PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, Dated November 20, 2020
Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.
$200,000,000
20,000,000 Units
Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not selected any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, had any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target. While we will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region in our identification and acquisition of a target company, we intend to focus our search for a target operating in an alternative energy industry, including clean energy and storage, smart grid/efficiency, environmental services and recycling, mobility, water and wastewater management, advanced materials and technology enabled services.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, terms and limitations as described herein. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations as described herein. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, which is extendable at our sponsor's option up to six months, as described herein, we will redeem 100% of the public shares for cash, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as described herein.
Our sponsor, Spring Valley Acquisition Sponsor, LLC, has agreed to purchase 8,000,000 warrants (or 8,900,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, in a private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of this offering. Our sponsor or its affiliates or permitted designees also has an option to purchase additional private placement warrants in order to extend the period of time to complete an initial business combination one time, by an additional six months. Our initial shareholders currently own 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors.
Up to five qualified institutional buyers or institutional accredited investors, who are not affiliated with any member of our management, who we refer to as the anchor investors, have expressed to us an interest to purchase up to 1,980,000 units each in this offering and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell to the anchor investors such number of units. There can be no assurance that the anchor investors will acquire any units in this offering, or as to the amount of such units the anchor investors will retain, if any, prior to or upon the consummation of our initial business combination. For a discussion of certain additional arrangements with our anchor investors, see “Summary—The Offering—Expressions of Interest.”
Currently, there is no public market for our securities. We intend to apply to have our units listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, or the Nasdaq, under the symbol “SVSVU.” We expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the Nasdaq under the symbols “SV” and “SVSVW,” respectively, on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless the underwriters permit earlier separate trading and we have satisfied certain conditions.
We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page
38 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) 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.
| | | Per Unit | | | Total | |
Public offering price | | | | $ | 10.00 | | | | | $ | 200,000,000 | | |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | | | | $ | 0.55 | | | | | $ | 11,000,000 | | |
Proceeds, before expenses, to us | | | | $ | 9.45 | | | | | $ | 189,000,000 | | |
(1)
Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to certain of the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon the consummation of an initial business combination. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters.
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $202,000,000, or $232,300,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.10 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a U.S. based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A., (or at another U.S.-chartered commercial bank with consolidated assets of $100 billion or more) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Except with respect to interest or other income earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as discussed herein and subject to the requirements of law and regulation, will provide that the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account (1) to us, until the completion of our initial business combination, or (2) to our public shareholders, until the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholders properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, unless extended at our sponsor's option, as provided for herein or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, unless extended at our sponsor's option, as provided for herein, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2020.
Book-Running Managers
| Cowen | | | Wells Fargo Securities | |
Co-Managers
| Drexel Hamilton | | | Siebert Williams Shank | |
The date of this prospectus is , 2020