As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2006
File No. 333-131529
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
ASCEND ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 6770 | 20-3881465 | ||||||||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | ||||||||
435 Devon Park Drive, Building 400
Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087
(610) 293-2512
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Don K. Rice, Chief Executive Officer
435 Devon Park Drive, Building 400
Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087
(610) 293-2512
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
David Alan Miller, Esq. Graubard Miller The Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10174 (212) 818-8800 (212) 818-8881 – Facsimile | Paul D. Broude, Esq. Foley & Lardner LLP 111 Huntington Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02199 (617) 342-4000 (617) 342-4001 – Facsimile | |||||
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box.
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of each Class of Security being registered | Amount being Registered | Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Security(1) | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) | Amount of Registration Fee | ||||||||||||||
Units, each consisting of one share of Common Stock, $.0001 par value, and two Warrants (2) | 4,025,000 Units | $ | 6.00 | $ | 24,150,000 | $ | 2,584.05 | |||||||||||
Shares of Common Stock included as part of the Units(2) | 4,025,000 Shares | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||||
Warrants included as part of the Units(2) | 8,050,000 Warrants | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||||
Shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants included in the Units(4) | 8,050,000 Shares | $ | 5.00 | $ | 40,250,000 | $ | 4,306.75 | |||||||||||
Units issued to insiders (‘‘Insider Units’’), each consisting of one share of Common Stock, $.0001 par value, and two Warrants | 166,667 Units | $ | 6.00 | $ | 1,000,002 | $ | 107.00 | |||||||||||
Shares of Common Stock included as part of the Insider Units | 166,667 Shares | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||||
Warrants included as part of the Insider Units | 333,334 Warrants | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||||
Shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants included in the Insider Units to the extent such Warrants are subsequently transferred prior to exercise(4) | 333,334 Shares | $ | 5.00 | $ | 1,666,670 | $ | 178.33 | |||||||||||
Shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants included in the Insider Units to the extent such Warrants are subsequently exercised by the Insiders(4) | 333,334 Shares | — | — | — | (5) | |||||||||||||
Representative’s Unit Purchase Option | 1 | $ | 100 | $ | 100 | — | (3) | |||||||||||
Units underlying the Representative's Unit Purchase Option (‘‘Underwriter's Units’’)(4) | 350,000 Units | $ | 6.60 | $ | 2,310,000 | $ | 247.17 | |||||||||||
Shares of Common Stock included as part of the Underwriter’s Units(4) | 350,000 Shares | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||||
Warrants included as part of the Representative’s Units(4) | 700,000 Warrants | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||||
Shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants included in the Representative’s Units(4) | 700,000 Shares | $ | 5.00 | $ | 3,500,000 | $ | 374.50 | |||||||||||
Total | $ | 72,876,772 | $ | 7,797.81 | (6) | |||||||||||||
(1) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. |
(2) | Includes 525,000 Units and 525,000 shares of Common Stock and 1,050,000 Warrants underlying such Units which may be issued on exercise of a 45-day option granted to the Underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any. |
(3) | No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g). |
(4) | Pursuant to Rule 416, there are also being registered such indeterminable additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in the Warrants. |
(5) | The filing fee is included in the $222.92 filing fee for the shares of common stock underlying the Warrants included in the Insider Units above. |
(6) | The filing fee has been previously paid. |
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Preliminary Prospectus
Subject to Completion, March 10, 2006
PROSPECTUS
$21,000,000
ASCEND ACQUISITION CORP.
3,500,000 units
Ascend Acquisition Corp. is a newly formed blank check company organized for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an operating business. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry, although we intend to focus our efforts on acquiring an operating business in the manufacturing, service or distribution industries. We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit that we are offering has a price of $6.00 and consists of:
• | one share of our common stock; and |
• | two warrants. |
Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our common stock at a price of $5.00. Each warrant will become exercisable on the later of our completion of a business combination and , 2007 [one year from the date of this prospectus], and will expire on , 2010 [four years from the date of this prospectus], or earlier upon redemption.
We have granted EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., the underwriter for this offering, a 45-day option to purchase up to 525,000 units (over and above the 3,500,000 units referred to above) solely to cover over-allotments, if any. The over-allotment will be used only to cover the net syndicate short position resulting from the initial distribution. We have also agreed to sell to the underwriter, for $100, as additional compensation, an option to purchase up to a total of 350,000 units at $6.60 per unit. The units issuable upon exercise of this option are identical to those offered by this prospectus. The purchase option and its underlying securities have been registered under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, has committed to purchase 166,667 units at $6.00 per unit (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002) from us. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. All of the proceeds we receive from this purchase will be placed in the trust fund described below. The units to be purchased by Mr. Rice will be identical to the units being offered by this prospectus except that the warrants underlying such units may be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as such warrants are held by Mr. Rice or his affiliates. Additionally, Mr. Rice has waived his right to receive distributions upon our liquidation prior to a business combination with respect to the securities underlying these units. The units to be sold to Mr. Rice have been registered for resale under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, but Mr. Rice has agreed that the units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after we have completed a business combination.
There is presently no public market for our units, common stock or warrants. The units will be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the common stock and warrants will be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbols and , respectively. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See ‘‘Risk Factors’’ beginning on page 10 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Public offering price | Underwriting discount and commissions(1) | Proceeds, before expenses, to us | ||||||||||||
Per unit | $6.00 | $0.54 | $5.46 | |||||||||||
Total | $21,000,000 | $1,890,000 | $19,110,000 | |||||||||||
(1) | Includes a non-accountable expense allowance in the amount of 1% of the gross proceeds, or $0.06 per unit ($210,000 in total), payable to the underwriter. The non-accountable expense allowance is not payable with respect to the units sold upon exercise of the over-allotment option. |
$18,110,000 of the net proceeds of this offering, plus the additional $1,000,002 we will receive from the purchase of our units being made by Mr. Rice simultaneously with the consummation of this offering, for an aggregate of $19,110,002 (or approximately $5.46 per unit sold to the public in this offering), will be deposited into a trust account at Lehman Brothers Inc., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
We are offering the units for sale on a firm-commitment basis. EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. expects to deliver our securities to investors in the offering on or about , 2006.
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
, 2006
Table Of Contents
Page | ||||||
Prospectus Summary | 1 | |||||
Summary Financial Data | 9 | |||||
Risk Factors | 10 | |||||
Use of Proceeds | 20 | |||||
Dilution | 22 | |||||
Capitalization | 24 | |||||
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | 25 | |||||
Proposed Business | 27 | |||||
Management | 37 | |||||
Principal Stockholders | 43 | |||||
Certain Transactions | 44 | |||||
Description of Securities | 47 | |||||
Underwriting | 51 | |||||
Legal Matters | 55 | |||||
Experts | 55 | |||||
Where You Can Find Additional Information | 56 | |||||
Index to Financial Statements | F-1 | |||||
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Prospectus Summary
This summary highlights certain information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. For a more complete understanding of this offering, you should read the entire prospectus carefully, including the risk factors and the financial statements. Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus:
• | references to ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ or ‘‘our company’’ refer to Ascend Acquisition Corp.; |
• | ‘‘initial shares’’ refers to the 875,000 shares of common stock that our initial stockholders originally purchased from us for $25,000 in December 2005; |
• | ‘‘insider units’’ refers to the 166,667 units we are selling privately to Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, upon consummation of this offering; |
• | the term ‘‘public stockholders’’ means the holders of the shares of common stock which are being sold as part of the units in this public offering, including any of our existing stockholders to the extent that they purchase such shares; |
• | the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriter will not exercise its over-allotment option. |
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted.
We are a blank check company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware on December 5, 2005. We were formed with the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an operating business. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic location, although we intend to focus our efforts on seeking a business combination with an operating company in the manufacturing, service or distribution industries located in the United States. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities.
We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with our company. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
Our initial business combination must be with a target business whose fair market value is at least equal to 80% of our net assets (all of our assets, including the funds held in the trust account, less our liabilities) at the time of such acquisition, although this may entail simultaneous acquisitions of several operating businesses. If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses and such businesses 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 acquisitions, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the business combination. With multiple acquisitions, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent integration of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business.
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The target business that we acquire may have a fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of our net assets. In order to consummate such an acquisition, we may issue a significant amount of our debt or equity securities to the sellers of such business and/or seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not entered into any such fund raising arrangement and have no current intention of doing so.
Our principal executive offices are located at 435 Devon Park Drive, Building 400, Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087 and our telephone number is (610) 293-2512.
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The Offering | ||
Securities offered | 3,500,000 units, at $6.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: | |
• | one share of common stock; and | ||
• | two warrants. | ||
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Each of the common stock and warrants may trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless EarlyBirdCapital determines that an earlier date is acceptable (based upon its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular). In no event will EarlyBirdCapital allow separate trading of the common stock and warrants until we file an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including an audited balance sheet, upon the consummation of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date the units commence trading. The audited balance sheet will reflect our receipt of the proceeds from the exercise of the over-allotment option if the over-allotment option is exercised prior to the filing of the Form 8-K. If the over-allotment option is exercised after our initial filing of a Form 8-K, we will file an amendment to the Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. We will also include in this Form 8-K, or amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K, information indicating if EarlyBirdCapital has allowed separate trading of the common stock and warrants prior to the 90th day after the date of this prospectus. | ||
Securities to be sold to and purchased by insider | 166,667 units at $6.00 per unit (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002) will be sold to Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The insider units will be identical to the units being offered by this prospectus except that the warrants underlying such units may be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as such warrants are held by Mr. Rice or his affiliates. Additionally, Mr. Rice has waived his right to receive distributions upon our liquidation prior to a business combination with respect to the securities underlying the insider units. He has also agreed that the insider units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after we have completed a business combination. | |
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Mr. Rice has also committed to place a limit order to purchase up to $250,000 warrants in the open market at prices not to exceed $0.60 per warrant during the three month period beginning on the later of (i) 60 days after the date the distribution of our units has been completed and (ii) the commencement of separate trading of the warrant. The distribution of the units in this offering will be completed once all the units have been sold, all stabilizing transactions have been completed and all penalty bids have either been reclaimed or withdrawn. The warrants purchased by Mr. Rice will not be saleable by him until after we consummate a business combination. | ||
We have agreed that any warrants purchased in the aftermarket pursuant to the foregoing arrangement will be exercisable by Mr. Rice or his affiliates on a cashless basis. | ||
Common stock: Number outstanding before this offering | 875,000 shares | |
Number to be sold as part of insider units | 166,667 shares | |
Number to be outstanding after this offering and sale to insider | 4,541,667 shares | |
Warrants: Number outstanding before this offering | 0 warrants | |
Number to be sold as part of insider units | 333,334 warrants | |
Number to be outstanding after this offering and sale to insider | 7,333,334 warrants | |
Exercisability | Each warrant is exercisable for one share of common stock. | |
Exercise price | $5.00 | |
Exercise period | The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: | |
• | the completion of a business combination with a target business, and | ||
• | [ ], 2007 [one year from the date of this prospectus]. | ||
The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [ ], 2010 [four years from the date of this prospectus] or earlier upon redemption. | ||
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Redemption | We may redeem the outstanding warrants (including any outstanding warrants issued upon exercise of the unit purchase option issued to EarlyBirdCapital), except as set forth below: | |
• | in whole and not in part, | ||
• | at a price of $.01 per warrant at any time after the warrants become exercisable, | ||
• | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, and | ||
• | if, and only if, the last sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $8.50 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption. | ||
The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrantholders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient degree of liquidity to cushion the market reaction to our redemption call. | ||
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his warrant to do so on a "cashless basis." In such event, the holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering his warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the "fair market value" (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The "fair market value" shall mean the average reported last sale price of the common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to holders of warrants. | ||
Proposed OTC Bulletin Board symbols for our: Units | [ ] | |
Common stock | [ ] | |
Warrants | [ ] | |
Offering proceeds to be held in trust | $18,110,000 of the proceeds of this offering plus the $1,000,002 we will receive from the sale of the insider units (for an aggregate of $19,110,002 or $5.46 per unit sold to the public in this offering) will be placed in a trust account at Lehman Brothers, maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee pursuant to an agreement to be signed on the date of this prospectus. | |
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These proceeds will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation. Therefore, unless and until a business combination is consummated, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be available for our use for any expenses related to this offering or expenses which we may incur related to the investigation and selection of a target business and the negotiation of an agreement to acquire a target business. These expenses may be paid prior to a business combination only from the net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account (initially, approximately $600,000). | ||
None of the warrants may be exercised until after the consummation of a business combination and, thus, after the proceeds of the trust account have been disbursed. Accordingly, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. | ||
Limited payments to insiders | There will be no fees or other cash payments paid to our existing stockholders, officers, directors or their affiliates prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination other than: | |
• | repayment of a $80,000 non-interest bearing loan made by Don K. Rice; | ||
• | payment of $7,500 per month to 400 Building LLC for office space and related services; and | ||
• | reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with certain activities on our behalf, such as identifying and investigating possible business targets and business combinations. | ||
Stockholders must approve business combination | We will seek stockholder approval before we effect any business combination, even if the nature of the acquisition would not ordinarily require stockholder approval under applicable state law. In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote the shares of common stock owned by them immediately before this offering as well as those included in the insider units in accordance with the majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders. We will proceed with a business combination only if (i) a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination and (ii) public stockholders owning less than 20% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights described below. | |
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Accordingly, it is our understanding and intention in every case to structure and consummate a business combination in which approximately 19.99% of the public stockholders may exercise their conversion rights and the business combination will still go forward. | ||
Conversion rights for stockholders voting to reject a business combination | Public stockholders voting against a business combination will be entitled to convert their stock into a pro rata share of the trust account, including any interest earned on their portion of the trust account, if the business combination is approved and completed. Our existing stockholders will not have such conversion rights with respect to any shares of common stock owned by them, directly or indirectly, whether included in their initial shares, included in the insider units or purchased by them in this offering or in the aftermarket. Public stockholders who convert their stock into their share of the trust fund will continue to have the right to exercise any warrants they may hold. | |
Investors in this offering who do not sell, or who receive less than an aggregate of $0.54 of net sales proceeds for, the warrants included in the units, and persons who purchase common stock in the aftermarket at a price in excess of $5.46 per share, may have a disincentive to exercise their conversion rights because the amount they would receive upon conversion could be less than their original or adjusted purchase price. | ||
Liquidation if no business combination | Pursuant to, among other documents, our certificate of incorporation, we will dissolve and promptly distribute only to our public stockholders the amount in our trust account (including any accrued interest) plus any remaining net assets if we do not effect a business combination within 18 months after consummation of this offering (or within 24 months from the consummation of this offering if a letter of intent, agreement in principle or definitive agreement has been executed within 18 months after consummation of this offering and the business combination has not yet been consummated within such 18 month period). We will not amend our certificate of incorporation to allow us to survive for a longer period of time if it does not appear we will be able to consummate a business combination within the foregoing time periods. Our existing stockholders have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares and their shares included in the insider units. We will pay | |
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the costs of liquidation and dissolution from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. | ||
Escrow of existing stockholders’ shares | On the date of this prospectus, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, will place their initial shares (but not any shares included in the insider units) into an escrow account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent. Subject to certain limited exceptions, (such as transfers to relatives and trusts for estate planning purposes, while remaining in escrow), these shares will not be transferable during the escrow period and will not be released from escrow until [ ], 2009 [three years from the date of this prospectus] or earlier if, following a business combination, we engage in a subsequent transaction resulting in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash or other securities. Although the shares included in the insider units will not be placed in escrow, Mr. Rice has agreed that the units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after we have completed a business combination. | |
Risks
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. In addition, this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and, therefore, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. Additionally, our initial security holders’ initial equity investment is below that which is required under the guidelines of the North American Securities Administrators’ Association, Inc. and we do not satisfy such association’s policy regarding unsound financial condition. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled ‘‘Risk Factors’’ beginning on page 10 of this prospectus.
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Summary Financial Data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data are presented.
December 31, 2005 | ||||||||||
Actual | As Adjusted(1) | |||||||||
Balance Sheet Data: | ||||||||||
Working capital (deficiency) | $ | (1,131 | ) | $ | 19,733,871 | |||||
Total assets | $ | 105,061 | $ | 19,733,871 | ||||||
Total liabilities | $ | 81,192 | $ | — | ||||||
Value of common stock which may be converted to cash ($5.46 per share) | $ | — | $ | 3,820,089 | ||||||
Stockholders’ equity | $ | 23,869 | $ | 15,913,782 | ||||||
(1) Includes the $1,000,002 we will receive from the sale of the insider units. |
The ‘‘as adjusted’’ information gives effect to the sale of the units we are offering, including the application of the related gross proceeds and the payment of the estimated remaining costs from such sale and the repayment of the accrued and other liabilities required to be repaid.
The working capital deficiency excludes $25,000 of costs related to this offering which were paid prior to December 31, 2005. These deferred offering costs have been recorded as a long-term asset and are reclassified against stockholders’ equity in the ‘‘as adjusted’’ information.
The working capital and total assets amounts include the $19,110,002 to be held in the trust account, which will be available to us only upon the consummation of a business combination within the time period described in this prospectus. If a business combination is not so consummated, the trust account will be distributed solely to our public stockholders.
We will not proceed with a business combination if public stockholders owning 20% or more of the shares sold in this offering vote against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights. Accordingly, we may effect a business combination if public stockholders owning up to approximately 19.99% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. If this occurred, we would be required to convert to cash up to approximately 19.99% of the 3,500,000 shares sold in this offering, or 699,650 shares of common stock, at an initial per-share conversion price of $5.46 (for a total of $3,820,089), without taking into account interest earned on the trust account. The actual per-share conversion price will be equal to:
• | the amount in the trust account, including all accrued interest, as of two business days prior to the proposed consummation of the business combination, |
• | divided by the number of shares of common stock sold in the offering. |
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Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the material risks described below, which we believe represent all the material risks related to the offering, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units.
Risks associated with our business
We are a development stage company with no operating history and, accordingly, you will not have any basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently incorporated development stage company with no operating results to date. Therefore, our ability to commence operations is dependent upon obtaining financing through the public offering of our securities. Since we do not have an operating history, you will have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective, which is to acquire an operating business. We have not conducted any discussions and we have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective acquisition candidates. We will not generate any revenues until, at the earliest, after the consummation of a business combination.
If we are forced to liquidate before a business combination and distribute the trust account, our public stockholders will receive less than $6.00 per share and our warrants will expire worthless.
If we are unable to complete a business combination within the prescribed time frames and are forced to liquidate our assets, the per-share liquidation distribution will be less than $6.00 because of the expenses of this offering, our general and administrative expenses and the anticipated costs of seeking a business combination. Furthermore, there will be no distribution with respect to our outstanding warrants which will expire worthless if we liquidate before the completion of a business combination.
If the net proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, we may be unable to complete a business combination.
We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time. However, we cannot assure you that our estimates will be accurate. We could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust 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 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.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering are intended to be used to complete a business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a ‘‘blank check’’ company under the United States securities laws. However, since we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful consummation of this offering and will file 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 of blank check companies such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Because we are not subject to Rule 419, our units will be immediately tradable and we have a longer period of time to complete a business combination in certain circumstances than we would if we were subject to such rule.
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Because there are numerous companies with a business plan similar to ours seeking to effectuate a business combination, it may be more difficult for us to do so.
Since August 2003, based upon publicly available information, approximately similarly structured blank check companies have completed initial public offerings in the United States. Of these companies, only companies have consummated a business combination, while other companies have announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination, but have not consummated such business combination. Accordingly, there are approximately blank check companies with more than $ billion in trust that are seeking to carry out a business plan similar to our business plan. Furthermore, there are a number of additional offerings for blank check companies that are still in the registration process but have not completed initial public offerings and there are likely to be more blank check companies filing registration statements for initial public offerings after the date of this prospectus and prior to our completion of a business combination. While some of those companies must complete a business combination in specific industries, a number of them may consummate a business combination in any industry they choose. Therefore, we may be subject to competition from these and other companies seeking to consummate a business plan similar to ours. Because of this competition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to effectuate a business combination within the required time periods.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in trust could be reduced and the per-share liquidation price received by stockholders will be less than $5.46 per share.
Our placing of funds in trust may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors and service providers we engage and prospective target businesses we negotiate with, execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. Nor is there any guarantee that, even if such entities execute such agreements with us, they will not seek recourse against the trust account. Accordingly, the proceeds held in trust could be subject to claims which could take priority over those of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the per-share distribution from the trust fund, if we liquidate, will not be less than $5.46, plus interest, due to such claims. If we liquidate before the completion of a business combination and distribute the proceeds held in trust to our public stockholders, Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, has agreed that he will be personally liable to ensure that the proceeds in the trust account are not reduced by the claims of target businesses or claims of vendors or other entities that are owed money by us for services rendered or contracted for or products sold to us. However, we cannot assure you that he will be able to satisfy those obligations. Furthermore, even after our liquidation (including the distribution of the funds held in the trust account), under the Delaware General Corporation Law, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that third parties will not seek to recover from our stockholders amounts owed to them by us.
Since we have not yet selected a particular industry or target business with which to complete a business combination, we are unable to currently ascertain the merits or risks of the industry or business in which we may ultimately operate.
We may consummate a business combination with a company in any industry we choose and are not limited to any particular industry or type of business. Accordingly, there is no current basis for you to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the particular industry in which we may ultimately operate or the target business which we may ultimately acquire. To the extent we complete a business combination with a financially unstable company or an entity in its development stage, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations of those entities. If we complete a business combination with an entity in an industry characterized by a high level of risk, we may be affected by the currently unascertainable risks of that industry. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular industry or target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a target business.
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We may issue shares of our capital stock or debt securities to complete a business combination, which would reduce the equity interest of our stockholders and likely cause a change in control of our ownership.
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 15,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering and the purchase of the insider units (assuming no exercise of the over-allotment option), there will be 2,074,999 authorized but unissued shares of our common stock available for issuance (after appropriate reservation for the issuance of the shares upon full exercise of our outstanding warrants and the unit purchase option granted to the underwriter) and all of the 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock available for issuance. Although we have no commitment as of the date of this offering, we are likely to issue a substantial number of additional shares of our common or preferred stock, or a combination of common and preferred stock, to complete a business combination. The issuance of additional shares of our common stock or any number of shares of our preferred stock:
• | may significantly reduce the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
• | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if we issue preferred stock with rights senior to those afforded to our common stock; |
• | will likely cause a change in control if a substantial number of our shares of common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
• | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:
• | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a 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 security is payable on demand; and |
• | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding. |
Our ability to successfully effect a 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 a business combination.
Our ability to successfully effect a 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 such as Don K. Rice may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following a business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. Moreover, our key personnel will be able to remain with the company after the consummation of a 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 the company after the consummation of the business combination. While the personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, the ability of such individuals to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential
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business combination. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after a 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 public company which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate a business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to commit their full time to our affairs, which could create a conflict of interest when allocating their time between our operations and their other commitments. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of a business combination. All of our executive officers are engaged in several other business endeavors and are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our affairs. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to such affairs, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate a business combination. We cannot assure you that these conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
One of our executive officers and our special advisor are now, and our other officers and directors and their affiliates may in the future, become affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Each of Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, and Arthur Spector, our special advisor, has pre-existing contractual and fiduciary obligations to other entities, including blank check companies, with business plans similar to ours. Accordingly, to the extent such individuals identify business opportunities that may be suitable for those other entities, they must honor their pre-existing obligations to such entities and offer those opportunities to them prior to offering them to us. Additionally, our other directors may in the future become affiliated with entities, including other ‘‘blank check’’ companies, engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us. Additionally, our officers and directors may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe fiduciary duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented in addition to those set forth above. We cannot assure you that these conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
All of our officers and directors own shares of our common stock and Don K. Rice will own warrants which will not participate in liquidation distributions and therefore they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate for a business combination.
All of our officers and directors own shares of our common stock that were issued prior to this offering and Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, is purchasing insider units upon consummation of this offering. Such individuals have waived their right to receive distributions with respect to those shares upon our liquidation if we are unable to consummate a business combination. Mr. Rice has also committed to place a limit order to purchase up to $250,000 warrants in the open market at prices not to exceed $0.60 per warrant during the three month period beginning on the later of (i) 60 days after the date the distribution of our units has been completed and (ii) the commencement of separate trading of the warrants. The shares acquired prior to this offering and included in the insider units, as well as any warrants included in the insider units, and any warrants purchased by our officers or directors in this offering or in the aftermarket will be worthless if we do not consummate a business combination. 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
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determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest.
If our common stock becomes subject to the SEC’s penny stock rules, broker-dealers may experience difficulty in completing customer transactions and trading activity in our securities may be adversely affected.
If at any time we have net tangible assets of $5,000,000 or less and our common stock has a market price per share of less than $5.00, transactions in our common stock may be subject to the ‘‘penny stock’’ rules promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Under these rules, broker-dealers who recommend such securities to persons other than institutional accredited investors must:
• | make a special written suitability determination for the purchaser; |
• | receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction prior to sale; |
• | provide the purchaser with risk disclosure documents which identify certain risks associated with investing in ‘‘penny stocks’’ and which describe the market for these ‘‘penny stocks’’ as well as a purchaser’s legal remedies; and |
• | obtain a signed and dated acknowledgment from the purchaser demonstrating that the purchaser has actually received the required risk disclosure document before a transaction in a ‘‘penny stock’’ can be completed. |
If our common stock becomes subject to these rules, broker-dealers may find it difficult to effectuate customer transactions and trading activity in our securities may be adversely affected. As a result, the market price of our securities may be depressed, and you may find it more difficult to sell our securities.
After our business combination, we will be solely dependent on a single business and a limited number of products or services.
Our business combination must be with a business with a fair market value of at least 80% of our net assets at the time of such acquisition, although this may entail the simultaneous acquisitions of several operating businesses at the same time. By consummating a 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, or |
• | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
Alternatively, if our business combination entails the simultaneous acquisitions of several operating businesses at the same time from different sellers, we would face additional risks, including difficulties and expenses incurred in connection with the subsequent integration of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies into a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
The ability of our stockholders to exercise their conversion rights may not allow us to effectuate the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
When we seek stockholder approval of any business combination, we will offer each public stockholder (but not our existing stockholders) the right to have his, her or its shares of common stock converted to cash if the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Such holder must both vote against such business
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combination and then exercise his, her or its conversion rights to receive a pro rata portion of the trust account. Accordingly, if our business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, because we will not know how many stockholders may exercise such conversion rights, we may either need to reserve part of the trust account for possible payment upon such conversion, or we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination in case a larger percentage of stockholders exercise their conversion rights than we expect. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing. Therefore, we may not be able to consummate a business combination that requires us to use all of the funds held in the trust account as part of the purchase price, or we may end up having a leverage ratio that is not optimal for our business combination. This may limit our ability to effectuate the most attractive business combination available to us.
Because of our limited resources and structure, we may not be able to consummate an attractive business combination.
We expect to encounter intense competition from entities other than blank check companies having a business objective similar to ours, including venture capital funds, leveraged buyout funds and operating businesses competing for acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe that there are numerous potential target businesses that we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, our ability to compete in acquiring certain sizable target businesses 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, the obligation we have to seek stockholder approval of a business combination may delay the consummation of a transaction. Additionally, our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. Because only of the blank check companies that have gone public in the United States since August 2003 have either consummated a business combination or entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination, it may indicate that there are fewer attractive target businesses available to such entities like our company or that many privately held target businesses are not inclined to enter into these types of transactions with publicly held blank check companies like ours. If we are unable to consummate a business combination with a target business within the prescribed time periods, we will be forced to liquidate.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing, if required, to complete a business combination or to fund the operations and growth of the target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering will be sufficient to allow us to consummate a business combination, because we have not yet identified any prospective target business, we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of the business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, or the obligation to convert into cash a significant number of shares from dissenting stockholders, we will be required to seek additional financing. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to consummate a particular business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. In addition, if we consummate a business combination, we may require additional financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after a business combination.
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Our existing stockholders, including our officers and directors, control a substantial interest in us and thus may influence certain actions requiring a stockholder vote.
Upon consummation of our offering, our existing stockholders (including all of our officers and directors) will collectively own 22.9% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (assuming they purchase the insider units but do not purchase any units in this offering). Our board of directors 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. It is unlikely that there will be an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of a business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the consummation 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 existing stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our existing stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the consummation of a business combination.
Our existing stockholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.029 per share, for their initial shares and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to the investors in this offering. Our existing stockholders acquired their initial shares of common stock at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Assuming the offering is completed, you and the other new investors will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 31% or $1.86 per share (the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $4.14, and the initial offering price of $6.00 per unit).
Our outstanding warrants and option may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 7,000,000 shares of common stock as part of the units offered by this prospectus and warrants to purchase 333,334 shares of common stock as part of the insider units. We will also issue an option to purchase 350,000 units to the underwriter which, if exercised, will result in the issuance of an additional 700,000 warrants. To the extent we issue shares of common stock to effect a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares upon exercise of these warrants and option could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle in the eyes of a target business. Such securities, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and reduce the value of the shares issued to complete the business combination. Accordingly, our warrants and option may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business. Additionally, the sale, or even the possibility of sale, of the shares underlying the warrants and option could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities or on our ability to obtain future financing. If and to the extent these warrants and option are exercised, you may experience dilution to your holdings.
Our management's ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer shares of common stock upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their warrants for cash.
If we call our warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his warrant to do so on a "cashless basis." If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of shares of common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be less than it would have been had such holder exercised his warrant for cash. This will have the effect of limiting the potential "upside" of the holder's investment in our company.
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If our existing stockholders exercise their registration rights with respect to their initial shares, it may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
Our existing stockholders are entitled to make a demand that we register the resale of their initial shares at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which their shares are released from escrow. If our existing stockholders exercise their registration rights with respect to all of their initial shares, then there will be an additional 875,000 shares of common stock eligible for trading in the public market. The presence of these additional shares of common stock trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business, as the stockholders of the target business may be discouraged from entering into a business combination with us or will request a higher price for their securities because of the potential effect the exercise of such rights may have on the trading market for our common stock.
Investors in this offering may engage in resale transactions only in those states that we have registered this offering and a limited number of other jurisdictions where an applicable exemption from registration exists.
We have applied to register our securities, or have obtained or will seek to obtain an exemption from registration, in Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, New York and Rhode Island. If you are not an ‘‘institutional investor,’’ you must be a resident of these jurisdictions to purchase our securities in the offering. Institutional investors in every state except Idaho may purchase units in this offering pursuant to exemptions provided to such entities under the Blue Sky laws of various states. The definition of an ‘‘institutional investor’’ varies from state to state but generally includes financial institutions, broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies and other qualified entities. Under the National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, the resale of the units and, once they become separately transferable, the common stock and warrants comprising the units are exempt from state registration requirements. However, each state retains jurisdiction to investigate and bring enforcement actions with respect to fraud or deceit, or unlawful conduct by a broker or dealer, in connection with the sale of securities. Although we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict resales of securities issued by blank check companies generally, certain state securities commissioners view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the resale of securities of blank check companies in their state.
If we are deemed to be an investment company, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete a business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, we may be subject to certain restrictions that may make it more difficult for us to complete a business combination, including:
• | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
• | restrictions on the issuance of securities. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us certain burdensome requirements, including:
• | registration as an investment company; |
• | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
• | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy, compliance policies and procedures and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act of 1940. To this end, the proceeds held in trust may be invested by the trust agent only in United States ‘‘government securities’’ within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company
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Act of 1940 having a maturity of 180 days or less. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, we intend to meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940. If we were deemed to be subject to that act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expense for which we have not allotted.
Our directors may not be considered ‘‘independent’’ under the policies of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc.
No salary or other compensation will be paid to our directors for services rendered by them on our behalf prior to or in connection with a business combination. Accordingly, we believe our non-executive directors would be considered ‘‘independent’’ as that term is commonly used. However, under the policies of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc., an international organization devoted to investor protection, because each of our directors own shares of our securities and may receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf (such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations), state securities administrators could argue that all of such individuals are not ‘‘independent.’’ If this were the case, they would take the position that we would not have the benefit of any independent directors examining the propriety of expenses incurred on our behalf and subject to reimbursement. Additionally, there is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses that could be incurred and there will be no review of the reasonableness of the expenses by anyone other than our board of directors, which would include persons who may seek reimbursement, or a court of competent jurisdiction if such reimbursement is challenged. Although we believe that all actions taken by our directors on our behalf will be in our best interests, whether or not they are deemed to be ‘‘independent,’’ we cannot assure you that this will actually be the case. If actions are taken, or expenses are incurred that are actually not in our best interests, it could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations, and a material adverse effect on the prices of our securities held by public stockholders.
Because our initial stockholders’ initial equity investment for their initial shares was only $25,000, our offering may be disallowed by state administrators that follow the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. Statement of Policy on development stage companies.
Pursuant to the Statement of Policy Regarding Promoter’s Equity Investment promulgated by The North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc., any state administrator may disallow an offering of a development stage company if the initial equity investment by a company’s promoters does not equal a certain percentage of the aggregate public offering price. Our promoters’ initial investment of $25,000 for their initial shares is less than the required $635,000 minimum amount pursuant to this policy. Accordingly, a state administrator would have the discretion to disallow our offering if it wanted to. We cannot assure you that our offering would not be disallowed pursuant to this policy. If the offering were disallowed, it would further restrict your ability to engage in resale transactions with respect to our securities. Additionally, if we are unable to complete a business combination, our promoters’ loss will be limited to their initial investment. Conversely, if we are able to complete a business combination, the shares of common stock acquired prior to this offering will be worth significantly more than $25,000.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
We may effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States. If we did, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business' home jurisdiction, including any of the following:
• | rules and regulations or currency conversion or corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
• | tariffs and trade barriers; |
• | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
• | longer payment cycles; |
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• | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
• | currency fluctuations; |
• | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
• | cultural and language differences; and |
• | employment regulations. |
We cannot assure you that we would be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such company operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. We cannot assure you that the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this new jurisdiction. 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. Additionally, if we acquire a company located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under Federal securities laws.
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Use of Proceeds
We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering, not including the funds we will receive from the sale of the insider units (all of which will be deposited into the trust fund), will be as set forth in the following table:
Without Over- Allotment Option | Over-Allotment Option Exercised | |||||||||
Gross proceeds | $ | 21,000,000.00 | $ | 24,150,000.00 | ||||||
Offering expenses(1), | ||||||||||
Underwriting discount (8% of gross proceeds) | 1,680,000.00 | 1,932,000.00 | ||||||||
Underwriting non-accountable expense allowance (1% of gross proceeds) | 210,000.00 | 210,000.00 | ||||||||
Legal fees and expenses (including blue sky services and expenses) | 260,000.00 | 291,500.00 | ||||||||
Miscellaneous expenses | 24,414.51 | 17,914.51 | ||||||||
Printing and engraving expenses | 65,000.00 | 65,000.00 | ||||||||
Accounting fees and expenses | 35,000.00 | 35,000.00 | ||||||||
SEC registration fee | 7,797.81 | 7,797.81 | ||||||||
NASD filing fee | 7,787.68 | 7,787.68 | ||||||||
Net proceeds | ||||||||||
Held in trust | 18,110,000.00 | 20,913,000.00 | ||||||||
Not held in trust | 600,000.00 | 670,000.00 | ||||||||
Total net proceeds | $ | 18,710,000.00 | $ | 21,583,000.00 | ||||||
Use of net proceeds not held in trust
Payment of administrative fee to 400 Building LLC ($7,500 per month for two years) | $ | 180,000 | (30.0%) | $ | 180,000 | (26.9%) | ||||||||||||
Legal, accounting and other expenses attendant to the due diligence investigation, structuring and negotiation of a business combination | 120,000 | (20.0%) | 120,000 | (17.9%) | ||||||||||||||
Legal and accounting fees relating to SEC reporting obligations | 80,000 | (13.3%) | 80,000 | (11.9%) | ||||||||||||||
Due diligence of prospective target businesses | 75,000 | (12.5%) | 75,000 | (11.2%) | ||||||||||||||
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses, D&O insurance, taxes and reserves | 145,000 | (24.2%) | 215,000 | (32.1%) | ||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 600,000 | (100.0%) | $ | 670,000 | (100.00%) | ||||||||||||
(1) | Approximately $98,000 of the offering expenses, including the SEC registration fee, the NASD filing fee and a portion of the non-accountable expense allowance and legal and audit fees, have been paid from the funds we received from Don K. Rice described below. These funds will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust upon consummation of this offering. |
In addition to the offering of units by this prospectus, Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, has committed to purchase the insider units (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002) from us. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. We will not pay any discounts or commissions with respect to the purchase of the insider units. All of the proceeds we receive from this purchase will be placed in the trust fund described below.
$18,110,000, or $20,913,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of net proceeds of this offering, plus the $1,000,002 we will receive from the sale of the insider units, will be placed in a trust account at Lehman Brothers, maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, New York,
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New York, as trustee. The funds held in trust will be invested only in United States ‘‘government securities’’ within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 having a maturity of 180 days or less so that we are not deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. The proceeds will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or our liquidation. The proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete a business combination.
The payment to 400 Building LLC, an affiliate of Arthur Spector, our special advisor, of a monthly fee of $7,500 is for general and administrative services including office space, utilities and secretarial support. This arrangement is being agreed to by 400 Building LLC for our benefit and is not intended to provide Mr. Spector compensation in lieu of a salary. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, that the fee charged by 400 Building LLC is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person. This arrangement will terminate upon completion of a business combination or the distribution of the trust account to our public stockholders. Other than the $7,500 per month administrative fee, no compensation of any kind (including finder’s, consulting or other similar fees) will be paid to any of our existing officers, directors, stockholders, or any of their affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of the business combination. However, such individuals will receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses, performing business due diligence on suitable target businesses and business combinations as well as traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses to examine their operations. Reimbursement for such expenses will be paid by us out of the funds not held in trust and currently allocated to ‘‘Legal, accounting and other expenses attendant to the due diligence investigations, structuring and negotiation of a business combination,’’ ‘‘Due diligence of prospective target businesses’’ and ‘‘Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses, D&O insurance, taxes and reserves.’’ Since the role of present management after a business combination is uncertain, we have no ability to determine what remuneration, if any, will be paid to those persons after a business combination.
We intend to use the excess working capital (approximately $145,000) for director and officer liability insurance premiums (approximately $80,000), with the balance of $65,000 being held in reserve for tax payments and in the event due diligence, legal, accounting and other expenses of structuring and negotiating business combinations exceed our estimates, as well as for reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by our existing stockholders in connection with activities on our behalf as described above. We believe that the excess working capital will be sufficient to cover the foregoing expenses and reimbursement costs. We could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust 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 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, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a ‘‘no-shop’’ provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, potential target businesses.
The net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account and not immediately required for the purposes set forth above will be held as cash or cash equivalents or will be invested only in United States ‘‘government securities’’ so that we are not deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. The income derived from investment of these net proceeds during this period will be used to defray our general and administrative expenses, as well as costs relating to compliance with securities laws and regulations, including associated professional fees, until a business combination is completed.
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To the extent that our capital stock is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect a business combination, the proceeds held in the trust account which are not used to consummate a business combination will be disbursed to the combined company and will, along with any other net proceeds not expended, be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business.
Don K. Rice has advanced to us a total of $80,000 which was used to pay a portion of the expenses of this offering referenced in the line items above for SEC registration fee, NASD filing fee and legal and audit fees and expenses. The loan will be payable without interest on the earlier of December 20, 2006 or the consummation of this offering. The loan will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust.
We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, we will have sufficient available funds to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time.
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account (including interest earned on his, her or its portion of the trust account) only in the event of our liquidation or if that public stockholder converts such shares into cash in connection with a business combination which the public stockholder voted against and which we consummate. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Dilution
The difference between the public offering price per share of common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering by this prospectus or included in the insider units, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of common stock which may be converted into cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our common stock.
At December 31, 2005, our net tangible book value was a deficiency of $1,131, or approximately $0.00 per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 3,500,000 shares of common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus and the 166,667 shares of common stock included in the insider units, and the deduction of underwriting discounts and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at December 31, 2005 would have been $15,913,782 or $4.14 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $4.14 per share to the existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of $1.86 per share or 31% to new investors not exercising their conversion rights. For purposes of presentation, our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering is approximately $3,820,089 less than it otherwise would have been because if we effect a business combination, the conversion rights to the public stockholders (but not our existing stockholders) may result in the conversion into cash of up to approximately 19.99% of the aggregate number of the shares sold in this offering at a per-share conversion price equal to the amount in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the proposed business combination, inclusive of any interest, divided by the number of shares sold in this offering.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the new investors on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units:
Public offering price | $ | 6.00 | ||||||||
Net tangible book value before this offering | $ | 0.00 | ||||||||
Increase attributable to new investors | 4.14 | |||||||||
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering | 4.14 | |||||||||
Dilution to new investors | $ | 1.86 | ||||||||
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The following table sets forth information with respect to our existing stockholders and the new investors:
Shares Purchased | Total Consideration | Average Price Per Share | ||||||||||||||||||||
Number | Percentage | Amount | Percentage | |||||||||||||||||||
Existing stockholders | 875,000 | 19.2 | % | $ | 25,000 | 0.114 | % | $ | 0.029 | |||||||||||||
New investors | 3,500,000 | 77.1 | % | $ | 21,000,000 | 95.346 | % | $ | 6.00 | |||||||||||||
Insider investors | 166,667 | 3.7 | % | $ | 1,000,002 | 4.540 | % | $ | 6.00 | |||||||||||||
4,541,667 | 100.0 | % | $ | 22,025,002 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||
The pro forma net tangible book value after the offering is calculated as follows:
Numerator: | ||||||
Net tangible book value before this offering | $ | (1,131 | ) | |||
Proceeds from this offering | 18,710,000 | |||||
Proceeds from sale of insider units | 1,000,002 | |||||
Offering costs paid in advance and excluded from net tangible book value before this offering | 25,000 | |||||
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to conversion to cash ($19,110,002 x 19.99%) | (3,820,089 | ) | ||||
$ | 15,913,782 | |||||
Denominator: | ||||||
Shares of common stock outstanding prior to this offering | 875,000 | |||||
Shares of common stock included in the units offered | 3,500,000 | |||||
Shares of common stock included in insider units | 166,667 | |||||
Less: Shares subject to conversion (3,500,000 x 19.99%) | (699,650 | ) | ||||
3,842,017 | ||||||
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Capitalization
The following table sets forth our capitalization at December 31, 2005 and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of our units:
December 31, 2005 | ||||||||||
Actual | As Adjusted(1) | |||||||||
Note payable to stockholder | $ | 80,000 | $ | — | ||||||
Total debt | $ | 80,000 | $ | — | ||||||
Common stock, $.0001 par value, -0- and 699,650 shares which are subject to possible conversion, shares at conversion value | $ | — | $ | 3,820,089 | ||||||
Stockholders’ equity: | ||||||||||
Preferred stock, $.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding | — | — | ||||||||
Common stock, $.0001 par value, 15,000,000 shares authorized; 875,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 3,842,017(2) shares issued and outstanding (excluding 699,650 shares subject to possible conversion), as adjusted | 88 | 384 | ||||||||
Additional paid-in capital | 24,912 | 15,914,529 | ||||||||
Deficit accumulated during the development stage | (1,131 | ) | (1,131 | ) | ||||||
Total stockholders’ equity: | 23,869 | 15,913,782 | ||||||||
Total capitalization | $ | 103,869 | $ | 19,733,871 | ||||||
(1) | Includes the $1,000,002 we will receive from the sale of the insider units. |
(2) | Includes shares of common stock included in the insider units. |
If we consummate a business combination, the conversion rights afforded to our public stockholders (but not our existing stockholders) may result in the conversion into cash of up to approximately 19.99% of the aggregate number of shares sold in this offering at a per-share conversion price equal to the amount in the trust account, inclusive of any interest thereon, as of two business days prior to the proposed consummation of a business combination divided by the number of shares sold in this offering.
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Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
We were formed on December 5, 2005 to serve as a vehicle to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an operating business. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of this offering, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, capital stock and debt, in effecting a business combination. The issuance of additional shares of our capital stock:
• | may significantly reduce the equity interest of our stockholders; |
• | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if we issue preferred stock with rights senior to those afforded to our common stock; |
• | will likely cause a change in control if a substantial number of our shares of common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and most likely will also result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
• | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:
• | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a business combination are insufficient to pay our debt obligations; |
• | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we have made all principal and interest payments when due if the debt security contains covenants that required the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves and we breach any such covenant without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
• | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; and |
• | our inability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain additional financing while such security is outstanding. |
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our entire activity since inception has been to prepare for our proposed fundraising through an offering of our equity securities.
We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the units, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $610,000, or $635,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, including $210,000 representing the non-accountable expense allowance of 1% of the gross proceeds, and underwriting discounts of approximately $1,680,000, or $1,932,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be approximately $18,710,000, or $21,583,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of this amount, $18,110,000, or $20,913,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of the net proceeds of this offering will be held in trust and the remaining $600,000, or $670,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, will not be held in trust. An additional $1,000,002 will also be deposited into trust upon consummation of this offering from the sale of the insider units described below. We intend to use substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering, including the funds held in the trust account, to acquire a target business. To the extent that our capital stock is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect a business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account as well as any other net proceeds not expended will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business.
We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time. Over this time period, we will be using these funds for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due
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diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination. We anticipate that we will incur approximately $180,000 for the administrative fee payable to 400 Building LLC ($7,500 per month for two years), $120,000 of expenses for legal, accounting and other expenses attendant to the due diligence investigations, structuring and negotiating of a business combination, $80,000 of expenses in legal and accounting fees relating to our SEC reporting obligations, $75,000 of expenses for the due diligence and investigation of a target business, and $145,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses, taxes and reserves, including approximately $80,000 for director and officer liability insurance premiums. We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, we may need to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities if such funds are required to consummate a business combination that is presented to us, although we have not entered into any such arrangement and have no current intention of doing so.
We are obligated, commencing on the date of this prospectus, to pay to 400 Building LLC, an affiliate of Arthur Spector, our special advisor, a monthly fee of $7,500 for general and administrative services.
On December 20, 2005, Don K. Rice advanced an aggregate of $80,000 to us for payment of offering expenses on our behalf. The loan will be payable without interest on the earlier of December 20, 2006 or the consummation of this offering. The loan will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust.
Don K. Rice has also committed to purchase 166,667 units at $6.00 per unit (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002) from us. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering.
We have agreed to issue to the underwriter, for $100, an option to purchase up to a total of 350,000 units. We estimate that the fair value of this option is approximately $910,000 ($2.60 per Unit underlying such option) using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value of the option granted to the underwriter is estimated as of the date of grant using the following assumptions: (1) expected volatility of 46.56%, (2) risk-free interest rate of 4.31% and (3) expected life of 5 years.
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Proposed Business
Introduction
We are a recently organized Delaware blank check company incorporated on December 5, 2005 in order to serve as a vehicle for the acquisition of an operating business. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic location, although we intend to focus our efforts on seeking a business combination with an operating company in the manufacturing, service or distribution industries located in the United States.
Effecting a business combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any substantive commercial business for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of this offering, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these in effecting a business combination. Although substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering are intended to be applied generally toward effecting a business combination as described in this prospectus, the proceeds are not otherwise being designated for any more specific purposes. Accordingly, investors in this offering are investing without first having an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any one or more business combinations. A business combination may involve the acquisition of, or merger with, a company which does not need substantial additional capital but which desires to establish a public trading market for its shares, while avoiding what it may deem to be adverse consequences of undertaking a public offering itself. These include time delays, significant expense, loss of voting control and compliance with various Federal and state securities laws. In the alternative, we may seek to consummate a business combination with a company that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth. While we may seek to effect business combinations with more than one target business, we will probably have the ability, as a result of our limited resources, to effect only a single business combination.
We have not identified a target business or target industry
To date, we have not selected any target business or target industry on which to concentrate our search for a business combination. None of our officers, directors, promoters and other affiliates has engaged in discussions on our behalf with representatives of other companies regarding the possibility of a potential merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with us, nor have we, nor any of our agents or affiliates, been approached by any candidates (or representatives of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate such an acquisition candidate. We have also not conducted any researchwith respect to identifying the number and characteristics of the potential acquisition candidates. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to locate a target business or that we will be able to engage in a business combination with a target business on favorable terms.
Subject to the limitations that a target business has a fair market value of at least 80% of our net assets at the time of the acquisition, as described below in more detail, we will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective acquisition candidate. We have not established any other specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses. Accordingly, there is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete a business combination. To the extent we effect a business combination with a financially unstable company or an entity in its early stage of development or growth, including entities without established records of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business and operations of financially unstable and early stage or potential emerging growth companies. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
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Sources of target businesses
While we have not yet identified any acquisition candidates, we believe based on our management’s business knowledge and past experience that there are numerous acquisition candidates in the manufacturing, service or distribution industries. We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, venture capital funds, private equity funds, leveraged buyout funds, management buyout funds and other members of the financial community. 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 they think we may be interested in on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus 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 that they become aware of 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. In no event, however, will any of our existing officers, directors or stockholders, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination.
Selection of a target business and structuring of a business combination
Subject to the requirement that our initial business combination must be with a target business with a fair market value that is at least 80% of our net assets at the time of such acquisition, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective target business. We have not established any other specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses. In evaluating a prospective target business, our management will consider, among other factors, the following:
• | financial condition and results of operation; |
• | growth potential; |
• | experience and skill of management and availability of additional personnel; |
• | capital requirements; |
• | competitive position; |
• | barriers to entry; |
• | stage of development of the products, processes or services; |
• | degree of current or potential market acceptance of the products, processes or services; |
• | proprietary features and degree of intellectual property or other protection of the products, processes or services; |
• | regulatory environment of the industry; and |
• | costs associated with effecting the business combination. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular business combination will be based, to the extent relevant, on the above factors as well as other considerations deemed relevant by our management in effecting a business combination consistent with our business objective. In evaluating a prospective target business, we will conduct an extensive due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and inspection of facilities, as well as review of financial and other information which is made available to us. This due diligence review will be conducted either by our management or by unaffiliated third parties we may engage, although we have no current intention to engage any such
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third parties. We will also seek to have all prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. If any prospective target business refused to execute such agreement, it is unlikely we would continue negotiations with such target business.
The time and costs required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete the business combination cannot presently be ascertained with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which a business combination is not ultimately completed will result in a loss to us and reduce the amount of capital available to otherwise complete a business combination.
Fair market value of target business
The target business that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of our net assets at the time of such acquisition, although we may acquire a target business whose fair market value significantly exceeds 80% of our net assets. In order to consummate such an acquisition, we may issue a significant amount of our debt or equity securities to the sellers of such businesses and/or seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not entered into any such fund raising arrangement and have no current intention of doing so. The fair market value of the target will be determined by our board of directors based upon standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as actual and potential sales, earnings and cash flow and book value. If our board is not able to independently determine that the target business has a sufficient fair market value, we will obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated, independent investment banking firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that fair market value meets the 80% of net assets threshold, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our stockholders, although copies will be provided to stockholders who request it. We will not be required to obtain an opinion from an investment banking firm as to the fair market value if our board of directors independently determines that the target business complies with the 80% threshold.
Lack of business diversification
Our business combination must be with a target business or businesses which satisfies the minimum valuation standard at the time of such acquisition, as discussed above, although this process may entail the simultaneous acquisitions of several operating businesses at the same time. Therefore, at least initially, the prospects for our success may be entirely dependent upon the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations of entities operating in multiple industries or multiple areas of a single industry, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses. By consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
• | subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to a business combination, and |
• | result in our dependency upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses and such businesses 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 acquisitions, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the business combination. With multiple acquisitions, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business.
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Limited ability to evaluate the target business’ management
Although we intend to scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting a business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of the target business’ management will prove to be correct. In addition, we cannot assure you that the future management will have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of our officers and directors, if any, in the target business following a business combination cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that Don K. Rice will remain in a senior management or advisory position with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that he will devote his full time efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination. Moreover, he would only be able to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination if he is able to negotiate an employment or consulting agreement in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for him to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services he would render to the company after the consummation of the business combination. While the personal and financial interests of Mr. Rice may influence his motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, his ability to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. Additionally, we cannot assure you that our officers and directors will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
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 any such additional managers we do recruit will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Opportunity for stockholder approval of business combination
Prior to the completion of a business combination, we will submit the transaction to our stockholders for approval, even if the nature of the acquisition is such as would not ordinarily require stockholder approval under applicable state law. In connection with seeking stockholder approval of a business combination, we will furnish our stockholders with proxy solicitation materials prepared in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which, among other matters, will include a description of the operations of the target business and audited historical financial statements of the business.
In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective initial shares and the shares included within the insider units in accordance with the majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders. This voting arrangement shall not apply to shares included in units purchased in this offering or purchased following this offering in the open market by any of our existing stockholders, officers and directors. Accordingly, they may vote these shares on a proposed business combination any way they choose. We will proceed with the business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination and public stockholders owning less than 20% of the shares sold in this offering both exercise their conversion rights and vote against the business combination.
Conversion rights
At the time we seek stockholder approval of any business combination, we will offer each public stockholder the right to have such stockholder’s shares of common stock converted to cash if the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Our existing stockholders will not have such conversion rights with respect to any shares of common stock owned by them, directly or indirectly, whether included in their initial shares, included in their insider units or purchased by them in this offering or in the aftermarket. The actual per-share conversion price will be equal to the amount in the trust account, inclusive of any interest
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(calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the proposed business combination), divided by the number of shares sold in this offering. Without taking into any account interest earned on the trust account, the initial per-share conversion price would be $5.46 or $0.54 less than the per-unit offering price of $6.00. An eligible stockholder may request conversion at any time after the mailing to our stockholders of the proxy statement and prior to the vote taken with respect to a proposed business combination at a meeting held for that purpose, but the request will not be granted unless the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Any request for conversion, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date of the meeting. It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to stockholders entitled to convert their shares who elect conversion will be distributed promptly after completion of a business combination. Public stockholders who convert their stock into their share of the trust account still have the right to exercise any warrants they still hold.
We will not complete any business combination if public stockholders, owning 20% or more of the shares sold in this offering, both exercise their conversion rights and vote against the business combination. Accordingly, it is our understanding and intention in every case to structure and consummate a business combination in which approximately 19.99% of the public stockholders may exercise their conversion rights and the business combination will still go forward.
Investors in this offering who do not sell, or who receive less than an aggregate of $0.54 of net sales proceeds for, the warrants included in the units, or persons who purchase common stock in the aftermarket at a price in excess of $5.46 per share, may have a disincentive to exercise their conversion rights because the amount they would receive upon conversion could be less than their original or adjusted purchase price.
Liquidation if no business combination
Pursuant to, among other documents, our certificate of incorporation, if we do not complete a business combination within 18 months after the consummation of this offering, or within 24 months after the consummation of this offering if the extension criteria described below have been satisfied, we will be dissolved. We will not amend our certificate of incorporation to allow us to survive for a longer period of time if it does not appear we will be able to consummate a business combination within the foregoing time periods. Upon dissolution, we will distribute to all of our public stockholders, in proportion to their respective equity interests, an aggregate sum equal to the amount in the trust account, inclusive of any interest, plus any remaining net assets. Our existing stockholders have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares and their shares included within the insider units. There will be no distribution from the trust account with respect to our warrants which will expire worthless. We will pay the costs of liquidation and dissolution from our remaining assets outside of the trust fund.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the initial per-share liquidation price would be $5.46, or $0.54 less than the per-unit offering price of $6.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which could have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share liquidation price will not be less than $5.46, plus interest, due to claims of creditors. Don K. Rice has personally agreed, pursuant to an agreement with us and the underwriter that, if we liquidate prior to the consummation of a business combination, he will be personally liable to pay debts and obligations to target businesses or vendors or other entities that are owed money by us for services rendered or contracted for or products sold to us in excess of the net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account. We cannot assure you, however, that he would be able to satisfy those obligations.
If we enter into either a letter of intent, an agreement in principle or a definitive agreement to complete a business combination prior to the expiration of 18 months after the consummation of this offering, but are unable to complete the business combination within the 18-month period, then we will have an additional six months in which to complete the business combination contemplated by the
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letter of intent, agreement in principle or definitive agreement. If we are unable to consummate a transaction within 24 months following the consummation of this offering, we will then liquidate. Upon notice from us, the trustee of the trust account will liquidate the investments constituting the trust account and will turn over the proceeds to our transfer agent for distribution to our public stockholders. We anticipate that our instruction to the trustee would be given promptly after the expiration of the applicable 18-month or 24-month period.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of our liquidation or if they seek to convert their respective shares into cash upon a business combination which the stockholder voted against and which is completed by us. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours. There are approximately blank check companies that have completed initial public offerings in the United States with more than $ billion in trust that are seeking to carry out a business plan similar to our business plan. Furthermore, there are a number of additional offerings for blank check companies that are still in the registration process but have not completed initial public offerings and there are likely to be more blank check companies filing registration statements for initial public offerings after the date of this prospectus and prior to our completion of a business combination. Additionally, we may be subject to competition from entities other than blank check companies having a business objective similar to ours, including venture capital firms, leverage buyout firms and operating businesses looking to expand their operations through the acquisition of a target business.Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources than us and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there may be numerous potential target businesses that we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, our ability to compete in acquiring certain sizable target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Further, the following may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses:
• | our obligation to seek stockholder approval of a business combination may delay the completion of a transaction; |
• | our obligation to convert into cash shares of common stock held by our public stockholders to such holders that both vote against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights may reduce the resources available to us for a business combination; and |
• | our outstanding warrants and option, and the potential future dilution they represent. |
Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. Our management believes, however, that our status as a public entity and potential access to the United States public equity markets may give us a competitive advantage over privately-held entities having a similar business objective as ours in acquiring a target business with significant growth potential on favorable terms.
If we succeed in effecting a business combination, there will be, in all likelihood, intense competition from competitors of the target business. We cannot assure you that, subsequent to a business combination, we will have the resources or ability to compete effectively.
Facilities
We maintain our principal executive offices at 435 Devon Park Drive, Building 400, Wayne, Pennsylvania. The cost for this space is included in the $7,500 per-month fee 400 Building LLC will charge us for general and administrative services commencing on the effective date of this prospectus
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pursuant to a letter agreement between us and 400 Building LLC. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, that the fee charged by 400 Building LLC is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We have two executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters and intend to devote only as much time as he deems necessary to our affairs. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for the business combination and the stage of the business combination process the company is in. Accordingly, once management locates a suitable target business to acquire, they will spend more time investigating such target business and negotiating and processing the business combination (and consequently spend more time to our affairs) than they would prior to locating a suitable target business. We presently expect Mr. Rice to devote an average of approximately 10 hours per week to our business. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of a business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Audited Financial Statements
We have registered our units, common stock and warrants under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will not acquire a target business if audited financial statements based on United States generally accepted accounting principles cannot be obtained for the target business. Additionally, we will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. 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 United States generally accepted accounting principles or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. To the extent that this requirement 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.
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Comparison to offerings of blank check companies
The following table compares and contrasts the terms of our offering and the terms of an offering of blank check companies under Rule 419 promulgated by the SEC assuming that the gross proceeds, underwriting discounts and underwriting expenses for the Rule 419 offering are the same as this offering and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the terms of a Rule 419 offering will apply to this offering.
Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||||||||
Escrow of offering proceeds | $18,110,000 of the net offering proceeds plus the $1,000,002 we will receive from the sale of the insider units will be deposited into a trust account at Lehman Brothers, maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. | $17,199,000 of the offering proceeds would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. | ||||||||
Investment of net proceeds | The $18,110,000 of net offering proceeds plus the $1,000,002 we will receive from the sale of the insider units held in trust will only be invested in United States ‘‘government securities’’ within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 with a maturity of 180 days or less. | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. | ||||||||
Limitation on Fair Value or Net Assets of Target Business | The initial target business that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of our net assets at the time of such acquisition. | We would be restricted from acquiring a target business unless the fair value of such business or net assets to be acquired represented at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. | ||||||||
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Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||||||||
Trading of securities issued | The units may commence trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin to trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless EarlyBirdCapital informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading (based upon its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular), provided we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K, which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the proceeds of this offering, including any proceeds we receive from the exercise of the over-allotment option, if such option is exercised prior to the filing of the Form 8-K. We will also include in this Form 8-K, or amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K, information indicating if EarlyBirdCapital has allowed separate trading of the common stock and warrants prior to the 90th day after the date of this prospectus. | No trading of the units or the underlying common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. | ||||||||
Exercise of the warrants | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of the completion of a business combination and one year from the date of this prospectus and, accordingly, will be exercised only after the trust fund has been terminated and distributed. | The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. | ||||||||
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Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||||||||
Election to remain an investor | We will give our stockholders the opportunity to vote on the business combination. In connection with seeking stockholder approval, we will send each stockholder a proxy statement containing information required by the SEC. A stockholder following the procedures described in this prospectus is given the right to convert his or her shares into his or her pro rata share of the trust account. However, a stockholder who does not follow these procedures or a stockholder who does not take any action would not be entitled to the return of any funds. | A prospectus containing information required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company, in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of the post-effective amendment, to decide whether he or she elects to remain a stockholder of the company or require the return of his or her investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account would automatically be returned to the stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all of the deposited funds in the escrow account must be returned to all investors and none of the securities will be issued. | ||||||||
Business combination deadline | A business combination must occur within 18 months after the consummation of this offering or within 24 months after the consummation of this offering if a letter of intent or definitive agreement relating to a prospective business combination was entered into prior to the end of the 18-month period. | If an acquisition has not been consummated within 18 months after the effective date of the initial registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account would be returned to investors. | ||||||||
Release of funds | The proceeds held in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | The proceeds held in the escrow account would not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | ||||||||
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Management
Directors and Executive Officers
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name | Age | Position | ||||||||
Don K. Rice | 57 | Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President and Treasurer | ||||||||
Stephen L. Brown | 67 | Secretary and Director | ||||||||
Russell C. Ball III | 39 | Director | ||||||||
Don K. Rice has been our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer since our inception. Mr. Rice was a co-founder and has been a managing partner of RSTW Partners since 1989. RSTW Partners is a privately held firm that, through limited partnerships, invests primarily in the subordinated debt of middle market companies located throughout the United States. Prior to forming RSTW Partners, from 1986 to December 1988, Mr. Rice was affiliated with First Texas Merchant Banking Group, a firm which specialized in providing subordinated debt financing, and was its vice president from 1986 to 1988 and president and chief executive officer from May 1988 to December 1988. He was also vice president of PruCapital, Inc., an investment subsidiary of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, from March 1984 to April 1986. Mr. Rice has served as a member of the board of directors of NationsHealth, Inc. since its inception in August 2003. NationsHealth is a Nasdaq listed company that, through its wholly owned subsidiary, NationsHealth L.L.C., provides medical products and pharmacy benefits to Medicare participants and other senior citizens. NationsHealth, Inc. was originally known as Millstream Acquisition Corporation, a blank check company with an objective to acquire an operating business with significant growth potential. Mr. Rice has also served as a member of the board of directors of Millstream II Acquisition Corporation, an OTC Bulletin Board listed blank check company formed to serve as a vehicle for the acquisition of an operating business, since its inception in September 2004. Mr. Rice received a B.B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Texas.
Stephen L. Brown has been our secretary and a member of our board of directors since our inception. Since October 2004, Mr. Brown has served as chairman of the board of Brimco LLC, a private investment firm. From October 1986 to October 2004, Mr. Brown served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of The Franklin Capital Corp. (now Patient Safety Technologies, Inc.), an American Stock Exchange listed investment company. From January 1983 to June 1997, Mr. Brown was also the founder and chairman of the board of S.L. Brown & Company, Inc., a private equity firm. Mr. Brown is a member of the board of directors of U.S. Energy Systems, Inc., a Nasdaq Capital Markets listed provider of thermal and electrical energy and energy outsourcing, and of Copley Financial Services Corp., a mutual fund specializing in the energy sector. In addition, Mr. Brown is an active board member and trustee of The Peddie School. Mr. Brown received a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.
Russell C. Ball III has been a member of our board of directors since our inception. Mr. Ball has served since May 1993 as the chief executive officer of Wind River Holdings, L.P. (formerly the AMC Group, L.P.), a privately owned company which provides management services to interests of the Ball family trust. These interests currently include several operating companies, including: Philadelphia Mixing Solutions (agitators for the water treatment and chemical industries); Philadelphia Gear Corporation (high performance gears and gear drives); Samson Rope Technologies, Inc. (high performance cordage); Goddard Systems, Inc. (franchised child care centers); and AMC Delancey Group, Inc. (real estate). Since September 2003, Mr. Ball has served as a member of the board of directors of United America Indemnity, Ltd., a Nasdaq National Market listed specialty property and causalty insurer. Mr. Ball currently sits on the Board of Governors of Merion Golf Club and serves on its Membership Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of The Haverford School, where he heads the Development Committee and serves on the Trusteeship Committee. Mr. Ball received a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Pennsylvania State University.
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Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Russell C. Ball III, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Stephen L. Brown, will expire at the second annual meeting. The term of the third class of directors, consisting of Don K. Rice, will expire at the third annual meeting.
These individuals will play a key role in identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, selecting the target business, and structuring, negotiating and consummating its acquisition. We believe that the skills and expertise of these individuals, their collective access to acquisition opportunities and ideas, their contacts, and their transactional expertise should enable them to successfully identify and effect an acquisition.
Special advisor
Arthur Spector, 65 years old, has served as our special advisor since our inception. Mr. Spector has served as chairman of the board of NationsHealth, Inc. since its inception in August 2003 and served as its chief executive officer and president from August 2003 until August 2004. Since September 2004, Mr. Spector has also been the chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president of Millstream II Acquisition Corporation. From March 1995 to October 2002, Mr. Spector served as chairman of the board of Neoware Systems, Inc. (‘‘Neoware Systems’’), a manufacturer of sophisticated computer appliances and related software, and he also served as its president and chief executive officer from May 1996 until June 1997. Neoware Systems was originally known as Information Systems Acquisition Corp., a blank check company with an objective to acquire an operating business in the information systems industry. Information Systems Acquisition Corp. was formed in 1992 and from its inception until it merged with Human Designed Systems, Inc. in March 1995, Mr. Spector was its chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer. In this role, Mr. Spector directed the completion of a public offering that raised gross proceeds of approximately $13.8 million. Mr. Spector has served as a director of Docucorp International, Inc., a public document automation company, since May 1997. Mr. Spector has also been a director of Metallurg Holdings, Inc. and Metallurg, Inc. since July 1998 and has been executive vice president of Metallurg Holdings, Inc. since July 1998 and treasurer since August 2000. He was elected vice chairman of the board of Metallurg Holdings, Inc. and Metallurg, Inc. in November 2002. Metallurg Holdings, Inc. is the holding company for Metallurg, Inc., a company that produces and sells specialty metals, alloys and chemicals. From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Spector served as a director of USDATA Corporation, a global supplier of component-based production software. Mr. Spector received a B.S. from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from The University of Pennsylvania Law School.
In addition to Mr. Spector’s experience described above, he has had significant experience in mergers and acquisitions and managing private equity funds. Since January 1997, he has served as managing director of the general partner and of the management company of Safeguard International Fund, L.P., a private equity fund investing primarily in controlling positions in industrial companies in North America and Europe. From 1995 to 1996, Mr. Spector served as director of acquisitions of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a public company that owns controlling interests in and operates numerous private companies. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Spector served as a managing director of TL Ventures LLC, whose present successor is TL Ventures L.P., a fund management company organized to manage the day-to-day operations of several of the TL Ventures funds which invest in companies in the internet, software, information technology, communications and life sciences industries.
Prior Involvement of Principals in Blank Check Companies
Each of Don K. Rice and Arthur Spector has been a principal of another company that has completed an offering similar to this offering and executed a business plan similar to our business plan.
Mr. Spector directed the completion of a public offering of Millstream II Acquisition Corporation, a blank check company with an objective to acquire an operating business, on December 17, 2004,
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which raised gross proceeds of approximately $24.9 million at an offering price of $6.00 per unit. Since its inception, Mr. Spector has been the chairman, chief executive officer and president of Millstream II Acquisition Corporation. Mr. Rice has also served as member of its board of directors since its inception. As of the date of this prospectus, Millstream II Acquisition Corporation has not consummated a business combination with a target business. Neither Mr. Spector nor Mr. Rice receives any salary for their services to Millstream II Acquisition Corporation. However, 400 Building LLC, an affiliate of Mr. Spector’s, receives a $7,500 per month fee from Millstream II Acquisition Corporation for general and administrative services including office space, utilities and secretarial support. Prior to Millstream II Acquisition Corporation’s initial public offering, Mr. Spector had purchased 397,142 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $24,947.25, a family limited partnership of Mr. Spector’s had purchased an additional 397,142 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $34.75 and Mr. Rice had purchased 68,572 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $6.00.
Mr. Spector also directed the completion of a public offering of Millstream Acquisition Corporation, a blank check company with an objective to acquire an operating business with significant growth potential, on September 25, 2003, which raised gross proceeds of approximately $24.2 million at an offering price of $6.00 per unit. From its inception until it merged with NationsHealth, Mr. Spector was Millstream Acquisition Corporation's chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer and Mr. Spector has continued to serve as chairman of the board of the combined entity. Until it merged with NationsHealth, Mr. Spector did not receive any salary for his services to Millstream Acquisition Corporation. However, 400 Building LLC, an affiliate of Mr. Spector's, received a $7,500 per month fee from Millstream Acquisition Corporation for use of office space and administrative services from the effective date of Millstream Acquisition Corporation's initial public offering through the date of the merger with NationsHealth. Following the merger, Mr. Spector began receiving an annual salary of $250,000, paid bi-monthly, plus bonus (which was $50,000 for 2004) for his serving as chairman of the board of NationsHealth. Additionally, Mr. Spector received options to purchase 65,375 shares of common stock of NationsHealth exercisable at $6.87 per share for his service as a director of NationsHealth in 2004. Pursuant to the merger agreement with NationsHealth, all of the outstanding shares of NationsHealth were converted into the right to receive a total of 21,375,000 shares of Millstream Acquisition Corporation's common stock and $3,000,000 in cash. Millstream Acquisition Corporation's remaining cash, by way of merger, became working capital of NationsHealth. At the time of the merger, Mr. Spector held 360,000 shares of Millstream Acquisition Corporation common stock which he purchased for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $24,963, all of which are held in escrow until August 25, 2006.
Mr. Rice has served as a member of the board of directors of Millstream Acquisition Corporation (and subsequently NationsHealth) since its inception. Until it merged with NationsHealth, Mr. Rice had not received any salary for his services to Millstream Acquisition Corporation. Following the merger, Mr. Rice has received customary board of director fees for his service as a director to NationsHealth. Additionally, Mr. Rice received options to purchase 30,000 shares of common stock of NationsHealth exercisable at $6.87 per share for his service as a director of NationsHealth in 2004. At the time of the merger, Mr. Rice held 20,000 shares of Millstream Acquisition Corporation common stock which he purchased for an aggregate purchase price of $2.00, which are held in escrow until August 25, 2006. Mr. Rice also holds warrants to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 shares of Millstream Acquisition Corporation common stock, which warrants became exercisable upon consummation of the merger with NationsHealth.
Mr. Spector also directed the completion of a public offering of Information Systems Acquisition Corp., a blank check company with an objective to acquire an operating business in the information systems industry, on March 25, 1993, which raised gross proceeds of $13.8 million at an offering price of $6.00 per unit. From its inception until it merged with Human Designed Systems, Inc. (the predecessor of Neoware Systems, Inc.) on March 2, 1995, Mr. Spector was Information Systems' chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer. During this period, Mr. Spector did not receive any salary for his services to Information Systems. However, Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., an affiliate of Mr. Spector's, received a $5,000 per month fee from Information Systems for use of office
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space and administrative services. Pursuant to the merger agreement with Human Designed Systems, all of the outstanding shares of Human Designed were converted into the right to receive a total of 2,810,000 shares of Information Systems Acquisition Corp.'s common stock, 618,200 redeemable common stock purchase warrants and $5,500,000 in cash. Information System Acquisition Corp's remaining cash, by way of merger, became working capital of Neoware Systems. At the time of the acquisition, Mr. Spector held 90,000 shares of Neoware Systems. Neoware Systems is a manufacturer of sophisticated computer appliances and related software and is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol NWRE.
Mr. Spector remained as chairman of the board of Neoware Systems until December 2002, at which time he determined not to stand for re-election as a director at Neoware System's annual shareholders' meeting. Mr. Spector also acted as chief executive officer and president from May 1996 (after the then chief executive officer died) until June 1997. During the period following the consummation of Information Systems' initial public offering until the expiration of his term in December 2002, Mr. Spector received options to purchase an aggregate of 97,500 shares of Neoware common stock, all of which had exercise prices equal to the fair market value of the common stock on the date of grant. Additionally, from May 1996 until June 1997, Mr. Spector received a salary of approximately $60,000 per annum in connection with his acting as chief executive officer and president. Mr. Spector has sold all of the securities of Information Systems Acquisition Corp. he owned for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $3,561,000 and taxable profits of approximately $1,675,000.
Executive Compensation
No executive officer has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date of this prospectus through the acquisition of a target business, we will pay 400 Building LLC, an affiliate of Arthur Spector, a fee of $7,500 per month for providing us with office space and certain office and secretarial services. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide Mr. Spector compensation in lieu of a salary. Other than the $7,500 per month administrative fee, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, including our directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination. However, such 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. There is no limit on the amount of these out-of-pocket expenses and there will be no review of the reasonableness of the expenses by anyone other than our board of directors, which includes persons who may seek reimbursement, or a court of competent jurisdiction if such reimbursement is challenged. Because of the foregoing, we will generally not have the benefit of independent directors examining the propriety of expenses incurred on our behalf and subject to reimbursement.
Conflicts of Interest
Potential investors should be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
• | None of our officers and directors is required to commit their full time to our affairs and, accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities. |
• | In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to our company as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
• | Our officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with entities, including other blank check companies, engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by our company. |
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• | The initial shares owned by our directors will be released from escrow only if a business combination is successfully completed, and may own warrants which will expire worthless if a business combination is not consummated. Additionally, our directors will not receive liquidation distributions with respect to any of their initial shares or shares included in the insider units which also might cause them to have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate. Furthermore, while the insider units have been registered for resale under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, the purchaser has agreed that the units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after we have completed a business combination. For the foregoing reasons, our board may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate to effect a business combination with. |
• | Our officers and directors may enter into consulting or employment agreements with the company as part of a business combination pursuant to which they may be entitled to compensation for their services to be rendered to the company after the consummation of a business combination. The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, timely completing a business combination and securing the release of their stock from escrow. |
• | Our directors and officers may purchase shares of common stock as part of this offering or in the open market. If they did, they would be entitled to vote such shares as they choose on a proposal to approve a business combination. |
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
• | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
• | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
• | it would not be fair to the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. In addition, conflicts of interest may arise when our board evaluates a particular business opportunity with respect to the above-listed criteria. We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In order to minimize potential conflicts of interest which may arise from multiple corporate affiliations, each of our officers has agreed, until the earliest of a business combination, our liquidation or such time as he or she ceases to be an officer, to present to our company for our consideration, prior to presentation to any other entity, any business opportunity which may reasonably be required to be presented to us under Delaware law, subject to any pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations he might have.
Each of Don K. Rice and Arthur Spector has pre-existing contractual and fiduciary obligations to other entities that are engaged in activities similar to our activities as follows:
• | Mr. Rice has pre-existing fiduciary obligations to RSTW Partners as he is a managing partner of this entity. RSTW Partners does not presently have funds available for new loans and does not presently intend to consummate a fundraising or to establish successor limited partnerships during the next eighteen months. Nevertheless, it may do so in the future. However, RSTW Partners primarily makes minority ownership investments in subordinated debt of middle market companies, which is different from our plan to acquire a target business. Accordingly, although Mr. Rice has pre-existing fiduciary obligations to RSTW Partners, the potential for conflicts of interest due to this pre-existing obligation is minimal. |
• | Messrs. Rice and Spector have pre-existing contractual and fiduciary obligations to Millstream II Acquisition Corporation. Millstream II Acquisition Corporation is a blank check company seeking to acquire an unidentified operating business. As of the date of this prospectus, |
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Millstream II Acquisition Corporation has not consummated a business combination with a target business. To the extent that Messrs. Rice and Spector identify business opportunities that may be suitable for Millstream II Acquisition Corporation, they will honor their pre-existing contractual and fiduciary obligations to this entity. Accordingly, they may not present opportunities to us that otherwise may be attractive to Millstream II Acquisition Corporation unless such entity has declined to accept such opportunities. |
• | Mr. Spector also has pre-existing fiduciary obligations to Safeguard International Fund L.P., as he is a managing director of the general partner and of the management company of the fund. To the extent that he identifies business opportunities that may be suitable for Safeguard International Fund, he will honor his pre-existing fiduciary obligations to Safeguard International Fund and any of its successors. Accordingly, he may not present opportunities to us that otherwise may be attractive to us unless Safeguard International Fund or any of its successors has declined to accept such opportunities. |
In addition to the foregoing, Russell C. Ball III is the chief executive officer of Wind River Holdings, L.P., which provides management services to certain trusts, which own several operating companies, various real estate interests and a securities portfolio. Mr. Ball is also a trustee and a beneficiary of these trusts. A core activity of Wind River Holdings, on behalf of these trusts, is to source and evaluate appropriate businesses for acquisition by these trusts. We have agreed that Mr. Ball will not be restricted, by the corporate opportunity doctrine or otherwise, from pursuing acquisitions for these trusts, rather than presenting them to us, provided that Mr. Ball did not become aware of the opportunity by virtue of our resources. The foregoing shall apply irrespective of whether Mr. Ball has a fiduciary or contractual obligation to Wind River Holdings, L.P. or these trusts.
In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective shares of common stock which were owned prior to this offering as well as those included in the insider units in accordance with the vote of the public stockholders owning a majority of the shares of our common stock sold in this offering. In addition, they have agreed to waive their respective rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares and any shares of common stock included in the insider units. Any common stock acquired by existing stockholders in the offering or aftermarket will be considered part of the holdings of the public stockholders. Except with respect to the conversion rights afforded to public stockholders, these existing stockholders will have the same rights as other public stockholders with respect to such shares, including voting rights in connection with a potential business combination. Accordingly, they may vote such shares on a proposed business combination any way they choose.
To further minimize potential conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate a business combination with an entity which is affiliated with any of our existing stockholders unless we obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated stockholders from a financial point of view.
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Principal Stockholders
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 10, 2006 and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus (assuming the purchase of the insider units occurring simultaneously with this offering but no purchases of units offered by this prospectus), by:
• | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
• | each of our officers and directors; and |
• | all our officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.
Prior to Offering and Insider Purchases | After Offering and Insider Purchases | |||||||||||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock | Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock | ||||||||||||||
Don K. Rice | 695,000 | 79.4 | % | 861,667 | (2) | 19.0% | ||||||||||||
Russell C. Ball III(3) | 60,000 | 6.9 | % | 60,000 | 1.3% | |||||||||||||
Stephen L. Brown(4) | 60,000 | 6.9 | % | 60,000 | 1.3% | |||||||||||||
Arthur Spector | 60,000 | 6.9 | % | 60,000 | 1.3% | |||||||||||||
All directors and executive officers as a group (three individuals) | 815,000 | 93.2 | % | 981,667 | (2) | 21.6% | ||||||||||||
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of the individuals is 435 Devon Park Drive, Building 400, Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087. |
(2) | Does not include 333,334 warrants to be held by Mr. Rice that will be included in the insider units, which warrants are not exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
(3) | Mr. Ball’s business address is Wind River Holdings, L.P., 555 Croton Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406. |
(4) | Mr. Brown's business address is Brimco LLC, 450 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022. |
Immediately after this offering, our existing stockholders, which include all of our officers and directors, collectively, will beneficially own 22.9% of the then issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (assuming the purchase of the insider units but none of them purchase any additional units offered by this prospectus). None of our existing stockholders, officers and directors has indicated to us that he intends to purchase our securities in the offering. Because of the ownership block held by our existing stockholders, such individuals may be able to effectively exercise control over all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions other than approval of a business combination.
All of the initial shares (but not any shares included within the insider units) outstanding prior to the date of this prospectus will be placed in escrow with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as escrow agent, until the earliest of:
• | three years following the date of this prospectus; and |
• | the consummation of a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our consummating a business combination with a target business. |
During the escrow period, the holders of these shares will not be able to sell or transfer their securities except to their spouses and children or trusts established for their benefit, but will retain all
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other rights as our stockholders, including, without limitation, the right to vote their shares of common stock and the right to receive cash dividends, if declared. If dividends are declared and payable in shares of common stock, such dividends will also be placed in escrow. If we are unable to effect a business combination and liquidate, none of our existing stockholders will receive any portion of the liquidation proceeds with respect to their initial shares.
Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, has committed to purchase the insider units (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002) from us. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The insider units will be identical to the units being offered by this prospectus except that the warrants underlying such units may be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as such warrants are held by Mr. Rice or his affiliates. Additionally, Mr. Rice has waived his right to receive distributions upon our liquidation prior to a business combination with respect to the securities underlying the insider units. He has further agreed that the insider units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after we have completed a business combination.
Mr. Rice has also committed to place a limit order pursuant to which he or his affiliates or designees will purchase up to $250,000 of warrants in the public marketplace at prices not to exceed $0.60 per warrant during the first three month period beginning on the later of (i) 60 days after the date the distribution of our units has been completed and (ii) the commencement of separate trading of the warrants. The distribution of the units in this offering will be completed once all the units have been sold, all stabilizing transactions have been completed and all penalty bids have either been reclaimed or withdrawn. Mr. Rice has further agreed that any warrants purchased by him or his affiliates or designees pursuant to this agreement will not be sold or transferred until after we have completed a business combination. Such purchases will be made by a broker dealer designated by EarlyBirdCapital which will not participate in the distribution in this offering, in such amounts and at such times as it may determine, in its sole discretion, during the three month period so long as the prices do not exceed $0.60 per warrant. Neither that broker dealer nor its affiliates will be assisting us in our search for prospective target businesses. The warrants may trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless EarlyBirdCapital determines that an earlier date is acceptable. In no event will EarlyBirdCapital allow separate trading of the common stock and warrants until we file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the proceeds of this offering including any proceeds we receive from the exercise of the over-allotment option if such option is exercised prior to our filing of the Form 8-K. We believe that the purchases of warrants by Mr. Rice demonstrate confidence in our ultimate ability to effect a business combination because the warrants will expire worthless if we are unable to consummate a business combination. Any warrants purchased by Mr. Rice during the three month period may also have the effect of stabilizing the market price of the warrants during such time period.
Mr. Rice is our ‘‘promoter’’ as that term is defined under the Federal securities laws.
Certain Transactions
In December 2005, we issued 875,000 shares of our common stock to the individuals set forth below for $25,000 in cash, at a purchase price of approximately $0.029 share, as follows:
Name | Number of Shares | Relationship to Us | ||||||||
Don K. Rice | 695,000 | Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President and Treasurer | ||||||||
Stephen L. Brown | 60,000 | Secretary and Director | ||||||||
Russell C. Ball III | 60,000 | Director | ||||||||
Arthur Spector | 60,000 | Special Advisor | ||||||||
If the underwriter determines the size of the offering should be increased or decreased, a stock dividend or a contribution back to capital, as applicable, would be effectuated in order to maintain our existing stockholders’ ownership at a percentage of the number of shares to be sold in this offering.
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The holders of the majority of these shares will be entitled to make up to two demands that we register these shares pursuant to an agreement to be signed prior to or on the date of this prospectus. The holders of the majority of these shares may elect to exercise these registration rights at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which these shares of common stock are released from escrow. In addition, these stockholders have certain ‘‘piggy-back’’ registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the date on which these shares of common stock are released from escrow. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Don K. Rice, our chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president and treasurer, has committed to purchase the insider units (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002) from us. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. All of the proceeds we receive from this purchase will be placed in the trust fund upon consummation of this offering. The insider units will be identical to the units being offered by this prospectus except that the warrants underlying such units may be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as such warrants are held by Mr. Rice or his affiliates. Additionally, Mr. Rice has waived his right to receive distributions upon our liquidation prior to a business combination with respect to the securities underlying the insider units. He has further agreed that the insider units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after we have completed a business combination.
Mr. Rice has also committed, pursuant to a letter agreement with the underwriter, to place a limit order for him or his affiliates or designees to purchase up to $250,000 of warrants at prices not to exceed $0.60 per warrant during the three month period beginning on the later of (i) 60 days after the date the distribution of our units has been completed and (ii) the commencement of separate trading of the warrants. Mr. Rice has further agreed that any warrants purchased by him or his affiliates or designees pursuant to this agreement will not be sold or transferred until after we have completed a business combination. Any warrants purchased pursuant to this agreement will be exercisable by Mr. Rice or his affiliates on a cashless basis.
400 Building LLC, an affiliate of Arthur Spector, has agreed that, commencing on the effective date of this prospectus through the acquisition of a target business, it will make available to us a small amount of office space and certain office and secretarial services, as we may require from time to time. We have agreed to pay 400 Building LLC $7,500 per month for these services. Mr. Spector is the sole member and sole manager of 400 Building LLC and, as a result, will benefit from the transaction to the extent of his interest in 400 Building LLC. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide Mr. Spector compensation in lieu of a salary. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, that the fee charged by 400 Building LLC is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person. However, as our directors may not be deemed ‘‘independent,’’ we did not have the benefit of disinterested directors approving this transaction.
As of the date of this prospectus, Don K. Rice has advanced to us an aggregate of $80,000 to cover expenses related to this offering. The loan will be payable without interest on the earlier of December 20, 2006 or the consummation of this offering. We intend to repay this loan from the proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust.
We will reimburse our officers, directors and special advisor for any reasonable out-of-pocket business expenses incurred by them in connection with certain activities on our behalf such as identifying and investigating possible target businesses and business combinations. There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us, which will be reviewed only by our board or a court of competent jurisdiction if such reimbursement is challenged.
Other than the $7,500 per-month administrative fee and reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses payable to our officers and directors, no compensation or fees of any kind, including finder’s fees, consulting fees or other similar compensation, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers or directors who owned our common stock prior to this offering, or to any of their respective affiliates, prior to or with respect to the business combination.
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All ongoing and future transactions between us and any of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates, including loans by our officers and directors, will be on terms believed by us to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. Such transactions or loans, including any forgiveness of loans, will require prior approval by a majority of our uninterested ‘‘independent’’ directors (to the extent we have any) or the members of our board who do not have an interest in the transaction, in either case who had access, at our expense, to our attorneys or independent legal counsel. We will not enter into any such transaction unless our disinterested ‘‘independent’’ directors (or, if there are no ‘‘independent’’ directors, our disinterested directors) determine that the terms of such transaction are no less favorable to us than those that would be available to us with respect to such a transaction from unaffiliated third parties.
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Description of Securities
General
We are authorized to issue 15,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.0001, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.0001. As of the date of this prospectus, 875,000 shares of common stock are outstanding, held by four stockholders of record. No shares of preferred stock are currently outstanding.
Units
Each unit consists of one share of common stock and two warrants. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock. The common stock and warrants will begin to trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless EarlyBirdCapital informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading (based upon its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization companies in general and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular), provided that in no event may the common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the consummation of this offering. The audited balance sheet will reflect proceeds we receive from the exercise of the over-allotment option, if the over-allotment option is exercised prior to the filing of the Form 8-K. If the over-allotment option is exercised after our initial filing of a Form 8-K, we will file an amendment to the Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. We will also include in this Form 8-K, or amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K information indicating if EarlyBirdCapital has allowed separate trading of the common stock and warrants prior to the 90th day after the date of this prospectus.
Common stock
Our stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective shares of common stock owned by them immediately prior to this offering in accordance with the majority of the shares of our common stock voted by our public stockholders. This voting arrangement shall not apply to shares included in units purchased in this offering or purchased following this offering in the open market by any of our existing stockholders, officers and directors. Additionally, our existing stockholders, officers and directors will vote all of their shares in any manner they determine, in their sole discretion, with respect to any other items that come before a vote of our stockholders.
We will proceed with the business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination and public stockholders owning less than 20% of the shares sold in this offering both exercise their conversion rights discussed below and vote against the business combination.
Our board of directors 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. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares eligible to vote for the election of directors can elect all of the directors.
If we are forced to liquidate prior to a business combination, our public stockholders are entitled to share ratably in the trust fund, including any interest, and any net assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities. Our existing stockholders have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares and their shares included within the insider units.
Our stockholders have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the common stock, except that public
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stockholders have the right to have their shares of common stock converted to cash equal to their pro rata share of the trust account if they vote against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Public stockholders who convert their stock into their share of the trust account still have the right to exercise the warrants that they received as part of the units.
Preferred stock
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of 1,000,000 shares of blank check preferred stock with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our board of directors. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering. Accordingly, our board of directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of common stock. However, the underwriting agreement prohibits us, prior to a business combination, from issuing preferred stock which participates in any manner in the proceeds of the trust account, or which votes as a class with the common stock on a business combination. We may issue some or all of the preferred stock to effect a business combination. In addition, the preferred stock could be utilized as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of us. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
Warrants
No warrants are currently outstanding. Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our common stock at a price of $5.00 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of:
• | the completion of a business combination; and |
• | one year from the date of this prospectus. |
The warrants will expire four years from the date of this prospectus at 5:00 p.m., New York City time.
With respect to any warrants underlying the insider units or purchased by Mr. Rice or his affiliates or designees in the aftermarket pursuant to the written agreement described elsewhere in this prospectus, so long as such warrants are held by Mr. Rice or his affiliates, the holder of such warrants may exercise them on a "cashless basis." The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by Mr. Rice or his affiliates is because it is not known at this time whether he will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If he is, his ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. If he remains an insider, we will have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the shares of common stock received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate. If the holder wishes to use this "cashless" exercise feature, the holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering its warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the "fair market value" (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The "fair market value" shall mean the average reported last sale price of the common stock for the five trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the warrants are exercised. Provided, however, that if we call the warrants for redemption and require all holders to exercise their warrants on a "cashless basis" as described below, the holders will be treated in the same manner as all other holders of warrants.
We may call the warrants for redemption (including any warrants issued upon exercise of our unit purchase option),
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• | in whole and not in part, |
• | at a price of $.01 per warrant at any time after the warrants become exercisable, |
• | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder, and |
• | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the common stock equals or exceeds $8.50 per share, for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders. |
The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient degree of liquidity to cushion the market reaction to our redemption call.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his warrant (including those underlying the insider units or purchased by Mr. Rice or his affiliates or designees in the aftermarket) to do so on a "cashless basis." If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering his warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the "fair market value" (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The "fair market value" shall mean the average reported last sale price of the common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to holders of warrants. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after a business combination.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of common stock at a price below their respective exercise prices.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price, by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No warrants will be exercisable unless at the time of exercise a prospectus relating to common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is current and the common stock has been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to meet these conditions and use our best efforts to maintain a current prospectus relating to common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so. The warrants may be deprived of any value and the market for the warrants may be limited if the prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants is not current or if the common stock is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside.
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No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round up to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Purchase Option
We have agreed to sell to the underwriter an option to purchase up to a total of 350,000 units at $6.60 per unit. The units issuable upon exercise of this option are identical to those offered by this prospectus.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a 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 a business combination. The payment of any dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our then board of directors. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our securities and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, 17 Battery Place, New York, New York 10004.
Shares Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering, we will have 4,541,667 shares of common stock outstanding, or 5,066,667 shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of these shares, the 3,500,000 shares sold in this offering, or 4,025,000 shares if the over-allotment option is exercised, will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining shares are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering. None of those shares will be eligible for sale under Rule 144 prior to December 5, 2006. Notwithstanding this restriction, all of the 875,000 initial shares have been placed in escrow and will not be transferable for a period of three years from the date of this prospectus and will be released prior to that date only upon a subsequent transaction resulting in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash or other securities. The insider units have been registered for resale under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. None of the shares of common stock included within the insider units will be placed in escrow; however, Mr. Rice has agreed that the units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after we have completed a business combination.
Rule 144
In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock for at least one year would be entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:
• | 1% of the number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 45,416 shares immediately after this offering (or 50,666 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full); and |
• | if the common stock is listed on a national securities exchange or on The Nasdaq Stock Market, the average weekly trading volume of the common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
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Sales under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Rule 144(k)
Under Rule 144(k), a person who is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of or at any time during the three months preceding a sale, and who has beneficially owned the restricted shares proposed to be sold for at least two years, including the holding period of any prior owner other than an affiliate, is entitled to sell their shares without complying with the manner of sale, public information, volume limitation or notice provisions of Rule 144.
SEC Position on Rule 144 Sales
The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken the position that promoters or affiliates of a blank check company and their transferees, both before and after a business combination act as ‘‘underwriters’’ under the Securities Act when reselling the securities of a blank check company acquired prior to the consummation of its initial public offering. Accordingly, the Securities and Exchange Commission believes that those securities can be resold only through a registered offering and that Rule 144 would not be available for those resale transactions despite technical compliance with the requirements of Rule 144. However, this position would not be applicable to the insider units being purchased simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. Accordingly, Rule 144 would be available to Mr. Rice with respect to the resale of the insider units following a business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of our initial shares issued and outstanding on the date of this prospectus will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to an agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of the majority of these shares are entitled to make up to two demands that we register these shares. The holders of the majority of these shares can elect to exercise these registration rights at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which these shares of common stock are to be released from escrow. In addition, these stockholders have certain ‘‘piggy-back’’ registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the date on which these shares of common stock are released from escrow. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting
In accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to EarlyBirdCapital, and EarlyBirdCapital has agreed to purchase, 3,500,000 units. A copy of the underwriting agreement has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
State Blue Sky Information
We will offer and sell the units to retail customers only in Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, New York and Rhode Island. In New York and Hawaii, we have relied on exemptions from the state registration requirements. In the other states, we have applied to have the units registered for sale and will not sell the units to retail customers in these states unless and until such registration is effective (including in Colorado, pursuant to 11-51-302(6) of the Colorado Revised Statutes).
If you are not an institutional investor, you may purchase our securities in this offering only in the jurisdictions described directly above. Institutional investors in every state except in Idaho may purchase the units in this offering pursuant to exemptions under the Blue Sky laws of various states. The definition of an ‘‘institutional investor’’ varies from state to state but generally includes financial institutions, broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies and other qualified entities.
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We will file periodic and annual reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Therefore, under the National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, the resale of the units, from and after the effective date, and the common stock and warrants comprising the units, once they become separately transferable, are exempt from state registration requirements. However, states are permitted to require notice filings and collect fees with regard to these transactions, and a state may suspend the offer and sale of securities within such state if any such required filing is not made or fee is not paid. As of the date of this prospectus, the following states either do not presently require any notice filings or fee payments or have not yet issued rules or regulations indicating whether notice filings or fee payments will be required:
• | Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, the Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. |
Additionally, the following states currently permit the resale of the units, and the common stock and warrants comprising the units, once they become separately transferable, if the proper notice filings have been submitted and the required fees have been paid:
• | The District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont. |
As of the date of this prospectus, we have not determined in which, if any, of these states we will submit the required filings or pay the required fee. Additionally, if any of these states that has not yet adopted a statute relating to the National Securities Markets Improvement Act adopts such a statute in the future requiring a filing or fee or if any state amends its existing statutes with respect to its requirements, we would need to comply with those new requirements in order for the securities to continue to be eligible for resale in those jurisdictions.
Under the National Securities Markets Improvement Act, the states retain the jurisdiction to investigate and bring enforcement actions with respect to fraud or deceit, or unlawful conduct by a broker or dealer, in connection with the sale of securities. Although we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict resales of securities issued by blank check companies generally, certain state securities commissioners view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the resale of securities of blank check companies in their states.
Aside from the exemption from registration provided by the National Securities Markets Improvement Act, we believe that the units, from and after the effective date, and the common stock and warrants comprising the units, once they become separately transferable, may be eligible for sale on a secondary market basis in various states based on the availability of another applicable exemption from state registration requirements, in certain instances subject to waiting periods, notice filings or fee payments.
Pricing of Securities
We have been advised that the underwriter proposes to offer the units to the public at the offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. The underwriter may allow some dealers concessions not in excess of $ per unit and the dealers may reallow a concession not in excess of $ per unit to other dealers.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriter. Factors considered in determining the prices and terms of the units, including the common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
• | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
52
• | prior offerings of those companies; |
• | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
• | our capital structure; |
• | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
• | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the offering; and |
• | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
However, although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities for an operating company in a particular industry since the underwriters are unable to compare our financial results and prospects with those of public companies operating in the same industry.
Over-Allotment Option
We have granted to the underwriter an option, exercisable during the 45-day period commencing on the date of this prospectus, to purchase from us at the offering price, less underwriting discounts, up to an aggregate of 525,000 additional units for the sole purpose of covering over-allotments, if any. The over-allotment option will only be used to cover the net syndicate short position resulting from the initial distribution. The underwriter may exercise the over-allotment option if it sells more units than the total number set forth above.
53
Commissions and Discounts
The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount to be paid by us to the underwriter and the proceeds, before expenses, to us. This information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriter of its over-allotment option.
Per unit | Without option | With option | ||||||||||||
Public offering price | $ | 6.00 | $21,000,000 | $24,150,000 | ||||||||||
Discount | $ | 0.48 | $1,680,000 | $1,932,000 | ||||||||||
Non-accountable Expense Allowance(1) | $ | 0.06 | $210,000 | $210,000 | ||||||||||
Proceeds before expenses(2) | $ | 5.46 | $19,110,000 | $22,008,000 | ||||||||||
(1) | The non-accountable expense allowance is not payable with respect to the units sold upon exercise of the over-allotment option. |
(2) | The offering expenses are estimated at $400,000, or $425,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. |
No discounts or commissions will be paid on the sale of the insider units.
Purchase Option
We have agreed to sell to the underwriter, for $100, an option to purchase up to a total of 350,000 units. The units issuable upon exercise of this option are identical to those offered by this prospectus. This option is exercisable at $6.60 per unit, and may be exercised on a cashless basis, commencing on the later of the consummation of a business combination and one year from the date of this prospectus and expiring five years from the date of this prospectus. The option and the 350,000 units, the 350,000 shares of common stock and the 700,000 warrants underlying such units, and the 700,000 shares of common stock underlying such warrants, have been deemed compensation by the NASD and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to Rule 2710(g)(1) of the NASD Conduct Rules. Additionally, the option may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a one-year period (including the foregoing 180-day period) following the date of this prospectus except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the offering and their bona fide officers or partners. Although the purchase option and its underlying securities have been registered under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, the option grants to holders demand and ‘‘piggy back’’ rights for periods of five and seven years, respectively, from the date of this prospectus with respect to the registration under the Securities Act of the securities directly and indirectly issuable upon exercise of the option. We will bear all fees and expenses attendant to registering the securities, other than underwriting commissions which will be paid for by the holders themselves. The exercise price and number of units issuable upon exercise of the option may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the option will not be adjusted for issuances of common stock at a price below its exercise price.
Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of Securities
Rules of the SEC may limit the ability of the underwriter to bid for or purchase our units before the distribution of the units is completed. However, the underwriter may engage in the following activities in accordance with the rules:
• | Stabilizing Transactions. The underwriter may make bids or purchases for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the price of our units, as long as stabilizing bids do not exceed the offering price of $6.00. |
54
• | Over-Allotments and Syndicate Coverage Transactions. The underwriter may create a short position in our units by selling more of our units than are set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. If the underwriter creates a short position during the offering, the underwriter may engage in syndicate covering transactions by purchasing our units in the open market. The underwriter may also elect to reduce any short position by exercising all or part of the over-allotment option. |
• | Penalty Bids. The underwriter may reclaim a selling concession from a selected dealer when the units originally sold by the selected dealer is purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover short positions. |
Stabilization and covering transactions may cause the price of our securities to be higher than they would be in the absence of these transactions. The imposition of a penalty bid might also have an effect on the prices of our securities if it discourages resales of our securities.
Neither we nor the underwriter makes any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our securities. These transactions may occur on the OTC Bulletin Board, in the over-the-counter market or on any trading market. If any of these transactions are commenced, they may be discontinued without notice at any time.
Other Terms
Although we are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriter to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so, the underwriter may, among other things, introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital, as needs may arise in the future. If the underwriter provides services to us after this offering, we may pay the underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm's length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriter and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriter prior to the date which is 90 days after the date of this prospectus, unless the National Association of Securities Dealers determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering.
Indemnification
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriter against some liabilities, including civil liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in this respect.
Legal Matters
The validity of the securities offered in this prospectus is being passed upon for us by Graubard Miller, New York, New York. We have paid Graubard Miller a retainer of $25,000 for such services. Graubard Miller has agreed that the balance of the legal fees that we will owe to it for these services will be paid by us only upon the successful consummation of this offering. Foley & Lardner LLP, Boston, Massachusetts, is acting as counsel for the underwriter in this offering.
Experts
The financial statements included in this prospectus and in the registration statement have been audited by Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, to the extent and for the period set forth in their report appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and in the registration statement. The financial statements and the report of Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP are included in reliance upon their report given upon the authority of Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP as experts in auditing and accounting.
55
Where You Can Find Additional Information
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1, which includes exhibits, schedules and amendments, under the Securities Act, with respect to this offering of our securities. Although this prospectus, which forms a part of the registration statement, contains all material information included in the registration statement, parts of the registration statement have been omitted as permitted by rules and regulations of the SEC. We refer you to the registration statement and its exhibits for further information about us, our securities and this offering. The registration statement and its exhibits, as well as our other reports filed with the SEC, can be inspected and copied at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information about the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains a web site at http://www.sec.gov which contains the Form S-1 and other reports, proxy and information statements and information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.
56
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
(a corporation in the development stage)
Index to Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | F-2 | |||||
Financial statements | ||||||
Balance Sheet | F-3 | |||||
Statement of Operations | F-4 | |||||
Statement of Stockholders’ Equity | F-5 | |||||
Statement of Cash Flows | F-6 | |||||
Notes to Financial Statements | F-7 – F-10 | |||||
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Ascend Acquisition Corp. (a corporation in the development stage) as of December 31, 2005, and the related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from December 5, 2005 (inception) to December 31, 2005. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Ascend Acquisition Corp. as of December 31, 2005, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from December 5, 2005 (inception) to December 31, 2005 in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles.
/s/ Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP
GOLDSTEIN GOLUB KESSLER LLP
New York, New York
January 22, 2006
F-2
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
(a corporation in the development stage)
Balance Sheet
December 31, 2005 | ||||||
ASSETS | ||||||
Current asset – Cash | $ | 80,061 | ||||
Deferred offering costs associated with initial public offering | 25,000 | |||||
Total assets | $ | 105,061 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||||
Current liabilities: | ||||||
Accrued expenses | $ | 1,192 | ||||
Note payable to stockholder | 80,000 | |||||
Total liabilities | 81,192 | |||||
Commitments | ||||||
Stockholders’ equity | ||||||
Preferred stock, $.0001 par value | ||||||
Authorized 1,000,000 shares; none issued | — | |||||
Common stock, $.0001 par value | ||||||
Authorized 15,000,000 shares | ||||||
Issued and outstanding 875,000 shares | 88 | |||||
Additional paid-in capital | 24,912 | |||||
Deficit accumulated during the development stage | (1,131 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders’ equity | 23,869 | |||||
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 105,061 | ||||
See notes to Financial Statements.
F-3
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
(a corporation in the development stage)
Statement of Operations
For the period December 5, 2005 (inception) to December 31, 2005 | ||||||
Formation costs | $ | 1,192 | ||||
Operating loss | (1,192 | ) | ||||
Other income: | ||||||
Interest income | 61 | |||||
Net loss | $ | (1,131 | ) | |||
Weighted average shares outstanding | 875,000 | |||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share | $ | (.00 | ) | |||
See notes to Financial Statements.
F-4
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
(a corporation in the development stage)
Statement of Stockholders’ Equity
For the period December 5, 2005 (inception) to December 31, 2005
Common Stock | Addition paid-in capital | Deficit Accumulated During the Development Stage | Stockholders' Equity | |||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||
Common shares issued December 5, 2005 at $0.02857 per share | 875,000 | $ | 88 | $ | 24,912 | — | $ | 25,000 | ||||||||||||||
Net Loss | — | — | — | $ | (1,131 | ) | (1,131 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2005 | 875,000 | $ | 88 | $ | 24,912 | $ | (1,131 | ) | $ | 23,869 | ||||||||||||
See notes to Financial Statements
F-5
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
(a corporation in the development stage)
Statement of Cash Flows
For the period December 5, 2005 (inception) to December 31, 2005 | ||||||
Cash flow from operating activities | ||||||
Net loss | $ | (1,131 | ) | |||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||
Change in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||
Increase in accrued expenses | 1,192 | |||||
Net cash provided by operating activities | 61 | |||||
Cash flows from financing activities | ||||||
Proceeds from sale of shares of common stock to founding stockholders | 25,000 | |||||
Proceeds from note payable to stockholder | 80,000 | |||||
Payment of deferred costs associated with initial public offering | (25,000 | ) | ||||
Net cash provided by financing activities | 80,000 | |||||
Net increase in cash | 80,061 | |||||
Cash at beginning of period | — | |||||
Cash at end of period | $ | 80,061 | ||||
See notes to Financial Statements
F-6
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
(a corporation in the development stage)
Notes to Financial Statements
1. Organization and Business Operations
Ascend Acquisition Corp. (the ‘‘Company’’) was incorporated in Delaware on December 5, 2005 as a blank check company whose objective is to acquire an operating business.
At December 31, 2005, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2005 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed public offering described below. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year-end.
The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed public offering of up to 3,500,000 units (‘‘Units’’) which is discussed in Note 2 (‘‘Proposed Offering’’). The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of this Proposed Offering, although substantially all of the net proceeds of this Proposed Offering are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a business combination with an operating business (‘‘Business Combination’’). Furthermore, there is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination. Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering, management has agreed that at least $5.46 per Unit sold in the Proposed Offering will be held in a trust account (‘‘Trust Account’’) and invested in United States ‘‘government securities’’ within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 having a maturity of 180 days or less until the earlier of (i) the consummation of its first Business Combination and (ii) liquidation of the Company. The placing of funds in the Trust Account may not protect those funds from third party claims against the Company. Although the Company will seek to have all vendors, prospective target businesses or other entities it engages, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer has agreed that he will be personally liable under certain circumstances to ensure that the proceeds in the Trust Account are not reduced by the claims of target businesses or vendors or other entities that are owed money by the Company for services rendered contracted for or products sold to the Company. However, there can be no assurance that he will be able to satisfy those obligations. The remaining net proceeds (not held in the Trust Account) may be used to pay for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisitions and continuing general and administrative expenses. The Company, after signing a definitive agreement for the acquisition of a target business, is required to submit such transaction for stockholder approval. In the event that stockholders owning 20% or more of the shares sold in the Proposed Offering vote against the Business Combination and exercise their conversion rights described below, the Business Combination will not be consummated. All of the Company’s stockholders prior to the Proposed Offering, including all of the officers and directors of the Company (‘‘Initial Stockholders’’), have agreed to vote their 875,000 founding shares of common stock in accordance with the vote of the majority in interest of all other stockholders of the Company (‘‘Public Stockholders’’) with respect to any Business Combination. After consummation of a Business Combination, these voting safeguards will no longer be applicable.
With respect to a Business Combination which is approved and consummated, any Public Stockholder who voted against the Business Combination may demand that the Company convert his or her shares. The per share conversion price will equal the amount in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the proposed Business Combination, divided by the number of shares of common stock held by Public Stockholders at the consummation of the Proposed Offering. Accordingly, Public Stockholders holding 19.99% of the aggregate number of shares owned by all Public Stockholders may seek conversion of their shares in the event of a Business Combination. Such Public Stockholders are entitled to receive their per share interest in the Trust Account computed without regard to the shares held by Initial Stockholders.
F-7
The Company’s Certificate of Incorporation provides for mandatory liquidation of the Company in the event that the Company does not consummate a Business Combination within 18 months from the date of the consummation of the Proposed Offering, or 24 months from the consummation of the Proposed Offering if certain extension criteria have been satisfied. In the event of liquidation, it is likely that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Fund assets) will be less than the initial public offering price per share in the Proposed Offering (assuming no value is attributed to the Warrants contained in the Units to be offered in the Proposed Offering discussed in Note 2).
Deferred income taxes are provided for the differences between bases of assets and liabilities for financial reporting and income tax purposes. A valuation allowance is established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
The Company recorded a deferred income tax asset for the tax effect of net operating loss carryforwards and temporary differences, aggregating approximately $385. In recognition of the uncertainty regarding the ultimate amount of income tax benefits to be derived, the Company has recorded a full valuation allowance at December 31, 2005.
The effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate of 34% due to the increase in the valuation allowance.
Loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
2. Proposed Public Offering
The Proposed Offering calls for the Company to offer for public sale up to 3,500,000 Units at a proposed offering price of $6.00 per Unit (plus up to an additional 525,000 units solely to cover over-allotments, if any). Each Unit consists of one share of the Company’s common stock and two Redeemable Common Stock Purchase Warrants (‘‘Warrants’’). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase from the Company one share of common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 commencing the later of the completion of a Business Combination and one year from the effective date of the Proposed Offering and expiring four years from the effective date of the Proposed Offering. The Company may redeem the Warrants, at a price of $.01 per Warrant upon 30 days’ notice after the Warrants become exercisable, only in the event that the last sale price of the common stock is at least $8.50 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third day prior to the date on which notice of redemption is given. If the Company redeems the Warrants as described above, management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his Warrant to do so on a "cashless basis." In such event, the holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering his Warrants for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the Warrants and the "fair market value" (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The "fair market value" shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Common Stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to holders of Warrants. The Company will pay the underwriter in the Proposed Offering an underwriting discount of 8% of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Offering and a non-accountable expense allowance of 1% of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Offering. The Company will also issue a unit purchase option, for $100, to the underwriter to purchase 350,000 Units at an exercise price of $6.60 per Unit. The Company intends to account for the fair value of the unit purchase option, inclusive of the receipt of the $100 cash payment, as an expense of the Proposed
F-8
Offering resulting in a charge directly to stockholders’ equity. The Company estimates that the fair value of this unit purchase option is approximately $910,000 ($2.60 per Unit) using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value of the unit purchase option granted to the underwriter is estimated as of the date of grant using the following assumptions: (1) expected volatility of 46.56%, (2) risk-free interest rate of 4.31% and (3) expected life of 5 years. The unit purchase option may be exercised for cash or on a ‘‘cashless’’ basis, at the holder’s option, such that the holder may use the appreciated value of the unit purchase option (the difference between the exercise prices of the unit purchase option and the underlying Warrants and the market price of the Units and underlying securities) to exercise the unit purchase option without the payment of any cash.
3. Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist principally of legal and underwriting fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Offering and that will be charged to stockholders’ equity upon the receipt of the capital raised. Should the Proposed Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs as well as additional expenses to be incurred will be charged to operations.
4. Note Payable, Stockholder
The Company issued an $80,000 unsecured promissory note to an Initial Stockholder, who is also an officer, on December 20, 2005. The note is non-interest bearing and is payable on the earlier of December 20, 2006 or the consummation of the Proposed Offering. Due to the short-term nature of the note, the fair value of the note approximates its carrying amount.
5. Commitments
The Company presently occupies office space provided by an affiliate of the Company’s special advisor. Such affiliate has agreed that, until the Company consummates a Business Combination, it will make such office space, as well as certain office and secretarial services, available to the Company, as may be required by the Company from time to time. The Company has agreed to pay such affiliate $7,500 per month for such services commencing on the effective date of the Proposed Offering.
Pursuant to letter agreements dated January 13, 2006 with the Company and the underwriter, the Initial Stockholders have waived their right to receive distributions with respect to their founding shares upon the Company’s liquidation.
One of the Initial Stockholders has committed to purchase 166,667 Units at $6.00 per unit (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002) privately from the Company. These purchases will take place simultaneously with the consummation of the Proposed Offering. All of the proceeds received from this purchase will be placed in the Trust Account. The Units to be purchased by such individual will be identical to the Units being offered in the Proposed Offering except that the Warrants underlying such Units may be exercisable on a "cashless basis" so long as such Warrants are held by such Initial Stockholder or his affiliates. Additionally, such individual has waived his right to receive distributions upon the Company’s liquidation prior to a Business Combination with respect to the securities underlying these Units. This individual has further agreed that the Units and underlying securities will not be sold or transferred by him until after the Company has completed a Business Combination and has agreed to vote the shares of common stock underlying these Units in accordance with the vote of the majority in interest of the Public Stockholders with respect to any Business Combination.
One of the Initial Stockholders has also committed to place a limit order pursuant to which he and his affiliates or designees will purchase up to $250,000 of Warrants in the public marketplace at prices not to exceed $0.60 per Warrant during the three month period beginning on the later of (i) 60 days after the date the distribution of the Units has been completed and (ii) the commencement of separate trading of the Warrants. The Initial Stockholder has further agreed that any Warrants purchased by him or his affiliates or designees pursuant to this agreement will not be sold or transferred until after the Company has completed a Business Combination. Any Warrants purchased pursuant to this agreement will be exercisable by the Initial Stockholder or his affiliates on a cashless basis.
F-9
The Initial Stockholders will be entitled to registration rights with respect to their founding shares pursuant to an agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Offering. The holders of the majority of these shares are entitled to make up to two demands that the Company register these shares at any time commencing three months prior to the third anniversary of the effective date of the Proposed Offering. In addition, the Initial Stockholders have certain ‘‘piggy-back’’ registration rights on registration statements filed subsequent to the third anniversary of the effective date of the Proposed Offering.
The Company has also agreed to pay the fees and issue the securities to the underwriter in the Proposed Offering as described in Note 2 above.
6. Preferred Stock
The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.
The agreement with the underwriters prohibits the Company, prior to a Business Combination, from issuing preferred stock which participates in the proceeds of the Trust Account or which votes as a class with the Common Stock on a Business Combination.
F-10
Until , 2006, all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained in this prospectus and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security other than the securities offered by this prospectus, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or is unlawful.
$21,000,000
Ascend Acquisition Corp.
3,500,000 Units
PROSPECTUS
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
, 2006
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions and the underwriter’s non-accountable expense allowance) will be as follows:
Initial Trustees’ fee | $ | 1,000.00 | (1) | |||
SEC Registration Fee | 7,797.81 | |||||
NASD filing fee | 7,787.68 | |||||
Accounting fees and expenses | 35,000.00 | |||||
Printing and engraving expenses | 65,000.00 | |||||
Directors & Officers liability insurance premiums | 80,000.00 | (2) | ||||
Legal fees and expenses | 210,000.00 | |||||
Blue sky services and expenses | 50,000.00 | |||||
Miscellaneous | 23,414.51 | (3) | ||||
Total | $ | 480,000.00 | ||||
(1) | In addition to the initial acceptance fee that is charged by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee, the registrant will be required to pay to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company annual fees of $3,000 for acting as trustee, $4,800 for acting as transfer agent of the registrant’s common stock, $2,400 for acting as warrant agent for the registrant’s warrants and$1,800 for acting as escrow agent. |
(2) | This amount represents the approximate amount of director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the consummation of its initial public offering and until it consummates a business combination. |
(3) | This amount represents additional expenses that may be incurred by the Company in connection with the offering over and above those specifically listed above, including distribution and mailing costs. |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that all directors, officers, employees and agents of the registrant shall be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law concerning indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents is set forth below.
‘‘Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
(a) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to
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believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.
(b) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
(c) To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
(d) Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.
(e) Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.
(f) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office.
(g) A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person
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and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.
(h) For purposes of this section, references to ‘‘the corporation’’ shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(i) For purposes of this section, references to ‘‘other enterprises’’ shall include employee benefit plans; references to ‘‘fines’’ shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to ‘‘serving at the request of the corporation’’ shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner ‘‘not opposed to the best interests of the corporation’’ as referred to in this section.
(j) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k) The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees).’’
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Paragraph B of Article Eighth of our certificate of incorporation provides:
‘‘The Corporation, to the full extent permitted by Section 145 of the GCL, as amended from time to time, shall indemnify all persons whom it may indemnify pursuant thereto. Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which such officer or director may be entitled to indemnification hereunder shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized hereby.’’
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Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the Underwriters and the Underwriters have agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
(a) During the past three years, we sold the following shares of common stock without registration under the Securities Act:
Stockholders | Number of Shares | |||||
Don K. Rice | 695,000 | |||||
Russell C. Ball III | 60,000 | |||||
Stephen L. Brown | 60,000 | |||||
Arthur Spector | 60,000 | |||||
Such shares were issued on December 5, 2005 in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act as they were sold to sophisticated, accredited, wealthy individuals and entities. The shares issued to the individuals and entities above were sold for an aggregate offering price of $25,000 at an average purchase price of approximately $0.029 per share. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the Company's initial public offering, the Company will sell, on a private placement basis, 166,667 "insider units" to Don K. Rice at $6.00 per unit (for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,002). The sale will be made pursuant to exemptions from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) under the Securities Act of 1933. The Company will not pay any discounts or commissions with respect to the purchase of the insider units.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this Registration Statement:
Exhibit No. | Description | |||||
1.1 | Form of Underwriting Agreement. | |||||
1.2 | Form of Selected Dealers Agreement.* | |||||
3.1 | Certificate of Incorporation.* | |||||
3.2 | By-laws.* | |||||
4.1 | Specimen Unit Certificate.* | |||||
4.2 | Specimen Common Stock Certificate. | |||||
4.3 | Specimen Warrant Certificate.* | |||||
4.4 | Form of Unit Purchase Option to be granted to Underwriter.* | |||||
4.5 | Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant. | |||||
5.1 | Opinion of Graubard Miller. | |||||
10.1 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. and Don K. Rice.* | |||||
10.2 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. and Russell C. Ball III.* | |||||
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Exhibit No. | Description | |||||
10.3 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. and Stephen L. Brown.* | |||||
10.4 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. and Arthur Spector.* | |||||
10.5 | Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant. | |||||
10.6 | Form of Stock Escrow Agreement between the Registrant, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Initial Stockholders.* | |||||
10.7 | Form of Letter Agreement between 400 Building LLC and Registrant regarding administrative support.* | |||||
10.8 | Promissory Note, dated as of December 20, 2005, issued to Don K. Rice.* | |||||
10.9 | Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant and the Initial Stockholders.* | |||||
10.10 | Subscription Agreement among the Registrant, Don K. Rice, Graubard Miller and EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. | |||||
10.11 | Warrant Purchase Agreement among EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. and Don K. Rice. | |||||
10.12 | Letter Agreement, dated March 8, 2006, among the Registrant, Don K. Rice, Russell C. Ball III, Stephen L. Brown and Arthur Spector. | |||||
23.1 | Consent of Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP. | |||||
23.2 | Consent of Graubard Miller (included in Exhibit 5.1). | |||||
24 | Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this Registration Statement).* | |||||
* | Previously filed. |
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
i. To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
ii. To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the ‘‘Calculation of Registration Fee’’ table in the effective registration statement.
iii. To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
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securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b) The undersigned hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(d) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Wayne, State of Pennsylvania, on the 10 day of March, 2006.
ASCEND ACQUISITION CORP.
By: /s/ Don K. Rice Don K. Rice Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Oficer, President and Treasurer (Principal Executive Officer) |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name | Position | Date | ||
/s/ Don K. Rice | Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President and Treasurer (Principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer) | March 10, 2006 | ||
Don K. Rice | ||||
* | Secretary and Director | March 10, 2006 | ||
Stephen L. Brown | ||||
* | Director | March 10, 2006 | ||
Russell C. Ball III | ||||
* By Don K. Rice, Power of Attorney
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