public Shares”), including the 1,950,000 Public Shares as a
result of the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment
option, at an offering price of $10.00 per Public Share, generating
gross proceeds of $149.5 million, and incurring offering costs of
approximately $8.8 million, inclusive of approximately $5.2 million
in deferred underwriting commissions.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we
consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 499,000
Class A ordinary shares (the “Private Placement Shares”), at a
price of $10.00 per Private Placement Share to the Sponsor,
generating gross proceeds of approximately $5.0 million.
Upon the
closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement,
$149.5 million ($10.00 per Public Share) of the net proceeds of the
Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private
Placement were placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located
in the United States, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust
Company acting as trustee, and are invested only in United States
“government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of
the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment
Company Act”) having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money
market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated
under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S.
government treasury obligations, until the earlier of: (i) the
completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of
the Trust Account as described below.
Our
management has broad discretion with respect to the specific
application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and
the sale of Private Placement Shares, although substantially all of
the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward
consummating a Business Combination.
If we have
not completed a Business Combination within 24 months from the
closing of the Initial Public Offering, or March 2, 2023 , the
Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of
winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more
than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a
per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount
then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on
the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to
us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest
to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the
then-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 the
case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman
Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements
of other applicable law.
Going
forward, we intend to effectuate our initial Business Combination
with a new target using cash from the proceeds of our Initial
Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, our
shares, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.
The issuance
of additional shares in a Business Combination:
|
• |
may significantly dilute the
equity interest of investors in our Initial Public Offering, which
dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the
Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A
ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion
of the Class B ordinary shares;
|
|
• |
may subordinate the rights of
holders of 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 our 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;
|
|
• |
may have the effect of delaying
or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share
ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of
us; and
|
|
• |
may adversely affect prevailing
market prices for our Class A ordinary shares.
|
Similarly, if we issue debt or
otherwise incur significant debt, it could result in:
|
• |
default and foreclosure on our
assets if our operating revenues after an initial Business
Combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
|
|
• |
acceleration of our obligations
to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and
interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that
require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves
without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
|
|
• |
our immediate payment of all
principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on
demand;
|
|
• |
our inability to obtain necessary
additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our
ability to obtain such financing while the debt is
outstanding;
|
|
• |
our inability to pay dividends on
our Class A ordinary shares;
|
|
• |
using a substantial portion of
our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will
reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary
shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions
and other general corporate purposes;
|
|
• |
limitations on our flexibility in
planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the
industry in which we operate;
|
|
• |
increased vulnerability to
adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive
conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
|
|
• |
limitations on our ability to
borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures,
acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy
and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our
competitors who have less debt.
|
Termination of Business Combination
As described
in Note 1 to the financial statements included in this Report, on
February 23, 2022, ARYA terminated the previously announced
business combination agreement, dated September 29, 2021, by and
among Amicus Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation, us, Amicus
GT Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and
wholly-owned subsidiary of Amicus, and Caritas Therapeutics, LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of
Amicus GT.
A copy of
each of the Termination Agreement is filed as an exhibit with a
Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 23,
2022.
Results of Operations
Our entire
activity since inception up to December 31, 2021 was in preparation
for our formation and the Initial Public Offering, and since the
Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial
Business Combination. We will not be generating any operating
revenues until the closing and completion of our initial Business
Combination.
For the year
ended December 31, 2021, we had net loss of approximately $6.6
million, which consisted of approximately $6.6 million general and
administrative expenses, partially offset by approximately $52,000
in gains on marketable securities, dividends and interest held in
Trust Account.
For the
period August 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we
had net loss of approximately $14,000, which consisted of
approximately $14,000 in general and administrative expenses.
Going Concern
As of
December 31, 2021, we had approximately $501,000 in our operating
bank account, and negative working capital of approximately $5.1
million.
Our
liquidity needs to date have been satisfied through a contribution
of $25,000 from Sponsor to cover for certain expenses in exchange
for the issuance of the Founder Shares, the loan of approximately
$161,000 from the Sponsor pursuant to the Note (as defined in Note
4), and the proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement
not held in the Trust Account. We fully repaid the Note upon
closing of the Initial Public Offering. Subsequent to the
repayment, the loan facility was no longer available to us. 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 our officers and directors may, but are not obligated
to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (as defined in Note
4). As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding
under any Working Capital Loan.
We cannot provide any assurance that new financing along the lines
detailed above will be available to us on commercially acceptable
terms, if at all. Further, we have until March 2, 2023 to
consummate a Business Combination, but we cannot provide assurance
that we will be able to consummate a Business Combination by that
date. If a Business Combination is not consummated by the required
date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent
dissolution. In connection with our assessment of going concern
considerations in accordance with the Financial Accounting
Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification
(“ASC”) Topic 205-40, “Basis of Presentation – Going Concern,” we
have determined that the working capital deficit and mandatory
liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt
about our ability to continue as a going concern until the earlier
of the consummation of the Business Combination or the date we are
required to liquidate. The financial statements do not include any
adjustment that might be necessary if the Company is unable to
continue as a going concern. We intend to complete our initial
business combination before the mandatory liquidation date;
however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to
consummate any business combination by March 2, 2023. No
adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets and
liabilities should we be required to liquidate after March 2, 2023,
nor do these financial statements include any adjustments relating
to the recovery of the recorded assets or the classification of the
liabilities that might be necessary should we be unable to continue
as a going concern.
Management
of ARYA 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 balance sheet. The financial
statements do not include any adjustments that might result from
the outcome of this uncertainty.
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a
military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this
action, various nations, including the United States, have
instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and
Belarus. The impact of this action and related sanctions on the
world economy are not determinable as of the date of this Report.
Further, the specific impact of this action on our financial
condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not
determinable as of the date of this Report.
Contractual Obligations
Administrative Support Agreement
Commencing
on the effective date of the registration statement on Form S-1
related to the Initial Public Offering through the earlier of
consummation of the initial Business Combination and our
liquidation, we will reimburse the Sponsor for office space,
secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the
amount of $10,000 per month. We incurred approximately $101,000 and
nil in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying
statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 and
the period from August 24, 2020 (inception) through December 1,
2020, respectively.
Registration Rights
The holders
of Founder Shares, Private Placement Shares and Private Placement
Shares that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans,
are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and
shareholder rights agreement signed upon the consummation of the
Initial Public Offering. The holders of these securities are
entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands,
that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have
certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to
registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of a
Business Combination. However, the registration and shareholder
rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration
statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until
termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs (i) in
the case of the Founder Shares, in accordance with the letter
agreement our initial shareholders entered into and (ii) in the
case of the Private Placement Shares, 30 days after the completion
of our Business Combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in
connection with the filing of any such registration
statements.
Underwriting Agreement
We granted
the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final
prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up
to 1,950,000 additional Public Shares to cover over-allotments at
the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts
and commissions. On March 2, 2021, the underwriters fully exercised
the over-allotment option.
The
underwriters were paid an underwriting discount of $0.20 per Public
Share, or approximately $3.0 million in the aggregate, paid upon
the closing of the Initial Public Offering. In addition, $0.35 per
Public Share, or approximately $5.2 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 we complete a Business Combination, subject to the
terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption
We account
for our 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) is classified as liability
instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally
redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary
shares that features redemption rights that are either within the
control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence
of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified
as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares
are classified as shareholders’ deficit. 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, 2021, 14,950,000
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption is presented
at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the
shareholders’ deficit section of our balance sheet. There were no
Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding as of December 31,
2020.
Immediately
upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we recognized the
accretion from initial book value to redemption amount. The change
in the carrying value of redeemable Class A ordinary shares
resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and
accumulated deficit.
Net
loss per ordinary shares
We have two
classes of shares: Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary
shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two
classes of shares. Net loss per share is computed by dividing net
loss by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding
during the periods. Accretion associated with the Class A ordinary
shares subject to possible redemption is excluded from earnings per
share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August
2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, which simplifies accounting for
convertible instruments by removing major separation models
required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 also removes certain
settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts
to qualify for the derivative scope exception, and it simplifies
the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The
Company adopted ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021. Adoption of ASU
2020-06 did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of
operations or cash flows.
The
Company’s management does not believe that any other recently
issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards updates, if
currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s
financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of
December 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet
arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation
S-K.
JOBS
Act
The
Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”)
contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain
reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify
as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed
to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on
the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We
are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting
standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised
accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of
such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a
result, the financial statements may not be comparable to companies
that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of
public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of
relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the
JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act,
if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such
exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i)
provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal
control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, (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 executive
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. |
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. |
Financial Statements and
Supplementary Data.
|
Reference is
made to Pages F-1 through F-17 included in the end of this
Report.
Item 9. |
Changes in and Disagreements with
Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
|
None.
Item 9A. |
Controls and Procedures Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
|
Disclosure
controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of
ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports
filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded,
processed, summarized, and reported within the time period
specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are
also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information
is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the
chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate
to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our
management evaluated, with the participation of our principal
executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer
(our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure
controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021, pursuant to Rule
13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our
Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our
disclosure controls and procedures were not effective, because of a
material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of
deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such
that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement
of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be
prevented or detected on a timely basis. Specifically, the
Company’s management has concluded that our control around the
interpretation and accounting for complex financial instruments by
the Company was not effectively designed or maintained. This
material weakness resulted in the restatement of the Company’s
balance sheet as of March 2, 2021, and its interim financial
statements for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and June 30, 2021.
Additionally, this material weakness could result in a misstatement
of the Class A ordinary shares and earnings per share calculation,
and related accounts and disclosures that would result in a
material misstatement of the financial statements that would not be
prevented or detected on a timely basis.
We do not
expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all
errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and
procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide
only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the
disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of
disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there
are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered
relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all
disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure
controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have
detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if
any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based
partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future
events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed
in achieving its stated goals under all potential future
conditions.
Management’s
Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Report
does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding
internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report
of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a
transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public
companies.
Changes in
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Except as
disclosed above, there was 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, except for the below:
Our principal
executive officer and principal financial officer performed
additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing
procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related
to the accounting for complex financial instruments. The Company’s
management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial
amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement
of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have
processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate
accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all
significant or unusual transactions, we have expanded and will
continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of
such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the
increasingly complex accounting standards.
Item 9B. |
Other Information
|
None.
Item 9C. |
Disclosures Regarding Foreign
Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
|
PART III
Item 10. |
Directors, Executive Officers and
Corporate Governance
|
Directors and
Executive Officers
As of the date
of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
Joseph Edelman
|
|
65
|
|
Chairman
|
Adam Stone
|
|
41
|
|
Chief Executive Officer and Director
|
Michael Altman
|
|
39
|
|
Chief Financial Officer and
Director
|
Konstantin Poukalov
|
|
37
|
|
Chief Business Officer
|
Todd Wider
|
|
56
|
|
Director
|
Leslie Trigg
|
|
51
|
|
Director
|
Michael Henderson
|
|
31
|
|
Director
|
Joseph Edelman serves as the
Chairman of our board of directors since January 2021. Mr. Edelman
is Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager of
Perceptive Advisors. Since May 2020, Mr. Edelman is also serving as
a director of Athira Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHA). He has also
served as Chairman of the board of directors of ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp V (Nasdaq: ARYE) since March 2021, and served as
the Chairman of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. from October 2018
to June 2020, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II from July 2020 to
October 2020 and ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III from August
2020 to June 2021. Prior to founding Perceptive Advisors, Mr.
Edelman was a Senior Analyst at Aries Fund, a Paramount Capital
Asset Management biotechnology hedge fund, from 1994 through 1998.
Prior to that position, Mr. Edelman was a Senior Biotechnology
Analyst at Prudential Securities from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Edelman
started his career in the healthcare sector of the securities
industry as a Biotechnology Analyst at Labe, Simpson from 1987 to
1990. Mr. Edelman earned an MBA from New York University and a BA,
magna cum laude, in psychology from the University of California
San Diego.
We
believe that Mr. Edelman’s broad operational and transactional
experience make him well qualified to serve as the Chairman of our
board of directors.
Adam Stone, our Chief
Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since
January 2021, joined Perceptive Advisors in 2006 and has acted as
Chief Investment Officer since 2012 and is a member of the internal
investment committees of Perceptive Advisors’ credit opportunities
and venture funds. Mr. Stone currently also serves as the Chief
Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors of ARYA
Sciences Acquisition Corp V (Nasdaq: ARYE) since March 2021, as
well as on the board of directors of Solid Biosciences (Nasdaq:
SLDB), Renovia, and Xontogeny, which are portfolio companies of
Perceptive Advisors. Following the consummation of the business
combination of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. with Immatics
Biotechnologies GmbH in July 2020, Mr. Stone also serves on the
supervisory board of Immatics N.V. (Nasdaq: IMTX). Previously, Mr.
Stone served as the Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the
board of directors of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. from October
2018 to June 2020, ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II from July 2020
to October 2020 and ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III from August
2020 to June 2021. Prior to joining Perceptive Advisors, Mr. Stone
was a Senior Analyst at Ursus Capital from 2001 to 2006 where he
focused on biotechnology and specialty pharmaceuticals. Mr. Stone
graduated, with honors, from Princeton University with a BA in
molecular biology.
We
believe that Mr. Stone’s broad operational and transactional
experience, and his position as Chief Executive Officer, make him
well qualified to serve on our board of directors.
Michael Altman, CFA, our Chief
Financial Officer and a member of our board of directors since
January 2021, joined Perceptive Advisors in 2007, is a Managing
Director on the investment team and is a member of the internal
investment committee of Perceptive Advisors’ credit opportunities
fund. Mr. Altman’s focus is on medical devices, diagnostics,
digital health and specialty pharmaceuticals. Mr. Altman also
serves on the boards of directors of Vitruvius Therapeutics and
Lyra Therapeutics (Nasdaq: LYRA), which are portfolio companies of
Perceptive Advisors. Mr. Altman has also served as the Chief
Financial Officer and on the board of directors of ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp V (Nasdaq: ARYE) since March 2021, and served as
Chief Financial Officer and as a member of the board of directors
of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. from October 2018 to June 2020,
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II from July 2020 to October 2020
and ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp III from August 2020 to June
2021. Since June 2021, Mr. Altman also serves as a director of
Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: NAUT). Mr. Altman graduated
from the University of Vermont with a BS in Business
Administration.
We
believe that Mr. Altman’s broad operational and transactional
experience make him well qualified to serve on our board of
directors.
Konstantin Poukalov, our Chief
Business Officer since January 2021, joined Perceptive Advisors in
March 2019 and is a Managing Director at Perceptive Advisors, where
he is focusing on various strategies across the Perceptive
platforms. Mr. Poukalov also serves as the Chief Business Officer
of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V (Nasdaq: ARYE) since March
2021, as well as on the boards of directors of Lyra Therapeutics
(Nasdaq: LYRA) since January 2020, Landos Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:
LABP) since August 2019 and LianBio (Nasdaq: LIAN) since October
2019, which are portfolio companies of Perceptive Advisors. Mr.
Poukalov also served as Chief Business Officer of ARYA Sciences
Acquisition Corp III from August 2020 to June 2021. From July 2012
to October 2018, Mr. Poukalov served in roles of increasing
responsibility at Kadmon Holdings (NYSE: KDMN) (“Kadmon”), most
recently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer from July 2014 to October 2018. Prior to joining Kadmon,
Mr. Poukalov was a member of the healthcare investment banking
group at Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”) from 2009 to 2012, focusing on
companies across the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. Prior
to Jefferies, Mr. Poukalov was a member of UBS Investment Bank,
focusing on the healthcare industry, from 2006 to 2009. Mr.
Poukalov graduated from Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s
degree in Electrical Engineering.
Todd Wider has served on
our board of directors since January 2021. Dr. Wider is the
Executive Chairman and Chief Medical Officer of Emendo
Biotherapeutics, which focuses on highly specific and
differentiated gene editing. Dr. Wider has served on the board of
directors of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V (Nasdaq: ARYE) since
July 2021 and Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO) since May
2015. Dr. Wider previously consulted with a number of entities in
the biotechnology space. Dr. Wider is an active, honorary member of
the medical staff of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, where he
worked for over 20 years, and is a plastic and reconstructive
surgeon who focused on cancer surgery. Dr. Wider received an MD
from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was
Rudin Fellow, and an AB, with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa, from
Princeton University. He did his residency in general surgery and
plastic and reconstructive surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical
Center, and postdoctoral fellowships in complex reconstructive
surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he was
Chief Microsurgery Fellow, and in craniofacial surgery at the
University of Miami. Dr. Wider is also a principal in Wider Film
Projects, a documentary film company focusing on producing films
with sociopolitical resonance.
We
believe that Dr. Wider’s experience in the healthcare and life
sciences industries make him well qualified to serve on our board
of directors.
Leslie Trigg has served on
our board of directors since February 2021. Ms. Trigg has served as
the President and Chief Executive Officer of Outset Medical Inc.
(“Outset”) (Nasdaq: OM) since November 2014. Ms. Trigg joined
Outset from Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, where she was an
Executive in Residence from March 2012 to March 2014. Ms. Trigg
also serves as a director of Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp.
(Nasdaq: ADPT) since March 2021. Prior to that, Ms. Trigg served in
several roles at Lutonix (acquired by CR Bard), a medical device
company, from January 2010 to February 2012, most recently as
Executive Vice President, and as Chief Business Officer of
AccessClosure (acquired by Cardinal Health), a medical device
company, from September 2006 to June 2009. She also previously held
positions with FoxHollow Technologies (acquired by ev3/Covidien), a
manufacturer of devices to treat peripheral artery disease, Cytyc,
a diagnostic and medical device company, Pro-Duct Health (acquired
by Cytyc), a medical device company, and Guidant, a cardiovascular
medical device company. Ms. Trigg holds a BS degree from
Northwestern University and an MBA from The Haas School of
Business, UC Berkeley.
We
believe that Ms. Trigg’s experience in the healthcare and life
sciences industries make her well qualified to serve on our board
of directors.
Michael Henderson has served on
our board of directors since February 2021. Dr. Henderson has
served as Chief Business Officer of BridgeBio Pharma Inc
(“BridgeBio”) (Nasdaq: BBIO) since January 2020. Prior to holding
that position, he spent two years serving as BridgeBio’s Senior
Vice President, Asset Acquisition, Strategy and Operations. Dr.
Henderson joined BridgeBio as Vice President of Asset Acquisition,
Strategy and Operations in April 2016. Dr. Henderson also serves as
the Chief Executive Officer of certain of BridgeBio’s subsidiaries,
QED Therapeutics, Inc. and Origin Biosciences, Inc. Prior to
BridgeBio, Dr. Henderson worked at McKinsey & Company from
January 2015 to April 2016 and prior to that, he co-founded
PellePharm, Inc., in August 2011. Dr. Henderson received his B.A.
with high honors in global health with a citation in Spanish from
Harvard University and his M.D. with a scholarly concentration in
health services and policy from Stanford University where he was a
member of both the Ignite and Leadership in Health Disparities
Programs.
We believe
that Dr. Henderson’s experience in the healthcare and life sciences
industries make him well qualified to serve on our board of
directors.
Number and
Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of
directors is divided into three classes (Class I, II and III). Only
one class of directors will be elected in each year, and each class
(except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual
general meeting of shareholders) will serve a three-year term. The
term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of
Leslie Trigg, will expire at our first annual meeting of
shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors,
consisting of Michael Henderson and Todd Wider, will expire at our
second annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the
third class of directors, consisting of Joseph Edelman, Adam Stone
and Michael Altman, will expire at our third annual meeting of
shareholders.
Prior to the
completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the
board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of
a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the
completion of an initial business combination, holders of a
majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of
directors for any reason.
Pursuant to a
registration and shareholder rights agreement, our sponsor, upon
and following consummation of an initial business combination, will
be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board
of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered
by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Our officers
are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion
of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of
office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to
the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and
articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and
restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our
officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief
executive officer, chief financial officer, chief business officer,
president, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other
offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director
Independence
Nasdaq listing
standards require that a majority of our board of directors be
independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a
person other than an officer or employee of the company or its
subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship with the
company which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors,
could interfere with the director’s exercise of independent
judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our
board of directors has determined that Joseph Edelman, Todd Wider,
Leslie Trigg and Michael Henderson are “independent directors” as
defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules.
Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at
which only independent directors are present.
Committees of
the Board of Directors
Our board of
directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a
nominating committee and a compensation committee. Each committee
operates under a charter that has been approved by our board and
has the composition and responsibilities described below. The
charters of each committee are available on our website.
Audit
Committee
We established
an audit committee of the board of directors. Todd Wider, Leslie
Trigg and Michael Henderson serve as members of our audit
committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Todd
Wider, Leslie Trigg and Michael Henderson are independent. Todd
Wider serves as the Chairman of the audit committee. Each member of
the audit committee meets the financial literacy requirements of
Nasdaq and our board of directors has determined that Todd Wider
qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in
applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial
management expertise.
The audit
committee is responsible for:
|
• |
meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm
regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our
accounting and control systems;
|
|
• |
monitoring the independence of the independent registered
public accounting firm;
|
|
• |
verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit
partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit
partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by
law;
|
|
• |
inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with
applicable laws and regulations;
|
|
• |
pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit
services to be performed by our independent registered public
accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be
performed;
|
|
• |
appointing or replacing the independent registered public
accounting firm;
|
|
• |
determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the
independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution
of disagreements between management and the independent auditor
regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or
issuing an audit report or related work;
|
|
• |
establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and
treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting,
internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues
regarding our financial statements or accounting policies;
|
|
• |
monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of
our Initial 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 our
Initial Public Offering; and
|
|
• |
reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing
shareholders, 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
Committee
We established
a nominating committee of our board of directors. The members of
our nominating committee are Todd Wider, Leslie Trigg and Michael
Henderson. Leslie Trigg serves as chairman of the nominating
committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Todd
Wider, Leslie Trigg and Michael Henderson are independent.
The nominating
committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to
be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating
committee considers persons identified by its members, management,
shareholders, investment bankers and others.
Guidelines
for Selecting Director Nominees
The guidelines
for selecting nominees, which are specified in a charter adopted by
us, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
|
• |
should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements
in business, education or public service;
|
|
• |
should possess the requisite intelligence, education and
experience to make a significant contribution to the board of
directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and
backgrounds to its deliberations; and
|
|
• |
should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of
professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of
the shareholders.
|
The nominating
committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to
management and leadership experience, background and integrity and
professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership
on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require
certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting
experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to
time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of
its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The
nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees
recommended by shareholders and other persons.
Compensation
Committee
We established
a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of
our compensation committee are Todd Wider, Leslie Trigg and Michael
Henderson. Michael Henderson serves as chairman of the compensation
committee.
Our board of
directors has determined that each of Todd Wider, Leslie Trigg and
Michael Henderson are independent. We 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 approving the compensation of all of our other
Section 16 executive 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
executive officers and employees;
|
|
• |
producing a report on executive compensation to be included in
our annual proxy statement; and
|
|
• |
reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if
appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
|
The charter
also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole
discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation
consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and is directly
responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the
work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving
advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or
any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the
independence of each such adviser, including the factors required
by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Compensation
Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our
executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not
served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity
that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of
directors.
Code of
Ethics
We have
adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and
employees. A copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without
charge upon written request to our principal executive offices. 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.
Section 16(a)
Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our
officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than ten
percent of our ordinary shares to file reports of ownership and
changes in ownership with the SEC. These reporting persons are also
required to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they
file. Based solely upon a review of such Forms, we believe that
during the year ended December 31, 2021 there were no delinquent
filers.
Conflicts of
Interest
Under Cayman
Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary
duties:
|
• |
duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer
believes to be in the best interests of the company as a
whole;
|
|
• |
duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those
powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;
|
|
• |
directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future
discretion;
|
|
• |
duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections
of shareholders;
|
|
• |
duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a
conflict between their duty to the company and their personal
interests; and
|
|
• |
duty to exercise independent judgment.
|
In addition to
the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary
in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a
reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill
and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying
out the same functions as are carried out by that director in
relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and
experience of that director.
As set out
above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of
conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or
to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in
some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be
forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders; provided
that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by
way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum
and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder
approval at shareholder meetings.
Certain of our
officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the
future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to
other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our
sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be
required to present a business combination opportunity to such
entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes
aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for
an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or
contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary
or contractual obligations to present such business combination
opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under
Cayman Islands law. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary
duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will
materially affect our ability to complete our initial business
combination.
Below is a
table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and
directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations
or other material management relationships:
|
INDIVIDUAL
|
|
ENTITY
|
|
ENTITY’S
BUSINESS
|
|
AFFILIATION
|
|
Joseph Edelman
|
|
Perceptive Advisors, LLC
|
|
Hedge Fund
|
|
Chief Executive Officer and
Portfolio Manager
|
|
|
|
Athira Pharma, Inc.
|
|
Biotechnology
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp
IV
|
|
Special Purpose Acquisition
Company
|
|
Chairman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adam Stone
|
|
Perceptive Advisors, LLC
|
|
Hedge Fund
|
|
Chief Investment Officer
|
|
|
|
Solid Biosciences
|
|
Pharmaceuticals
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Renovia
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Xontogeny
|
|
Biotechnology
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Immatics N.V.
|
|
Biotechnology
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp
IV
|
|
Special Purpose Acquisition
Company
|
|
Chief Executive Officer and
Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Altman
|
|
Perceptive Advisors, LLC
|
|
Hedge Fund
|
|
Managing Director
|
|
|
|
Vitruvius Therapeutics
|
|
Pharmaceuticals
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Covid Apollo Project LLC
|
|
Medical Diagnostics
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Lyra Therapeutics
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Nautilus Biotechnology,
Inc.
|
|
Biotechnology
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp
IV
|
|
Special Purpose Acquisition
Company
|
|
Chief Financial Officer and
Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Konstantin Poukalov
|
|
Perceptive Advisors, LLC
|
|
Hedge Fund
|
|
Managing Director
|
|
|
|
Lyra Therapeutics
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Landos Biopharma, Inc.
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
LianBio
|
|
Biotechnology
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp
IV
|
|
Special Purpose Acquisition
Company
|
|
Chief Business Officer
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Todd Wider
|
|
Abeona Therapeutics, Inc.
|
|
Pharmaceuticals
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
Emendo Biotherapeutics
|
|
Biopharmaceuticals
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp
V
|
|
Special Purpose Acquisition
Company
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leslie Trigg
|
|
Outset Medical Inc.
|
|
Medical Devices
|
|
President and Chief Executive
Officer
|
|
|
|
Adaptive Biotechnologies
Corp.
|
|
Biotechnology
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Henderson
|
|
BridgeBio Pharma Inc
|
|
Pharmaceuticals
|
|
Chief Business Officer
|
Potential investors should also
be aware of the following other potential conflicts of
interest:
|
• |
Our executive 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 executive officers is engaged in several other business
endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation,
and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any
specific number of hours per week to our affairs.
|
|
• |
Our sponsor subscribed for founder shares in January 2021 and
purchased private placement shares in a transaction that closed
simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering. In
February 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to
each of Michael Henderson, Leslie Trigg and Todd Wider. Our sponsor
and our management team have entered into an agreement with us,
pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights
with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and
any public shares purchased during or after our Initial Public
Offering in connection with (i) the completion of our initial
business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an
amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of
association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our
obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the
right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial
business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we
do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months
from the closing of our Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect
to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our
Class A ordinary shares. Additionally, our sponsor has agreed to
waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust
account with respect to its founder shares if we fail to complete
our initial business combination within the required time period.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within the
required time period, the private placement shares will be
worthless. Except as described herein, our sponsor and our
management team have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of
their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the
completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent
to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of
our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as
adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, 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 on which we complete
a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other
similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders
having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash,
securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the
private placement shares will not be transferable until 30 days
following the completion of our initial business combination.
Because each of our executive officers and director own ordinary
shares directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest
in determining whether a particular target business is an
appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business
combination.
|
|
• |
Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest
with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the
retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was
included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with
respect to our initial business combination.
|
We are not
prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or
subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with
Perceptive Advisors or our sponsor, founders, officers or
directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business
combination with a company that is affiliated with Perceptive
Advisors, our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or
directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain
an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an
independent valuation or accounting firm that such initial business
combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial
point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any
other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of
our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective
affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other
compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to
effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination.
Further, on the effective date of the registration statement
relating to our Initial Public Offering, we reimburse our sponsor
for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided
to us in the amount of $10,000 per month.
We cannot
assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be
resolved in our favor.
If we seek
shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business
combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares, represented
in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a
shareholder meeting are voted in favor of the business combination.
In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team
have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares
and public shares purchased during or after our Initial Public
Offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on
Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands
law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and
articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers
and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held
by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such
as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful
neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide
for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum
extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in
their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud,
willful default or willful neglect. We entered into agreements with
our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification
in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and
restated memorandum and articles of association. We purchased a
policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures
our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement
or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us
against our obligations to indemnify our officers and
directors.
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
have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any
kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of,
any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the
trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they
are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership
of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will
only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds
outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial
business combination.
Our
indemnification obligations 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.
We believe
that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements
are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced
officers and directors.
Item 11. |
Executive Compensation
|
Executive
Officer and Director Compensation
In February
2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of Todd
Wider, Leslie Trigg and Michael Henderson. None of our executive
officers or directors have received any cash compensation for
services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities
are first listed on the Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation
of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will
reimburse our sponsor for office space, secretarial and
administrative services provided to us in the amount of $10,000 per
month. In addition, our 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 reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were
made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our
or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business
combination are made using funds held outside the trust account.
Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements,
we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing
our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers
for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our
activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and
consummating an initial business combination. Other than these
payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including
finder’s and consulting fees, is paid by the company to our
sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their
respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business
combination.
After the
completion of our initial business combination, directors or
members of our management team who remain with us may be paid
consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of
these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent
then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer
materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a
proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on
the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to
our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount
of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed
business combination, because the directors of the post-combination
business will be responsible for determining executive officer and
director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive
officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of
directors for determination, either by a compensation committee
constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the
independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not
intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management
team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our
initial business combination, although it is possible that some or
all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate
employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our
initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such
employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions
with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or
selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability
of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our
initial business combination will be a determining factor in our
decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are
not party to any agreements with our executive officers and
directors that provide for benefits upon termination of
employment.
Item 12. |
Security Ownership of Certain
Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder
Matters
|
The following
table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of
our ordinary shares as of December 31, 2021 based on information
obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the
beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares, by:
|
• |
each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more
than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares;
|
|
• |
each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially
owns our ordinary shares; and
|
|
• |
all our executive officers and directors as a group.
|
In the table
below, percentage ownership is based on 14,950,500, Class A
ordinary shares, 499,000 private placement shares, and 3,737,500
Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of December 31,
2021. Voting power represents the combined voting power of Class A
ordinary shares, private placement shares, and Class B ordinary
shares owned beneficially by such person. On all matters to be
voted upon, the holders of the Class A ordinary shares and the
Class B ordinary shares vote together as a single class. Currently,
all of the Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A
ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name of Beneficial
Owners(1)
|
|
Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
|
|
|
Approximate
Percentage
of
Class
|
|
|
Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
|
|
|
Approximate
Percentage
of
Class
|
|
|
Approximate
Percentage
of
Voting
Control(2)
|
|
Arya Sciences Holdings IV (our sponsor)(3)
|
|
|
3,647,500
|
|
|
|
97.6
|
%
|
|
|
499,000
|
|
|
|
3.2
|
%
|
|
|
21.6
|
%
|
Joseph
Edelman(4)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
Adam Stone(3)
|
|
|
3,647,500
|
|
|
|
97.6
|
%
|
|
|
499,000
|
|
|
|
3.2
|
%
|
|
|
21.6
|
%
|
Michael
Altman(3)
|
|
|
3,647,500
|
|
|
|
97.6
|
%
|
|
|
499,000
|
|
|
|
3.2
|
%
|
|
|
21.6
|
%
|
Konstantin
Poukalov(4)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
Michael
Henderson
|
|
|
30,000
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Todd Wider
|
|
|
30,000
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Leslie
Trigg
|
|
|
30,000
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
All officers and directors as a group (seven individuals)
|
|
|
3,737,500
|
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
499,000
|
|
|
|
3.2
|
%
|
|
|
22.1
|
%
|
Adage
Capital Partners, L.P.(5)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
1,000,000
|
|
|
|
6.5
|
%
|
|
|
5.2
|
%
|
Farallon
Capital Partners, L.P.(6)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
800,000
|
|
|
|
5.2
|
%
|
|
|
4.2
|
%
|
TIG
Advisors, LLC(7)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
894,240
|
|
|
|
5.2
|
%
|
|
|
4.2
|
%
|
(1) |
Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the
following entities or individuals is 51 Astor Place, 10th Floor,
New York, NY 10003.
|
(2) |
Assuming the automatic conversion of Class B ordinary shares
into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the Company’s initial
business combination.
|
(3) |
The sponsor is the record holder of the Class B ordinary
shares. The sponsor is governed by a board of directors consisting
of two directors, Adam Stone and Michael Altman. As such, Messrs.
Stone and Altman have voting and investment discretion with respect
to the securities held of record by the sponsor and may be deemed
to have shared beneficial ownership of the Class B ordinary shares
held directly by the sponsor.
|
(4) |
Does not include any shares indirectly owned by this
individual because of his ownership interest in our sponsor.
|
(5) |
Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by (i)
Adage Capital Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership
(“ACP”) with respect to the Class A ordinary shares directly owned
by it; (ii) Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C., a limited liability
company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware
(“ACPGP”), as general partner of ACP with respect to the Class A
Ordinary Shares directly owned by ACP; (iii) Adage Capital
Advisors, L.L.C., a limited liability company organized under the
laws of the State of Delaware (“ACA”), as managing member of ACPGP,
general partner of ACP, with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares
directly owned by ACP; (iv) Robert Atchinson (“Mr. Atchinson”), as
managing member of ACA, managing member of ACPGP, general partner
of ACP with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned
by ACP; and (v) Phillip Gross (“Mr. Gross”), as managing member of
ACA, managing member of ACPGP, general partner of ACP with respect
to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by ACP, based solely
on the Schedule 13G filed jointly by Adage Capital Partners, L.P.,
Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C. Adage Capital Advisors, L.L.C.,
Robert Atchinson, and Phillip Gross, with the SEC on November 5,
2020. ACP has the power to dispose of and the power to vote the
Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by it, which power may
be exercised by its general partner, ACPGP. ACA, as managing member
of ACPGP, directs ACPGP’s operations. Neither ACPGP nor ACA
directly own any Class A ordinary shares. ACPGP and ACA may be
deemed to beneficially own the shares owned by ACP. Messrs.
Atchinson and Gross, as managing members of ACA, have shared power
to vote the Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by ACP.
Neither Mr. Atchinson nor Mr. Gross directly own any Class A
ordinary shares. Messrs. Atchinson and Gross may be deemed to
beneficially own the shares beneficially owned by ACP. The business
address of each of ACP, ACPGP, ACA, Mr. Atchinson and Mr. Gross is
200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts
02116.
|
(6) |
Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by entities
and individuals affiliated with Farallon Capital Partners, L.P.,
based on the Schedule 13G filed jointly on January 26, 2022. The
Class A ordinary shares reported for the respective Farallon Funds
are held directly by the respective Farallon Funds. The Farallon
General Partner, as the general partner of each of FCP, FCIP, FCIP
II, FCIP III, FCOI II and FCAMI, and as the sole member of the FCIP
V General Partner, may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of such
Class A ordinary shares held by the Farallon Funds other than
F5MI. The FCIP V General Partner, as the general partner of
FCIP V, may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of such Class A
ordinary shares held by FCIP V. The F5MI General Partner, as the
general partner of F5MI, may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of
such Class A ordinary shares held by F5MI. Each of the
Farallon Individual Reporting Persons, as a managing member or
senior managing member, as the case may be, of the Farallon General
Partner, and as a manager or senior manager, as the case may be, of
the FCIP V General Partner and the F5MI General Partner, in each
case with the power to exercise investment discretion, may be
deemed to be a beneficial owner of such Class A ordinary shares
held by the Farallon Funds. Each of the Farallon General
Partner, the FCIP V General Partner, the F5MI General Partner and
the Farallon Individual Reporting Persons hereby disclaims any
beneficial ownership of any such Class A ordinary shares.
The business address of each of
the reporting persons mentioned in this footnote is c/o Farallon
Capital Management, L.L.C., One Maritime Plaza, Suite 2100, San
Francisco, California 94111.
|
(7) |
Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by TIG
Advisors, LLC and Michael Tiedemann, as reported on the Schedule
13G filed jointly on February 14, 2022. TIG Advisors, LLC and
Michael Tiedemann have shared power to dispose with respect to
894,240 shares of the Class A ordinary shares. The business address
of TIG Advisors, LLC and Michael Tiedemann is 520 Madison Avenue,
26th Floor, New York, New York 10022.
|
Changes in
Control
None.
Item 13. |
Certain Relationships and Related
Transactions, and Director Independence
|
On January 4,
2021, we issued 3,737,500 founder shares to our sponsor in exchange
for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per
share. In February 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder
shares to each of Todd Wider, Leslie Trigg and Michael Henderson.
The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the
expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the
issued and outstanding shares (excluding the private placement
shares) upon completion of our Initial Public Offering. The founder
shares (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon
exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions,
be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Our sponsor
purchased, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase 499,000
private placement shares for a purchase price of $10.00 per share
in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the
closing of our Initial Public Offering. As such, our sponsor’s
interest in this transaction is valued at $4,990,000. The private
placement shares may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be
transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
If any of our
officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination
opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to
which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual
obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or
contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity.
Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant
fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority
over their duties to us.
We currently
maintain our executive offices at 51 Astor Place, 10th Floor, New
York, New York 10003. The cost for our use of this space is
included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor for
office space, administrative and support services, commencing on
the effective date of the registration statement related to our
Initial Public Offering. Upon completion of our initial business
combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly
fees.
No
compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees,
will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of
their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in
connection with the completion of an initial business combination.
However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket
expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such
as identifying potential target businesses and performing due
diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee
will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us
to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and
will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will
be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of
out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with
activities on our behalf.
In addition,
in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an
intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate
of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but
are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we
complete an initial business combination, we may repay such loaned
amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In
the event that the initial business combination does not close, we
may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust
account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust
account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such
loans may be convertible into shares at a price of $10.00 per share
at the option of the lender. The shares would be identical to the
private placement shares. The terms of such loans by our officers
and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written
agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to
seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, members of our
management team or any of their affiliates as we do not believe
third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a
waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our
trust account.
After our
initial business combination, members of our management team who
remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees
from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully
disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the
tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable,
furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such
compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such
tender offer materials or at the time of a shareholder meeting held
to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it
will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to
determine executive and director compensation.
We entered
into a registration and shareholder rights agreement pursuant to
which our initial shareholders, and their permitted transferees, if
any, will be entitled to certain registration rights with respect
to the private placement shares, including the private placement
shares issuable upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (if any)
and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the
founder shares. Further, pursuant to an agreement entered into at
closing of our Initial Public Offering, our sponsor, upon and
following consummation of an initial business combination, will be
entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of
directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by
the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Our sponsor
has indicated an interest to purchase up to an aggregate of
$25,000,000 of our ordinary shares in a private placement that
would occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial
business combination. The funds from such private placement would
be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial
business combination, and any excess funds from such private
placement would be used for working capital in the post-business
combination company. However, because indications of interest are
not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our sponsor may
determine not to purchase any such shares, or to purchase more or
fewer shares than it has indicated an interest in purchasing.
Furthermore, we are not under any obligation to sell any such
shares. Such investment would be made on terms and conditions
determined at the time of the business combination.
Policy for
Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit
committee of our board of directors operates pursuant to a charter
that provides for the review, approval and/or ratification of
“related party transactions,” which are those transactions required
to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as
promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings,
the audit committee is provided with the details of each new,
existing, or proposed related party transaction, including the
terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the
company has already committed to, the business purpose of the
transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to the company and
to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has
an interest in the related party transaction under review by the
committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related
party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the
committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s
discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of
its review of the related party transaction, the committee may
determine to permit or to prohibit the related party
transaction.
Director
Independence
Nasdaq listing
standards require that a majority of our board of directors be
independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a
person other than an officer or employee of the company or its
subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship with the
company which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors,
could interfere with the director’s exercise of independent
judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our
board of directors has determined that Joseph Edelman, Michael
Henderson, Leslie Trigg and Todd Wider are “independent directors”
as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC
rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled
meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Item 14.
|
Principal
Accountant Fees and Services
|
The firm of
WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent
registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of
fees paid to 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 and services that
are normally provided by Withum in connection with regulatory
filings. The aggregate fees billed by Withum for professional
services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements
and other required filings with the SEC as of December 31, 2021 and
for the period from August 24, 2020 (inception) through December
31, 2020, including services in connection with our Initial Public
Offering, totaled $125,955 and nil, respectively. The above amounts
include interim review procedures and audit fees, as well as
attendance at audit committee meetings.
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. As of December 31,
2021 and during the period from August 24, 2020 (inception) through
December 31, 2020, we did not pay Withum any audit-related
fees.
Tax
Fees. Tax fees
consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax
compliance, tax planning and tax advice. As of December 31, 2021
and during the period from August 24, 2020 (inception) through
December 31, 2020, we did not pay Withum any tax fees.
All Other
Fees. All
other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. As of
December 31, 2021 and during the period from August 24, 2020
(inception) through December 31, 2020, we did not pay Withum any
other fees.
PART IV
Item 15. |
Exhibits, Financial Statement
Schedules
|
(a)
|
The following documents are filed
as part of this Report:
|
See “Index to Financial Statements” at “Item 8. Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data” in this Report.
|
(2)
|
Financial Statement
Schedules:
|
None.
We hereby file
as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the below exhibit
index.
|
|
|
3.1
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
|
10.1
|
|
|
10.2
|
|
|
10.3
|
|
|
10.4
|
|
|
10.5
|
|
|
10.6
|
|
|
|
|
Subsidiaries of the Company.*
|
|
|
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule
13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
|
|
|
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule
13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
|
|
|
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule
13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350.**
|
|
|
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule
13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350.**
|
101.INS
|
|
Inline XBRL Instance Document (the instance document does not
appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are
embedded within the Inline XBRL document).*
|
101.SCH
|
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema.*
|
101.CAL
|
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase.*
|
101.DEF
|
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase.*
|
101.LAB
|
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase.*
|
101.PRE
|
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase.*
|
104
|
|
Cover Page Interactive Data
File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit
101).*
|
*
|
Filed
herewith
|
**
|
Furnished
herewith.
|
(1)
|
Incorporated
by reference to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed
with the SEC on March 2, 2021.
|
(2)
|
Incorporated
by reference to the registrant’s Form S-1, filed with the SEC on
February 19, 2021.
|
Item 16. |
Form 10-K Summary
|
Not
applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to
the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form
10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized.
March 31, 2022
|
|
|
ARYA SCIENCES ACQUISITION CORP
IV
|
|
|
|
/s/ Michael Altman
|
|
Name: Michael Altman
|
|
Title: Chief Financial Officer
|
Pursuant to the requirements of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form
10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of
the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates
indicated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chairman of the Board of Directors
|
|
March 31, 2022
|
Joseph Edelman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chief Executive Officer and Director
|
|
March 31, 2022
|
Adam Stone
|
|
(Principal Executive
Officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chief Financial Officer and Director
|
|
March 31, 2022
|
Michael Altman
|
|
(Principal Financial
and Accounting Officer) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director
|
|
March 31, 2022
|
Todd Wider
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director
|
|
March 31, 2022
|
Leslie Trigg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director
|
|
March 31, 2022
|
Michael Henderson
|
|
|
|
|