Item 8.01. Other Events.
As previously disclosed in
the Current Report 8-K of East Stone Acquisition Corporation, a British Virgin Islands business company (“East Stone”),
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 21, 2022, East Stone entered into
a Business Combination Agreement (as amended, the “Business Combination Agreement”), with Navy Sail International
Limited, a British Virgin Islands company, in the capacity as the representative of East Stone and the shareholders of East Stone immediately
prior to Closing from and after the Closing (the “Purchaser Representative”), NWTN Inc., an exempted company
incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands (the “Pubco”), Muse Merger Sub I Limited, an exempted
company incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands and a wholly-owned subsidiary of NWTN (the “First Merger
Sub”), Muse Merger Sub II Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company and a wholly-owned subsidiary NWTN (the “Second
Merger Sub”), and ICONIQ Holding Limited, an exempted company incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands
(the “Company”).
As
previously disclosed in the Current Report 8-K of East Stone, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2020, in connection with East Stone’s
initial public offering (“IPO”), East Stone entered into a letter agreement, dated February 19, 2020, by and
among, East Stone, Double Ventures Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands company (“Double Ventures”), Navy
Sail International Limited, a British Virgin Islands company (“Navy Sail”), Hua Mao, Cheng Zhao, and the directors,
officers of the Company named therein (collectively, with Double Ventures and Navy Sail, the “Lock-up Parties”),
as amended by that certain Amendment of Insider Letter, dated April 15, 2022 (as amended, the “Letter Agreement”).
The Letter Agreement, among other things, imposed certain lock-up restrictions on the East Stone securities held by the Lock-up Parties.
On
November 6, 2022, East Stone, the Lock-up Parties and I-Bankers Securities Inc. entered into a waiver letter (the “Insider
Waiver Letter”), in order to partially waive compliance by the applicable Lock-up Parties with certain lock-up obligations
in Sections 3(a) and 3(b) of the Letter Agreement. Pursuant to the Insider Waiver Letter, contemporaneously with the closing of the transactions
contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, (i) the lock-up restrictions on certain East Stone securities issued to Messrs. Mao
and Zhao in the private placement transaction that occurred in connection with East Stone’s IPO are waived, and (ii) Double Ventures
may transfer 200,000 East Stone founder shares to repay certain working capital loans for the benefit of East Stone. Such founder shares
will continue to be subject to the lock-up restrictions of the Letter Agreement following such transfer. A copy of the form of Insider
Waiver Letter is attached as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and is incorporated by reference herein.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
NWTN
has submitted with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form F-4 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”), which was
declared effective on October 20, 2022 and included a proxy statement of East Stone and a prospectus in connection with the proposed transactions
(the “Transactions”) involving East Stone, the Purchaser Representative, NWTN, Muse Merger Sub I Limited, Muse Merger
Sub II Limited and the Company pursuant to that certain Business Combination Agreement. The definitive proxy statement and other relevant
documents are being mailed to shareholders of East Stone as of a record date of October 4, 2022. SHAREHOLDERS OF EAST STONE AND OTHER
INTERESTED PARTIES ARE URGED TO READ, WHEN AVAILABLE, THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH EAST STONE’S SOLICITATION OF PROXIES
FOR THE SPECIAL MEETING OF ITS SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD TO APPROVE THE TRANSACTIONS BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION
ABOUT EAST STONE, THE COMPANY, NWTN AND THE TRANSACTIONS. Shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of the Registration Statement
and the proxy statement/prospectus, without charge, once available, on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to East
Stone by contacting its Chief Financial Officer, Chunyi (Charlie) Hao, c/o East Stone Acquisition Corporation, 2 Burlington Woods Drive,
Suite 100, Burlington, MA 01803, at (781) 202-9128 or at hao@estonecapital.com.
DISCLAIMER
This
report hereto shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale
of securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification
under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the
requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.
NO ASSURANCES
There
can be no assurance that the proposed Transactions will be completed, nor can there be any assurance, if the Transactions are completed,
that the potential benefits of combining the companies will be realized. The description of the Transactions contained herein is only
a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the definitive agreements relating to the Transactions, copies of which have
been filed with the SEC as exhibits to the Registration Statement.
PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION
NWTN,
East Stone and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from
the shareholders of East Stone in connection with the Transactions. Information regarding the officers and directors of East Stone is
set forth in East Stone’s annual report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on April 15, 2022. Additional information regarding
the interests of such potential participants are included in the Registration Statement (and is included in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus
for the Transactions) and other relevant documents filed with the SEC.
CAUTIONARY NOTE
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The
information in this report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions
of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words
such as “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,”
“will,” “expect,” “continue,” “should,” “would,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “seek,” “target,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “future,”
“outlook” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical
matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, (1) statements regarding estimates and forecasts of financial and performance metrics and projections of market
opportunity and market share; (2) references with respect to the anticipated benefits of the proposed Transactions and the projected future
financial performance of East Stone and the Company’s operating companies following the proposed Transactions; (3) changes in the market
for the Company’s products and services and expansion plans and opportunities; (4) the Company’s unit economics; (5) the sources and uses
of cash of the proposed Transactions and concurrent private placement; (6) the anticipated capitalization and enterprise value of the
combined company following the consummation of the proposed Transactions and concurrent private placement; (7) the projected technological
developments of the Company and its competitors; (8) anticipated short- and long-term customer benefits; (9) current and future potential
commercial and customer relationships; (10) the ability to manufacture efficiently at scale; (11) anticipated investments in research
and development and the effect of these investments and timing related to commercial product launches; and (12) expectations related to
the terms and timing of the proposed Transactions. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this
report, and on the current expectations of the Company’s and East Stone’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These
forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by
any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances
are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of
the Company and East Stone. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the occurrence
of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement; the parties’
inability to consummate the Transactions and concurrent private placement; the risk that the Transactions disrupt current plans and operations
as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Transactions described herein; the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits
of the Transactions; the lack of a third-party fairness opinion in determining whether or not to pursue the proposed Transactions prior
to the execution of the Business Combination Agreement; the ability to obtain or maintain the listing of the NWTN’s securities on The
Nasdaq Stock Market, following the Transactions, including having the requisite number of shareholders; costs related to the Transactions;
changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; the Company’s ability to successfully and
timely develop, manufacture, sell and expand its technology and products, including implement its growth strategy; the Company’s ability
to adequately manage any supply chain risks, including the purchase of a sufficient supply of critical components incorporated into its
product offerings; risks relating to the Company’s operations and business, including information technology and cybersecurity risks,
failure to adequately forecast supply and demand, loss of key customers and deterioration in relationships between the Company and its
employees; the Company’s ability to successfully collaborate with business partners; demand for the Company’s current and future offerings;
risks that orders that have been placed for the Company’s products are cancelled or modified; risks related to increased competition;
risks relating to potential disruption in the transportation and shipping infrastructure, including trade policies and export controls;
risks that the Company is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; risks of product liability or regulatory lawsuits relating
to the Company’s products and services; risks that the post-combination company experiences difficulties managing its growth and expanding
operations; the uncertain effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and certain geopolitical developments; the inability of the parties to successfully
or timely consummate the proposed Transactions, including the risk that any required shareholder or regulatory approvals are not obtained,
are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the
proposed Transactions; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company, East Stone or NWTN or other following
announcement of the proposed Transactions and transactions contemplated thereby; the ability of the Company to execute its business model,
including market acceptance of its planned products and services and achieving sufficient production volumes at acceptable quality levels
and prices; technological improvements by the Company’s peers and competitors; and those risk factors discussed in documents of NWTN and
East Stone filed, or to be filed, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could
differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that neither East Stone
nor the Company presently know or that East Stone and the Company currently believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results
to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect East Stone’s and the
Company’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this report. East Stone and the Company anticipate
that subsequent events and developments will cause East Stone’s and the Company’s assessments to change. However, while East Stone and
the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, East Stone and the Company specifically
disclaim any obligation to do so. Readers are referred to the most recent reports filed with the SEC by East Stone. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation
to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
East Stone Acquisition Corporation
Xiaoma (Sherman) Lu
2 Burlington Woods Drive, Suite 100
Burlington, MA 01803
sherman@estonecapital.com
