UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K/A
(Amendment No. 1)
(Mark One)
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
OR
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-39704
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| Delaware | 85-2549808 | |
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of | (I.R.S. Employer | |
| Incorporation or Organization | Identification No.) | |
| 25101 Chagrin Boulevard | ||
| Suite 350 | ||
| Cleveland, Ohio 44122 | 44122 | |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | |
(212) 739-7860
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant | ZNTEU | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
| Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share | ZNTE | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 | ZNTEW | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |||
| Emerging growth company | ☒ | |||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
The registrant was not a public company at June 30, 2020, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and therefore it cannot calculate the aggregate market value of its voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates at such date. The registrant’s units began trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on November 17, 2020 and the registrant’s common stock began separate trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on January 7, 2021. The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, at December 31, 2020, computed by reference to the closing price of the units reported on such date, as reported on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, was $210,400,000.
As of March 31, 2021 there were 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001, and 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
| Page | ||||||
| PART I | 4 | |||||
| Item 1. | 4 | |||||
| Item 1A. | 8 | |||||
| Item 1B. | 32 | |||||
| Item 2. | 32 | |||||
| Item 3. | 32 | |||||
| Item 4. | 32 | |||||
| PART II | 33 | |||||
| Item 5. | 33 | |||||
| Item 6. | 33 | |||||
| Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | 33 | ||||
| Item 7A. | 36 | |||||
| Item 8. | 36 | |||||
| Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure | 36 | ||||
| Item 9A. | 36 | |||||
| Item 9B. | 36 | |||||
| PART III | 37 | |||||
| Item 10. | 37 | |||||
| Item 11. | 44 | |||||
| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters | 45 | ||||
| Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence | 46 | ||||
| Item 14. | 46 | |||||
| PART IV | 48 | |||||
| Item 15. | 48 | |||||
EXPLANATORY NOTE
References throughout this Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” the “Company” or “our company” are to Zanite Acquisition Corp., unless the context otherwise indicates.
This Amendment No. 1 (“Amendment No. 1”) to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A amends the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Zanite Acquisition Corp., for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 31, 2021 (the “Original Filing”).
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC Staff”) issued a public statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Staff Statement”). In the SEC Staff Statement, the SEC Staff expressed its view that certain terms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may require the warrants to be classified as liabilities on the SPAC’s balance sheet as opposed to being treated as equity. Since their issuance on November 16, 2020 at the time of the Company’s initial public offering, our warrants were accounted for as equity within our balance sheet, and after discussion and evaluation we have concluded that our warrants should be presented as liabilities with subsequent fair value remeasurement.
Therefore, the Company’s management and the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”) concluded that, in light of the SEC Statement, (i) certain items on the Company’s previously issued audited balance sheet dated as of November 19, 2020 which was related to its initial public offering and (ii) the Company’s previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (the “Affected Periods”) included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the “Annual Report”) should no longer be relied upon and that it is appropriate to restate the Annual Report.
The Company has not amended its previously filed Current Report on Form 8-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Affected Periods. The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported for these periods is superseded by the information in this Annual Report, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed reports should no longer be relied upon.
Historically, our outstanding warrants to purchase common stock (the “Warrants”) were reflected as a component of equity as opposed to liabilities on the balance sheet and the statement of operations did not include the subsequent non-cash changes in estimated fair value of the Warrants, based on our application of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (“ASC 815-40). The views expressed in the SEC Staff Statement were not consistent with the Company’s historical interpretation of the specific provisions within its warrant agreement and the Company’s application of ASC 815-40 to the warrant agreement. We reassessed our accounting for Warrants issued on November 16, 2020, in light of the SEC Staff’s published views. Based on this reassessment, we determined that the Warrants should be classified as liabilities measured at fair value upon issuance, with subsequent changes in fair value reported in our Statement of Operations each reporting period.
In the process of evaluating its financial statements the Company also reassessed its obligation to issue additional Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor upon each 6-month extension of time to consummate an initial business combination, and determined that the obligation represents a forward contract that meets the definition of derivative liability in accordance with ASC 815-40. Based on this reassessment, we determined that the forward contract should be classified as a liability measured at fair value upon issuance, with subsequent changes in fair value reported in our Statement of Operations each reporting period.
The Company also restated its financial statements to classify all Class A common stock in temporary equity. In accordance with the SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity – SEC Materials (“ASC 480-10-S99”), redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. The Company had previously classified 1,100,888 shares in permanent equity. Although the Company did not specify a maximum redemption threshold, its charter provides that currently, the Company will not redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. The Company restated its financial statements to classify all Class A common stock as temporary equity and any related impact, as the threshold in its charter would not change the nature of the underlying shares as redeemable and thus would be required to be disclosed outside of permanent equity.
We are filing this Amendment No. 1 to include additional risk factors under Item 1A, the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation described in Item 7, and Financial Statements and Supplementary Data described in Item 8, which such financial data give effect to the change in accounting for the Warrants as disclosed in the Original Filing, Item 9A, Controls and Procedures, and Item 12, Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The change in accounting for the Warrants, the forward contract, and Class A common stock did not have any impact on our liquidity, cash flows, revenues or costs of operating our business, in the Affected Period or in any of the periods included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data in this filing. The change in accounting for the Warrants, the forward contract, and the Class A common stock does not impact the amounts previously reported for the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, investments held in trust account, operating expenses or total cash flows from operations for the Affected Period.
In accordance with Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), Item 1A, Risk Factors, is hereby amended to add additional risk factors, and Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation, and Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of the Original Filing are hereby amended and restated in their entirety. This Amendment No. 1 should be read in conjunction with the Original Filing and with our other filings with the SEC subsequent to the Original Filing.
This Amendment No. 1 does not reflect events occurring after the filing of the Original Filing, and, except as described above, does not modify or update any other disclosures in the Original Filing.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this annual report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K may include, for example, statements about:
| • | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| • | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account (as described below) or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| • | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the section of this Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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References in this report to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Zanite Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Zanite Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.
| Item 1. | Business. |
Introduction
We are a blank check company formed as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “business combination”). While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any business industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify, acquire and manage a business in the Aviation, Aerospace & Defense, Urban Mobility and Emerging Technology industries that can benefit from our differentiated and proprietary deal flow, leading brand name and global network. We intend to focus on companies that have an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $600 million to $1.5 billion. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
On November 19, 2020, we consummated our initial public offering (the “initial public offering”) of 23,000,000 units (the “units”), including the issuance of 3,000,000 units as a result of the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option in full. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $230 million.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale (the “private placement”) of an aggregate of 9,650,000 warrants (the “private placement warrants”) to Zanite Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”) at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating proceeds to the Company of $9,650,000.
Prior to the consummation of the initial public offering, on August 7, 2020, we issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares (the “founder shares”) of our Class B common stock to the Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash. On October 15, 2020, our Sponsor transferred 250,000 founder shares to Ronald D. Sugar, our senior advisor, and 150,000 founder shares to each of John B. Veihmeyer, Larry R. Flynn and Gerard J. DeMuro, our directors, resulting in our Sponsor holding 5,050,000 founder shares.
A total of $232,300,000, comprised of $222,650,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering (which amount includes $8,050,000 of the underwriters’ deferred discount) and $9,650,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account (the “trust account”) at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
The funds held in the trust account are invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by us meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by us, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of an initial business combination or (ii) the distribution of the trust account, as described below.
As of December 31, 2020, there was $232,302,673.30 in investments and cash held in the trust account, which includes interest income available to us for franchise and income tax obligations of approximately $2,673 and $1,971,811 of cash held outside the trust account. As of December 31, 2020, we have withdrawn $0 of interest earned from the trust account to pay taxes.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash held in the trust account, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
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Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify, acquire and manage a business in the Aviation, Aerospace & Defense, Urban Mobility and Emerging Technology industries that can benefit from our differentiated and proprietary deal flow, leading brand name and global network. We intend to focus our search on business combination targets with an aggregate enterprise value ranging from $600.0 million to $1.5 billion. We believe our management team is well suited to identify opportunities that have the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (as amended on November 16, 2020, our “amended and restated certificate of incorporation”) prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or from an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. In addition, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders’ own shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all the target businesses.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent valuation or appraisal firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Redemption rights for holders of public shares upon consummation of the initial business combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted
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withdrawals), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is approximately 10.10 per public share as of December 31, 2020. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our initial stockholders, Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares they hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Submission of our Initial Business Combination to a Stockholder Vote
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares they hold and any public shares purchased during or after the initial public offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
In the event that our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Conduct of Redemptions Pursuant to Tender Offer Rules
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: (a) conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and (b) file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or
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as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the initial public offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our Sponsor or our management at a premium to the then current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 20% of the shares sold in the initial public offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 20% of the shares sold in the initial public offering) for or against our initial business combination.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
We will have until 6 months from the closing of the initial public offering to consummate our initial business combination, or until May 19, 2021. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 6 months, we may, by resolution of our board of directors if requested by the Sponsor, extend the period of time we will have to consummate an initial business combination up to two times, each by an additional 6 months (for a total of up to 18 months from the closing of the initial public offering), or until May 19, 2022, subject to our sponsor purchasing additional private placement warrants (such period, the “completion window”). Our stockholders will not be entitled to vote on or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, in order to extend the period of time to consummate an initial business combination in such a manner, our sponsor must purchase an additional 2,300,000 private placement warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, and deposit the $2,300,000 in proceeds into the trust account on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, for each 6 month extension. The Sponsor has the option to accelerate its purchase of one or both halves of the up to 4,600,000 private placement warrants at any time following the closing of the initial public offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination with the same effect of extending the time we will have to consummate an initial business combination by 6 or 12 months, as applicable.
If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers: Steven H. Rosen, Kenneth C. Ricci and Michael A. Rossi. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
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Available Information
We are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website is located at www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 25101 Chagrin Boulevard, Suite 350, Cleveland, Ohio 44122 or by telephone at (216) 292-0200.
| Item 1A. | Risk Factors. |
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Form 10-K, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risk Factor Summary
| • | We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| • | Our stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our stockholders do not support such a combination. |
| • | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
| • | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote. |
| • | The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target. |
| • | The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure. |
| • | The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the completion window may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders. |
| • | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. |
| • | We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate. |
| • | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock. |
| • | If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
| • | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| • | Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions. |
| • | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
| • | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| • | If the net proceeds of the initial public offering not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least until May 19, 2021, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our Sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination. |
| • | Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
| • | Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination. |
| • | Our warrants and our obligation to issue additional private placement warrants to the Sponsor are accounted for as derivative liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants derivative liabilities could have a material effect on our financial results. |
| • | We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner. |
| • | We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. |
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Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
Our stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirements, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we complete.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding our initial business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our initial stockholders will own 20% of our outstanding common stock immediately following the completion of the initial public offering Our initial stockholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A common stock prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,625,000, or 37.5%, of the 23,000,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or make us unable to satisfy a minimum cash condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting
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commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the completion window may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within the completion window. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout China and other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The COVID-19 outbreak has and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 continues to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within the completion window. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the United States and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as
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a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted withdrawals and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.
In the event that our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. We expect any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their stock certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the date on which the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination is to be held. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, we intend to require a public stockholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.
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You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by within the completion window or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window, Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond the completion window before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the initial public offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. As a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a stockholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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If the net proceeds of the initial public offering not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least until May 19, 2021, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our Sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of the initial public offering, only $2,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least until May 19, 2021; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement 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.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.10 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. The underwriters of the initial public offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
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Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.10 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.10 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.10 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our Sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.10 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.10 per share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.10 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.10 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
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If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of the funds in our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business within the completion window may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the completion window in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we do not comply with Section 280 of the DGCL, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of the funds in our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
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Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify, acquire and operate a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors, including financial services. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in the initial public offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting firm or independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders or warrant holders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares in connection with such initial business combination, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private
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placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of the initial public offering, may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our Sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our Sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment has made it especially difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need
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additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our Sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a terms for three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are
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unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target that is a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| • | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| • | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| • | corruption; |
| • | protection of intellectual property; |
| • | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| • | regime changes and political upheaval; |
| • | terrorist attacks and wars; and |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following the initial public offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from the initial public offering and the private placement of warrants provided us with $224,250,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present results of operations and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
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We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team
Our Sponsor has the right to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination to up to May 19, 2022 (unless otherwise extended by resolution of our board of directors) without providing our stockholders with a corresponding redemption right.
Unless otherwise extended by resolution of our board of directors, we will have until May 19, 2021 to consummate our initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within the completion window, we may, by resolution of our board of directors if requested by our Sponsor, extend the period of time we will have to consummate an initial business combination up to two times, each by an additional 6 months (for a total of up to 18 months from the closing of the initial public offering), subject to our Sponsor purchasing additional private placement warrants. Our stockholders will not be entitled to vote on or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, in order to extend the period of time to consummate an initial business combination in such a manner, our Sponsor must purchase an additional 2,300,000 private placement warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, and deposit the $2,300,000, in proceeds into the trust account on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, for each 6 month extension. Our Sponsor has the option to accelerate its purchase of one or both halves of the up to 4,600,000 private placement warrants at any time following the closing of the initial public offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination with the same effect of extending the time we will have to consummate an initial business combination by 6 or 12 months, as applicable. This feature is different than most other special purpose acquisition companies, in which any extension of the company’s period to consummate an initial business combination would require a vote of the company’s stockholders in connection with such stockholders would have the right to redeem their public shares.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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Since our Sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after the initial public offering ), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On August 7, 2020, our Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in consideration for 5,750,000 Class B common stock, par value $0.0001. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the total offering size of the initial public offering was 23,000,000 units, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the initial public offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our Sponsor has purchased an aggregate of 9,650,000 warrants, each exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $9,650,000, or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as we near the end of the completion window.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any fulltime employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Delaware law and we or our stockholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our stockholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
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We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our Sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our Sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Our management may not maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not maintain control of the target business.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Risks Relating to our Securities
The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.10 per share.
The net proceeds of the initial public offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $232,300,000, is held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay income taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $232,300,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.10 per share.
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If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities, |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The initial public offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window; and (iii) absent an initial business combination within the completion window or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum average global market capitalization and a minimum number of holders of our securities. Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our stockholder’s equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
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| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, as amended, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our units, Class A common stock and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after the initial public offering, there was 77,000,000 and 4,250,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance. The Class B common stock is automatically convertible into Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Immediately after the initial public offering, there were no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock to redeem the warrants or upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond the completion window or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or shares of preferred stock:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the initial public offering; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock; |
| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of Class A common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A common stock or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A common stock included in the units.
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We are not registering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
You may only be able to exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the shares of Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the public warrants for redemption. If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our shares of Class A common stock (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing price of the shares of Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and holders of our private placement warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our shares of Class A common stock.
Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the shares of Class A common stock into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares and the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class��A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of
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the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the shares of common stock owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of shares of Class A common stock by public stockholders), including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. This is different than some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies in which the initial stockholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to our initial business combination.
Certain agreements related to our initial public offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to our initial public offering to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreement and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without stockholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial stockholders, Sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our initial stockholders; the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and our Sponsor; and the administrative services agreement among us, our Sponsor and an affiliate of our Sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public stockholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain lock-up provisions with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and other securities held by our initial stockholders, Sponsor, officers and directors. Amendments to such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our board of directors, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement. Any amendment entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. For example, amendments to the lock-up provision discussed above may result in our initial stockholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
Our initial stockholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per founder share and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our shares of Class A common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the share of Class A common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after the initial public offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in the initial public offering. Our initial stockholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. As a result of the closing of the initial public offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders incurred an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 91.6% (or $9.16 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after the initial public offering of $0.84 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
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We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants are in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any defective provision or mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, (ii) adjusting the provisions relating to cash dividends on shares of common stock as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of holders of our warrants to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to our warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of our warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of, and to have consented to, the forum provisions in our warrant agreement.
If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of our warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder of our warrants shall be deemed to have consented to (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such holder of our warrants in any such enforcement action by service upon such holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such holder of our warrants.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit the ability of a holder of our warrants to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption provided that on the date we give notice of redemption. We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor
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at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us for cash so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares of Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 11,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units offered by the initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 9,650,000 warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. In addition, if our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors makes any working capital loans, such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,500,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue common stock to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one common share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our shares of Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable and, to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed
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to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Additionally, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal courts shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act against us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or agents. Section 22 of the Securities Act, however, created concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. While the Delaware courts have determined that such exclusive forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our securities shall be deemed to have notice of, and to have consented to, these provisions; however, we note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
General Risk Factors
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company established under the laws of the State of Delaware with no results of operations, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through our initial public offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination. We may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team or businesses associated with them as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth
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companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
Our warrants and our obligation to issue additional private placement warrants to the Sponsor are accounted for as derivative liabilities and the changes in value of our derivative liabilities could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Staff Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Staff Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. As a result of the SEC Staff Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 11,500,000 public warrants, 9,650,000 private placement warrants, our obligation to issue additional private placement warrants to the Sponsor, and determined to classify the financial instruments as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities related to our warrants, and to the Company’s obligation to issue additional private placement warrants to the Sponsor upon each 6-month extension of time to consummate an initial business combination. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek a special purpose acquisition company that does not have warrants that are accounted for as derivative liabilities, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As described elsewhere in this Annual Report, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for certain financial instruments issued in connection with our initial public offering in November 2020. As a result of this material weakness, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of our derivative liabilities, change in fair value of derivative liabilities, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, additional paid-in capital, accumulated deficit and related financial disclosures for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (the “Affected Period”).
To respond to this material weakness, we have devoted significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to our accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to the warrants we issued in connection with the November 2020 initial public offering, see “Note 2—Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements” to the accompanying consolidated financial statements, as well as Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report.
Efforts to remediate this material weakness may not be effective or prevent any future material weakness or significant deficiency in the combined company’s internal control over financial reporting. If the combined company’s efforts are not successful or other material weaknesses or control deficiencies occur in the future, the combined company may be unable to report its financial results accurately on a timely basis, which could cause combined company’s reported financial results to be materially misstated and result in the loss of investor confidence and cause the market price of the combined company’s common stock to decline. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in the combined company’s reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of its stock.
We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken or that the combined company plans to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. The combined company will be required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to annually furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by the combined company’s management in its internal control over financial reporting. The combined company’s independent registered public accounting firm may be required to attest to the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting depending on the combined company’s reporting status. The combined company will be required to disclose changes made in its internal control and procedures on a quarterly basis. To comply with the requirements of being a public company, the combined company may need to undertake various actions, such as implementing new internal controls and procedures and hiring accounting or internal audit staff.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Following the issuance of the SEC Staff Statement, our management and our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020. As discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting related to the accounting for certain financial instruments issued in -connection with our initial public offering in November 2020.
As a result of such material weakness, the restatement of our financial statements for the Affected Period, the change in accounting for the warrants, forward contract to issue additional warrants, and the Class A common stock, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on the business of the combined company and its results of operations and financial condition.
| Item 1B. | Unresolved Staff Comments. |
None.
| Item 2. | Properties. |
Our executive offices are located at 25101 Chagrin Boulevard, Suite 350, Cleveland, Ohio 44122. Our executive offices are provided to us by our Sponsor and we have agreed to pay our Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
| Item 3. | Legal Proceedings. |
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.
| Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures. |
Not applicable.
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| Item 5. | Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. |
Market Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “ZNTEU,” “ZNTE” and “ZNTEW,” respectively.
Holders
As of December 31, 2020, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock and one holder of record of our warrants.
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 an initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial conditions subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
On August 7, 2020, we issued to the Sponsor an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000. On October 15, 2020, our Sponsor transferred 250,000 founder shares to Ronald D. Sugar, our senior advisor, and 150,000 founder shares to each of John B. Veihmeyer, Larry R. Flynn and Gerard J. DeMuro, our directors, resulting in our Sponsor holding 5,050,000 founder shares. The foregoing issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”).
On November 19, 2020, we consummated our initial public offering of 23,000,000 units, including the issuance of 3,000,000 units as a result of the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option in full. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $230,000,000. BTIG, LLC acted as the sole book running manager and (I-Bankers Securities, Inc. acted as co-manager of the offering. The securities sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-249618). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on November 16, 2020.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering, we consummated a private placement of 9,650,000 private placement warrants to the Sponsor at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating total proceeds of $9,650,000. Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. The private placement warrants are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the private placement warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis and are non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.
Of the gross proceeds received from the initial public offering and private placement warrants, $232,300,000 was placed in a trust account, comprised of $225,400,000 of the proceeds from the IPO (which amount includes $8,050,000 of the underwriters’ deferred discount) and $6,900,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants.
| Item 6. | Selected Financial Data. |
As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item.
| Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.
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In this Annual Report Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2020, we are restating our audited financial statements as of, and for the period ended December 31, 2020.
The restatement results from our prior accounting for our outstanding warrants to purchase common stock issued in connection with our initial public offering on November 16, 2020 which had been classified as a component of equity on the premise that the instruments were indexed to our own stock and were eligible to be accounted for as equity instruments instead of classifying them as derivative liabilities.
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC Staff”) issued a public statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) (the “SEC Staff Statement”). In the SEC Staff Statement, the SEC Staff expressed its view that certain terms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may require the warrants to be classified as liabilities on the SPAC’s balance sheet as opposed to being treated as equity. Since their issuance on November 16, 2020 at the time of the Company’s initial public offering, our warrants were accounted for as equity within our balance sheet, and after discussion and evaluation we have concluded that our warrants should be presented as liabilities with subsequent fair value remeasurement.
Therefore, the Company’s management and the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”) concluded that, in light of the SEC Statement, (i) certain items on the Company’s previously issued audited balance sheet dated as of November 19, 2020 which was related to its initial public offering and (ii) the Company’s previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (the “Affected Periods”) included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the “Annual Report”) should no longer be relied upon and that it is appropriate to restate the Annual Report.
Historically, our outstanding warrants to purchase common stock (the “Warrants”) were reflected as a component of equity as opposed to liabilities on the balance sheet and the statement of operations did not include the subsequent non-cash changes in estimated fair value of the Warrants, based on our application of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (“ASC 815-40). The views expressed in the SEC Staff Statement were not consistent with the Company’s historical interpretation of the specific provisions within its warrant agreement and the Company’s application of ASC 815-40 to the warrant agreement. We reassessed our accounting for Warrants issued on November 16, 2020, in light of the SEC Staff’s published views. Based on this reassessment, we determined that the Warrants should be classified as liabilities measured at fair value upon issuance, with subsequent changes in fair value reported in our Statement of Operations each reporting period.
In the process of evaluating its financial statements the Company also reassessed its obligation to issue additional Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor upon each 6-month extension of time to consummate an initial business combination, and determined that the obligation represents a forward contract that meets the definition of derivative liability in accordance with ASC 815-40. Based on this reassessment, we determined that the forward contract should be classified as a liability measured at fair value upon issuance, with subsequent changes in fair value reported in our Statement of Operations each reporting period.
The Company also restated its financial statements to classify all Class A common stock in temporary equity. In accordance with the SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity – SEC Materials (“ASC 480-10-S99”), redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. The Company had previously classified 1,100,888 shares in permanent equity. Although the Company did not specify a maximum redemption threshold, its charter provides that currently, the Company will not redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. The Company restated its financial statements to classify all Class A common stock as temporary equity and any related impact, as the threshold in its charter would not change the nature of the underlying shares as redeemable and thus would be required to be disclosed outside of permanent equity.
The change in accounting for the Warrants, the forward contract, and Class A common stock did not have any impact on our liquidity, cash flows, revenues or costs of operating our business, in the Affected Period or in any of the periods included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data in this filing. The change in accounting for the Warrants, the forward contract, and the Class A common stock does not impact the amounts previously reported for the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, investments held in trust account, operating expenses or total cash flows from operations for the Affected Period.
In connection with the restatement, our management reassessed the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures for the periods affected by the restatement. As a result of that reassessment, we determined that its disclosure controls and procedures for such periods were not effective with respect to the classification of the Company’s Warrants as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities, the classification of the forward contract as a derivative liability, and the classification of a portion Class A common stock as permanent equity instead of all Class A common stock as temporary equity. For more information, see Item 9A included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.
We have not amended our previously filed Current Report on Form 8-K or Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the period affected by the restatement. The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported for these periods is superseded by the information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed reports should no longer be relied upon.
The restatement is more fully described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein.
Overview
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on August 7, 2020 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar Business Combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations (other than searching for a Business Combination after our initial public offering) nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from inception through December 31, 2020 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the initial public offering, described below, and initial activities in connection with searching for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We expect to generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held after the initial public offering. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $16,662,667, which consisted of interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $2,673, an $15,457,500 loss from changes in fair value of derivative liabilities, transactions costs related to the initial public offering of $854,301 and operating expenses of $353,559.
As a result of the restatement described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein, we classify the warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering and Private Placement as liabilities at their fair value. We also classify the forward contract to issue additional warrants for an extension of our business combination deadline as a liability at its fair value. These warrant and forward contract liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On November 19, 2020, we consummated the initial public offering of 23,000,000 Units, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,000,000 Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we consummated the sale of 9,650,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to our stockholders, generating gross proceeds of $9,650,000.
Following the initial public offering, the full exercise of the over-allotment option, and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $232,300,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $13,143,093 in transaction costs, including $4,600,000 of underwriting fees, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $493,093 of other offering costs.
At December 31, 2020, we had marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $232,302,673. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account to complete our Business Combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
At December 31, 2020, we had cash of $1,971,811 held outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination. For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, net cash used in operating activities was $310,096.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to us. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts, but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the
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completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Going Concern
We have until May 19, 2021 to consummate a Business Combination unless a resolution is passed by our board of directors at the request of the Sponsor to extend the period of time the Company will have to consummate a Business Combination, which may occur up to two times, each for an additional 6 months (until May 19, 2022), subject to the Sponsor purchasing additional Private Placement Warrants. It is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated within the completion window, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after the completion window.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, secretarial and administrative services. We began incurring these fees on November 19, 2020 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the Business Combination and our liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures 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, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption, if any, are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events.
As discussed in Note 4, all of the 23,000,000 Class A Common Stock sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s second amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Accordingly, all of the Company’s Class A common stock are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.
Net Income (Loss) per Common Share
We apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Net income per common share, basic and diluted for Class A redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, net of applicable franchise and income taxes, by the weighted average number of Class A redeemable common stock outstanding for the period. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted for Class B non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net income, less income attributable to Class A redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of Class B non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the period presented.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. The Company’s derivative instruments are recorded at fair value and re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the Statement of Operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified on the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. The Company has determined the warrants and the forward contract for additional warrants are derivatives. As the financial instruments meet the definition of a derivative, the warrants and the forward contract for additional warrants are measured at fair value at issuance and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
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| Item 7A. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk |
As of December 31, 2020, we were not subject to any market or interest rate risk. Following the consummation of our initial public offering, the net proceeds of our initial public offering, including amounts in the Trust Account, have been invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in certain money market funds that invest solely in U.S. treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
| Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data |
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
| Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure |
None.
| Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures. |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the co-chief executive officers and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current co-chief executive officers and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. In connection with this Amendment, our management re-evaluated, with the participation of our current co-chief executive officers and chief financial officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020 pursuant to Rules 13a-15 (e) and 15d-15 (e) under the Exchange Act and determined that, due to the industry-wide issues and related insufficient risk assessment of the underlying accounting for certain financial instruments resulting in the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described below in “Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting” our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2020. In light of this material weakness, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K/A does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies; however, in light of management’s conclusion, following a review of the warrant agreements in connection with the SEC Staff Statement, to reclassify the Company’s warrants, forward contract to issue additional warrants, and the Class A common stock, our internal control over financial reporting did not result in sufficient risk assessment of the underlying accounting for certain financial instruments which we determined to be a material weakness.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
During the most recently completed fiscal quarter, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, as the circumstances that led to the restatement of our financial statements described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A had not yet been identified. Management has implemented remediation steps to address the material weakness and to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards.
| Item 9B. | Other Information |
None.
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| Item 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance. |
Directors and Executive Officers
Our officers and directors are as follows:
NAME | AGE | POSITION | ||
Steven H. Rosen | 50 | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
Kenneth C. Ricci | 64 | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
Michael A. Rossi | 66 | Chief Financial Officer and Director | ||
John B. Veihmeyer | 65 | Director | ||
Larry R. Flynn | 69 | Director | ||
Gerard J. DeMuro | 65 | Director |
Steven H. Rosen, 50, has been our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board since August 2020. Mr. Rosen has been Co-Chief Executive Officer of Resilience Capital Partners, a private equity firm, since 2001. At Resilience Capital Partners, Mr. Rosen is involved with all aspects of the firm’s operations, including developing and maintaining relationships with investors and investment intermediaries, and the firm’s strategic planning efforts. Mr. Rosen has been a director of Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. since 2011, Crawford United Corporation since 2012 and AmFin Financial Corporation since 2018 and serves on the audit committees of these companies. With his experience in assisting underperforming businesses and his expertise in the dynamics of capital markets, credit markets and mergers and acquisitions, Mr. Rosen provides our board of directors insight in diversified areas, such as finance, strategic planning, operations and capital investment. Mr. Rosen graduated from the University of Maryland and received an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve. Mr. Rosen is a member of many professional organizations, including the Ohio Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association and the Cleveland chapter of the Young Presidents Organization and as an inventor, Mr. Rosen has been granted six patents by The United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Kenneth C. Ricci, 64, has been our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board since August 2020. Mr. Ricci is a 40-year aviation industry veteran who today is a Principal of Directional Aviation Capital which owns various aviation enterprises, including Flexjet, Sentient Jet, PrivateFly, Tuvoli, Nextant Aerospace, Stonebriar Commercial Finance, Reva Air Ambulance, Corporate Wings, Simcom and Constant Aviation. Mr. Ricci was honored as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and has been named one the most influential people in aviation by Aviation
International News. In 2005, Mr. Ricci led the restructuring of Mercury Air Centers, a $200 million company operating aircraft support facilities at 24 different airports and sold the company to Macquarie Infrastructure Trust (MIC) in 2007 in a deal valued at $615 million. In 2010, Mr. Ricci received the Harvard Business School’s Dively Entrepreneurship Award. In 2011, Mr. Ricci was the youngest recipient of the prestigious William A. “Bill” Ong
Memorial Award for extraordinary achievement and extended meritorious service to the general aviation industry. Mr. Ricci is the founder of Nextant Aerospace, the innovator of aircraft remanufacturing. In 2015, Mr. Ricci received the Aviation Week Laureate Award, a benchmark of industry excellence, recognizing his work and development at Nextant Aerospace. In 2016, Mr. Ricci received the “Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award” from the Living Legends of Aviation. In 2019, Mr. Ricci was inducted as a Living Legend of Aviation. The “Living Legends of Aviation” are admirable people of remarkable accomplishment in aviation, including entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, record breakers, astronauts and pilots. Mr. Ricci began his aviation career as an Air Force ROTC cadet at the University of Notre Dame, he is an airline transport pilot with extensive international experience and was then-Governor William Clinton’s pilot when he ran for President in 1992. Mr. Ricci graduated from the University of Notre Dame and from the Cleveland Marshall School of Law, where he was named as their distinguished alumni of the year in 2016 and named to their Alumni Hall
of fame in 2018. Mr. Ricci is a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of Notre Dame and is also a member of the board of the Smithsonian. He serves on several corporate boards and was an aviation advisor to the Guggenheim Aircraft Opportunity Fund.
Michael A. Rossi, 66, has been our Chief Financial Officer and a member of our Board since November 2020. Mr. Rossi has been a principal in Directional Aviation Capital since 2007. Mr. Rossi joined Corporate Wings in 1984 and has been a leader in the development of innovative business strategies in the aviation industry. Mr. Rossi’s extensive experience touches on all areas of general aviation, including jet fractional ownership, jet card programs, fixed-based operations, maintenance facilities, management of aircraft and the buying and selling of corporate aircraft. Mr. Rossi has also been involved in the financing, purchases, mergers and divesting of all facets of general aviation. In 2005, Mr. Rossi served as the Chief Financial Officer of the restructured Mercury Air Centers, where he was instrumental in increasing EBITA by over 200% as a result of acquisitions and operating efficiencies. Mercury Air Centers’ 24 fixed-base operators were ultimately sold to Macquarie Infrastructure Trust in 2007 in a deal valued at
$615 million. Currently, Mr. Rossi works with all Directional Aviation’s companies, providing guidance with capital, financing and operational needs and strategies. A graduate of John Carroll University, Mr. Rossi is a Certified Public Accountant.
John Veihmeyer, 65, has been a member of our Board since November 2020. Mr. Veihmeyer retired as the global chairman of KPMG International in 2017. He previously held numerous leadership roles at KPMG, including chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP in the United States from 2010-2015, deputy U.S. chairman, global head of Risk Management and Regulatory, and managing partner of KPMG’s Washington, D.C. operations. During his career, Mr. Veihmeyer has advised many of the world’s leading companies on financial reporting, audit quality, risk management, and governance, and is recognized for his leadership on issues of diversity and inclusion, ethical leadership, creating high-performance cultures, and building and directing senior leadership teams. Mr. Veihmeyer currently serves on the board of directors of Ford Motor Co., and the boards of trustees of the University of Notre Dame, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, and Catholic Charities of Washington, D.C. He previously served on the boards of the Financial
Accounting Foundation (FAF) from 2015-2019, Catalyst, the mission of which is to expand opportunities for women in business, and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP). Mr. Veihmeyer also previously served as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Notre Dame.
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Larry R. Flynn, 69, has been a member of our Board since November 2020. Mr. Flynn is the former President of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a leading manufacturer of business jet aircraft. During his twenty year tenure with Gulfstream, spanning from 1995 to 2015, Mr. Flynn made significant contributions while working in a variety of other capacities, including President of Product Support and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Prior to joining Gulfstream, Mr. Flynn gained over ten years of experience in managing aircraft service facilities through leadership roles at Stevens Aviation, Signature Flight Support, and AMR Combs. Mr. Flynn currently serves as an advisory board member of Business Aviation Advisor magazine and Duncan Aviation. He is also a Director on the Board of JLL HUT LLC. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the
University of Kansas and a Master’s degree in Manpower Management from the University of Kansas. In 2017 Mr. Flynn was the recipient of the William A. “Bill” Ong Memorial Award from the National Air Transportation Association for his extraordinary achievement and extended meritorious service to the general aviation industry. In 2019 Mr. Flynn received the Living Legends of Aviation award honoring him for his achievements in the aerospace industry. Throughout his career Mr. Flynn gained significant expertise in all facets of business aviation including aircraft management, aircraft charter, product support, spare parts sales and distribution, MRO, worldwide sales and marketing, FBO management, acquisitions and mergers and FBO/MRO/OEM facility design.
Gerard J. DeMuro, 65, has been a member of our Board since November 2020. Mr. DeMuro has been executive vice president of strategic initiatives of BAE Systems, Inc. since 2020 and a member of the board of directors of BAE Systems, plc from 2014 through 2020 and BAE Systems, Inc. since 2014. Mr. DeMuro previously served as president and chief executive officer of BAE Systems, Inc. and executive vice president and corporate vice president at General Dynamics. Mr. DeMuro is a senior leader with strategic and operational expertise in transforming businesses into global, Tier-1 enterprises by effectively developing new products/services, expanding into adjacent markets, scaling operational processes, deploying capital and cultivating customer relationships to drive both organic and accretive growth. He has extensive governance experience serving on boards of directors for public, private and non-profit enterprises. His operational strengths have been consistently executed by assembling high-functioning, aligned global teams with a culture of transparency and accountability that have earned market leader position in earnings and return on invested capital. At BAE Systems Inc. and General Dynamics, he secured board approval and successfully managed the acquisition and integration of 25 companies as well as 10 divestitures with a cumulative value of $6 billion. Of significant value is the perspective he has gained serving commercial and military customers in the United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, NATO, Middle and Far East, India and Africa, and the deep understanding of federal government structure and key relationships. As President and Chief Executive Officer of BAE Systems Inc., Mr. DeMuro was responsible for the leadership and governance of one of the largest U.S. aerospace and defense contractors with 2019 revenues in excess of $11 billion and strong presence in the United States, United Kingdom and numerous markets around the world. He serves as an Officer Director of the independent BAE Systems Inc. board of directors, which provides oversight of the U.S. operations and assures the independence of operations required for participation in U.S. defense programs. He also served a member of the board of directors and executive committee of BAE Systems plc, responsible for determining and delivering the business strategy and governance for the overall group. As Executive Vice President and Corporate Vice President at General Dynamics, Mr. DeMuro directed strategic development and operational performance of the Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) Group, leading 44,000 employees and 6,000 active contracts and providing a diverse portfolio of complex systems, products and services to defense and commercial customers worldwide. In this role, he achieved high levels of financial success by focusing on an overall strategic vision then aligning the portfolio, specific business unit strategies and execution to accelerate growth by expanding commercial and international business and enhancing operational, business development and strategic standards. He joined General Dynamics as President, Communications / Systems and C4 Systems after the company acquired his prior company, GTE Government Systems. In his previous career roles, Mr. DeMuro worked for thirteen years at GTE Government Systems, where in his last position as Vice President and General Manager, he directed all division operations of their communication systems, including strategic planning, business development, profit and loss, research and development, as well as staffing, retention and employee development. Prior to that, he served as an acquisition official for the Department of Defense. Mr. DeMuro has been actively involved with outside organizations, including the Aerospace Industries Association where he serves on the executive committee and board of directors and AFCEA International as a member of the executive, governance and succession committees and as chair of the audit committee. He has also worked with the Association of the United States Army, is a former member of the MILCOM Conference Board and served on the Board of the National Science Center as well as the local Boys and Girls Club. Mr. DeMuro received his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of six members and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Rossi and Mr. Veihmeyer, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Ricci and Mr. Flynn, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Mr. Rosen and Mr. DeMuro, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
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Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has established two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent director.
Audit Committee
Our board of directors has established an audit committee of the board of directors. Mr. Veihmeyer, Mr. Flynn and Mr. DeMuro serve as members of our audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Mr. Veihmeyer, Mr. Flynn and Mr. DeMuro are independent. Mr. Veihmeyer serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Veihmeyer qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| • | meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
| • | monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
| • | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
| • | appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent registered public accounting firm regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work |
| • | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
| • | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of the initial public offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of the initial public offering; and |
| • | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing stockholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
Compensation Committee
Our board of directors has established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Mr. DeMuro and Mr. Flynn. Mr. DeMuro serves as chairman of the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have a compensation committee comprised entirely of independent directors. Mr. DeMuro and Mr. Flynn are independent. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our co-chief executive officers’ compensation, evaluating our co-chief executive officers’ performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our co-chief executive officers based on such evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers; |
| • | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
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| • | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser.
However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by our board of directors. Our board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors participating in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Mr. Flynn and Mr. DeMuro. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to all of our directors, executive officers and employees that complies with the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq. The Code of Ethics codifies the business and ethical principles that govern all aspects of our business.
We have previously filed copies of our form of Code of Ethics, our form of Audit Committee Charter and our form of Compensation Committee Charter as exhibits to our registration statement in connection with our initial public offering. You may review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request to us in writing at 25101 Chagrin Boulevard, Suite 350, Cleveland, Ohio 44122 or by telephone at (216) 292-0200.
Conflicts of Interest
Members of our management team do not have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the completion window. Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
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| • | Our initial stockholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares they hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our initial stockholders with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after the initial public offering. Additionally, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our executive officers and directors will own common stock or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| • | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
| • | The Sponsor, our officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
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 our company 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. Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
| Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
| Steven H. Rosen | Resilience Capital Partners | Private investment firm | Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer | |||
| Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. | Global supply chain management, capital equipment and manufactured components | Director |
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| Crawford United Corporation | Specialty industrial products to diverse end markets including healthcare, aerospace, education, transportation and petrochemical. Air handling equipment and industrial and marine hoses | Director | ||||
| AmFin Financial Corporation | Provision of financial services | Director | ||||
| Epic Aero, Inc. | Ownership and operation of companies engaged in fractional aircraft share sales, charter sales, fuel brokerage and the sale of general aviation aircraft for related and third parties | Director | ||||
| Thermal Processing Solutions, Inc. | Manufacture of test and measurement equipment primarily for fine chemicals, engineered materials manufacturing and processing services, including high temperature calcining, drying, blending and packaging | Director | ||||
| Hynes Industries Corporation | Production of precision-engineered custom roll form shapes and other metal fabrications for the transportation and solar industries | Director | ||||
| Fairgrave Omlie, LLC | Provision of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services | Director | ||||
| All-American Hose, LLC | Manufacture of fire hose products | Director | ||||
| Luminance Inc. | Provisions of global lighting, building management systems and controls | Director | ||||
| LKD Aerospace, Inc. | Aerospace and defense distribution services for select leading aerospace, defense and energy original equipment manufacturers | Director | ||||
| Lux Global Label Corporation | Production of high-quality labeling and packaging solutions for health, beauty, pet, food and beverage and Pharmaceutical industries. | Director | ||||
| Innovatus Imaging Corp. | Production, sale, distribution and repair of the radiological devices for imaging equipment and devices | Director | ||||
| Kenneth C. Ricci | Directional Aviation Capital | Investment | Principal | |||
| Epic Aero, Inc. | Ownership and operation of companies engaged in fractional aircraft share sales, charter sales, fuel brokerage and the sale of general aviation aircraft for related and third parties | Chairman, director and indirect investor | ||||
| Tuvoli, LLC | Business aviation information technology services | Chairman, director and indirect investor | ||||
| Sirio S.p.A. | Aircraft management and maintenance in Italy | Chairman, director and indirect controlling shareholder | ||||
| Fairgrave Omlie, LLC | Provision of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services | Director and indirect investor | ||||
| SIMCOM Holdings Inc. | Provision of simulator-based pilot training | Director and indirect shareholder | ||||
| Stonebriar Finance Holdings LLC | Equipment leasing | Director and indirect investor | ||||
| REVA Holdings, LLC | Provision of air ambulance services | Director and indirect investor |
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| Michael A. Rossi | Directional Aviation Capital | Investment | Principal | |||
| Epic Aero, Inc. | Ownership and operation of companies engaged in fractional aircraft share sales, charter sales, fuel brokerage and the sale of general aviation aircraft for related and third parties | Director and indirect investor | ||||
| Tuvoli, LLC | Business aviation information technology services | Director and indirect investor | ||||
| Sirio S.p.A. | Aircraft management and maintenance in Italy | Director and indirect shareholder | ||||
| Fairgrave Omlie, LLC | Provision of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services | Director and indirect investor | ||||
| SIMCOM Holdings Inc. | Provision of simulator-based pilot training | Director and indirect shareholder | ||||
| REVA Holdings, LLC | Provision of air ambulance services | Director and indirect investor | ||||
| John B. Veihmeyer | Ford Motor Company | Provision of passenger and commercial vehicles | Director | |||
| Larry R. Flynn | JLL HUT LLC | Provision of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services | Director | |||
| Duncan Aviation | Provision of cabin components for business aircraft | Member of Board of Advisors | ||||
| Gerard J. DeMuro | BAE Systems, Inc. | Development, production and support of aerospace, defense and security equipment and solutions for governments and commercial customers | Director and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives | |||
Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with the Sponsor, our officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, pursuant to the letter agreement, the Sponsor, our officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares or private placement shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.
We have entered into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We have purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
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We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
| Item 11. | Executive Compensation. |
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team $10,000 per month. We intend to reimburse each of our independent director nominees and our senior advisor for up to 10 hours of personal private air travel for an aggregate amount of up to $300,000 for service on our board of directors and as our senior advisor. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from (i) funds held outside the trust account or (ii) interest earned on the trust account and released to us to pay our taxes. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers, directors or senior advisor, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, but we do not believe that such arrangements will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
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| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters. |
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 31, 2021 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 executive officers and directors; and |
| • | all our executive 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. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Form 10-K.
The beneficial ownership of our common stock is based on 28,750,000 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2021, consisting of 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner | Number of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class A Common Stock | Number of Class B Common Stock Beneficially Owned(2) | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class B Common Stock | ||||||||||||
Officers and Founders(1) |
| |||||||||||||||
Zanite Sponsor LLC (our Sponsor)(3) | — | — | 5,050,000 | 87.8 | % | |||||||||||
Steven H. Rosen(3) | — | — | 5,050,000 | 87.8 | % | |||||||||||
Kenneth C. Ricci(3) | — | — | 5,050,000 | 87.8 | % | |||||||||||
Michael A. Rossi(3) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
John B. Veihmeyer(3) | — | — | 150,000 | 2.6 | % | |||||||||||
Larry R. Flynn | — | — | 150,000 | 2.6 | % | |||||||||||
Gerard J. DeMuro(3) | — | — | 150,000 | 2.6 | % | |||||||||||
All officers and directors as a group (six individuals) | — | — | 5,500,000 | 95.7 | % | |||||||||||
Five Percent Holders |
| |||||||||||||||
Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.(4) | 1,700,000 | 7.4 | % | — | — | |||||||||||
Glazer Capital, LLC (5) | 1,413,407 | 6.2 | % | — | — | |||||||||||
Security Benefit Life Insurance Company(6) | 2,500,000 | 10.9 | % | — | — | |||||||||||
| (1) | The business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Zanite Acquisition Corp., 25101 Chagrin Boulevard, Suite 350, Cleveland, Ohio 44122. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B common stock. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
| (3) | Zanite Sponsor LLC is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Mr. Rosen and Mr. Ricci are the managers of Zanite Sponsor LLC and share voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held of record by Zanite Sponsor LLC. Each of our directors other than Mr. Flynn are among the members of our Sponsor and may be entitled to distributions of private placement warrants from our Sponsor following the consummation of our initial business combination. Each of Mr. Rosen and Mr. Ricci disclaims any beneficial ownership of the securities held by Zanite Sponsor LLC, other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
| (4) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. has sole voting and dispositive power over 1,700,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. The business address of this reporting person is 401 Bay Street, Suite 1900, PO Box 19, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y4, Canada. |
| (5) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2021 on behalf of Glazer Capital, LLC (“Glazer”) and Mr. Paul J. Glazer (“Mr. Glazer”), each of Glazer and Mr. Glazer holds shared voting and dispositive power with respect to 1,413,407 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. Glazer serves as investment manager to funds and managed accounts, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock (collectively, the “Glazer Funds”). Mr. Glazer serves as the Managing Member of Glazer Capital, with respect to the shares of Common Stock held by the Glazer Funds. The business address of Glazer and Mr. Glazer is 250 West 55th Street, Suite 30A, New York, New York 10019. |
| (6) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 24, 2021 on behalf of Security Benefit Life Insurance Company (“Security Benefit Life”), Eldridge Industries, LLC (“Eldridge”) and Todd L. Boehly (“Mr. Boehly”). Security Benefit Life is indirectly controlled by Eldridge. Mr. Boehly is the indirect controlling member of Eldridge, and in such capacity, may be deemed to have voting and dispositive power with respect to the Company’s Class A common stock. The address of the principal business office of Mr. Boehly and Eldridge is 600 Steamboat Road, Floor 2, Greenwich, CT 06830. The address of the principal business office of Security Benefit Life is One Security Benefit Place, Topeka, KS 66636. |
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| Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence. |
Founder Shares
On August 7, 2020, our Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in consideration for 5,750,000 Class B common stock, par value $0.0001. On October 15, 2020, our Sponsor transferred 250,000 founder shares to Ronald D. Sugar, our senior advisor, and 150,000 founder shares to each of John B. Veihmeyer, Larry R. Flynn and Gerard J. DeMuro, our directors, resulting in our Sponsor holding 5,050,000 founder shares. The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock upon the consummation of a business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustments.
The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor would own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the initial public offering (assuming the Sponsor did not purchase any public shares in the initial public offering and excluding the private placement shares). On November 19, 2020, the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised in full, and, as a result, 750,000 founder shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a business combination or (B) subsequent to a business combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a business combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Related Party Loans
On August 7, 2020, we issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which we could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the completion of the initial public offering. The Promissory Note was repaid upon the consummation of the initial public offering on November 19, 2020.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If we complete a business combination, we would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per unit. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
Administrative Services Agreement
We entered into an agreement with an affiliate of the Sponsor whereby, commencing on November 19, 2020 through the earlier of the consummation of a business combination and our liquidation, we agreed to pay the affiliate $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support.
We recognized an aggregate of $10,000 in expenses incurred in connection with the aforementioned arrangements with the related parties on our Statements of Operations for the period from August 7, 2020 (date of inception) through December 31, 2020.
| Item 14. | Principal Accountant Fees and Services. |
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $74,160, for the services Withum performed in connection with our initial public offering, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and the audit of our December 31, 2020 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees. For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
Tax Fees. For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
All Other Fees. For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
46
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
47
| Item 15. | Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules. |
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K/A:
| (1) | Financial Statements: |
| Page | ||||
| F-2 | ||||
| F-3 | ||||
| F-4 | ||||
| F-5 | ||||
| F-6 | ||||
| F-7 to F-18 | ||||
| (2) | Financial Statement Schedules: |
None.
| (3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Exhibit Index
48
49
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Date: | June 14, 2021 | ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP. | ||||
| By: | /s/ Steven H. Rosen | |||||
| Name: Steven H. Rosen | ||||||
| Title: Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||||||
| /s/ Steven H. Rosen | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director (principal executive officer) | June 14, 2021 | ||
| Steven H. Rosen | ||||
| * | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director | June 14, 2021 | ||
| Kenneth C. Ricci | (principal financial and accounting officer) | |||
* Michael A. Rossi | Chief Financial Officer and Director | June 14, 2021 | ||
| * | Director | June 14, 2021 | ||
| John B. Veihmeyer | ||||
| * | Director | June 14, 2021 | ||
| Larry R. Flynn | ||||
| * Gerard J. DeMuro | Director | June 14, 2021 | ||
* By: | /s/ Steven H. Rosen | |
Attorney-in-Fact | ||
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| F-2 | ||||
Financial Statements: | ||||
| F-3 | ||||
| F-4 | ||||
| F-5 | ||||
| F-6 | ||||
| F-7 to F-19 | ||||
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Zanite
Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Zanite Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Restatement of Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a public statement entitled Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) (the “Public Statement”) on April 12, 2021, which discusses the accounting for certain warrants as liabilities. The Company previously accounted for its warrants as equity instruments. Management evaluated its warrants against the Public Statement, and determined that the warrants should be accounted for as liabilities. Accordingly, the 2020 financial statements have been restated to correct the accounting and related disclosure for the warrants. In addition, as discussed in Note 2, the Company has reclassified its Class A common stock to temporary equity.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to complete a business combination by May 19, 2021 then the Company may cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating unless a resolution of its Board of Directors is passed at the request of the Sponsor, to extend the period of time the Company will have to consummate a Business Combination up to two times, each by an additional 6 months (until May 19, 2022), subject to the Sponsor purchasing additional Private Placement Warrants. The uncertainty surrounding the date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. /s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
June 14, 2021
F-2
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEET DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
ASSETS | ||||
Current assets | ||||
Cash | $ | 1,971,811 | ||
Prepaid expenses | 308,608 | |||
|
| |||
Total Current Assets | 2,280,419 | |||
Investments held in trust account | 232,302,673 | |||
|
| |||
Total Assets | $ | 234,583,092 | ||
|
| |||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||
Current liabilities | ||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 352,051 | ||
|
| |||
Total Current Liabilities | 352,051 | |||
Public warrant derivative liability | 19,435,000 | |||
Private warrant derivative liability | 17,080,500 | |||
Forward contract derivative liability | 3,542,000 | |||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | 8,050,000 | |||
|
| |||
Total Liabilities | 48,459,551 | |||
|
| |||
Commitments and contingencies | ||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, 23,000,000 shares at $10.10 per share redemption value | 232,300,000 | |||
Stockholders’ Equity | ||||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding | — | |||
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized | — | |||
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding at | 575 | |||
Additional paid-in capital | — | |||
Accumulated deficit | (46,177,034 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Total Stockholders’ Equity | (46,176,459 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | $ | 234,583,092 | ||
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 7, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
General and administrative expenses | $ | 353,539 | ||
Loss from operations | (353,539 | ) | ||
Other income (loss): | ||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities | (15,457,500 | ) | ||
Transaction costs allocated to warrant issuance | (854,301 | ) | ||
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | 2,673 | |||
|
| |||
Other loss, net: | (16,309,128 | ) | ||
Net loss | $ | (16,662,667 | ) | |
|
| |||
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A redeemable common stock | 23,000,000 | |||
|
| |||
Basic and diluted income per share, Class A redeemable common stock | $ | 0.00 | ||
|
| |||
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B non-redeemable common stock | 5,214,286 | |||
|
| |||
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B non-redeemable common stock | $ | (3.20 | ) | |
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 7, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
| Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Stockholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance – August 7, 2020 (Inception) | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | — | — | 5,750,000 | 575 | 24,425 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Immediate remeasurement of the Class A common stock to the redemption amount | — | — | — | — | (24,425 | ) | (29,514,367 | ) | (29,538,792 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | (16,662,667 | ) | (16,662,667 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
Balance – December 31, 2020 | — | $ | — | 5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | — | $ | (46,177,034 | ) | $ | (46,176,459 | ) | ||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 7, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||
Net loss | $ | (16,662,667 | ) | |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities | 15,457,500 | |||
Transaction costs allocated to warrant issuance | 854,301 | |||
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | (2,673 | ) | ||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
Prepaid expenses | (308,608 | ) | ||
Accrued expenses | 352,051 | |||
|
| |||
Net cash used in operating activities | (310,096 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||
Investment of cash into Trust Account | (232,300,000 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Net cash used in investing activities | (232,300,000 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | 225,400,000 | |||
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | 9,650,000 | |||
Repayment of promissory note – related party | (90,093 | ) | ||
Payment of offering costs | (378,000 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Net cash provided by financing activities | 234,581,907 | |||
|
| |||
Net Change in Cash | 1,971,811 | |||
Cash – Beginning of period | — | |||
|
| |||
Cash – End of period | $ | 1,971,811 | ||
|
| |||
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities: | ||||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | 8,050,000 | ||
|
| |||
Offering costs paid directly by Sponsor in exchange for the issuance of Class B common stock | $ | 25,000 | ||
|
| |||
Offering costs paid through promissory note – related party | $ | 90,093 | ||
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Zanite Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on August 7, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on November 16, 2020. On November 19, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), which included the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 3,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000, which is described in Note 4.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 9,650,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to Zanite Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $9,650,000, which is described in Note 5.
Transaction costs amounted to $13,143,093, consisting of $4,600,000 of underwriting fees, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $493,093 of other offering costs.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on November 19, 2020, an amount of $232,300,000 ($10.10 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”), located in the United States and invested only in a money market fund selected by the Company meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the Trust Account, as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account). The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
The Company will provide the holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.10 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest then in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
F-7
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company will only proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 following any related redemptions and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 6) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Certificate of Incorporation will provide that a Public Stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to the Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemptions in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
The Company will have until May 19, 2021 to consummate a Business Combination. However, if the Company anticipates that it may not be able to consummate a Business Combination by May 19, 2021, the Company may, by resolution of its board of directors if requested by the Sponsor, extend the period of time the Company will have to consummate a Business Combination up to two times, each by an additional 6 months (until May 19, 2022), subject to the sponsor purchasing additional Private Placement Warrants. The Company’s stockholders will not be entitled to vote on or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension. Pursuant to the terms of the Certificate of Incorporation, in order to extend the period of time to consummate a Business Combination in such a manner, the Sponsor, upon no less than five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must purchase an additional 2,300,000 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant and deposit the $2,300,000 in proceeds into the Trust Account on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, for each 6 month extension. In the event that the Company receives notice from the Sponsor five days prior to the applicable deadline of its wish for the Company to effect an extension, the Company intends to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, the Company intends to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether or not the funds have been timely deposited. The Sponsor has the option to accelerate its purchase of one or both halves of the up to 4,600,000 Private Placement Warrants at any time following the closing of the Initial Public Offering and prior to the consummation of the Business Combination with the same effect of extending the time the Company will have to consummate a Business Combination by 6 or 12 months, as applicable.
In addition to the Sponsor’s ability to extend the Company’s deadline to consummate a Business Combination in 6-month increments by purchasing additional Private Placement Warrants as described above, the Company may also hold a stockholder vote at any time to amend the Certificate of Incorporation to modify the amount of time the Company will have to consummate a Business Combination. The Sponsor and the Company’s executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed that they will not propose any such amendment unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (net of permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares. As used herein, “Combination Period” refers to (i) the 6-month period
F-8
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
from the closing of the Initial Public Offering in which the Company must complete a Business Combination, (ii) the 12- or 18-month period from the closing of the Initial Public Offering in which the Company must complete a Business Combination if the Sponsor has extended the period of time for the Company to consummate a Business Combination by purchasing additional Private Placement Warrants, and (iii) such other time period in which the Company must consummate a Business Combination pursuant to an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation.
If the Company has not completed a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to pay taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The Sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor acquires Public Shares after the Initial Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 7) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the amount initially deposited into the Trust Account ($10.10).
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.10 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.10 per public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to monies held in the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that if the Company is unable complete a Business Combination by May 19, 2021, then the Company may cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating unless a resolution of its board of directors is passed at the request of the Sponsor to extend the period of time the Company will have to consummate a Business Combination up to two times, each by an additional 6 months (until May 19, 2022) subject to the Sponsor purchasing additional Private Placement Warrants. The uncertainty surrounding the date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after May 19, 2021.
F-9
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2. RESTATEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company previously accounted for outstanding warrants issued in connection with our initial public offering in November 2020 as components of equity rather than as derivative liabilities. In light of the Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) issued by the staff of the SEC issued on April 12, 2021 (the “SEC Staff Statement”), the Company’s management further evaluated the warrants under Accounting Standards Codification 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (“ASC 815-40”), which addresses equity versus liability treatment and classification of equity-linked financial instruments, including warrants, and states that a warrant may be classified as a component of equity only if, among other things, the warrant is indexed to the issuer’s common stock.
Based on management’s evaluation, in consultation with the Audit Committee, the Company concluded that the Company’s warrants are not indexed to the Company’s common stock in the manner contemplated by ASC 815-40. As a result, the Company is reclassifying the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at their estimated fair values at the end of each reporting period and recognizing changes in the estimated fair value of the derivative instruments from the prior period in the Company’s operating results for the current period. Additionally, the Company determined that the forward contract for additional Private Placement Warrants that will be issued upon each 6-month extension of time to consummate an initial business combination also meets the definition of a derivative liability in accordance with ASC 815-40.
The Company also restated its financial statements to classify all Class A common stock in temporary equity. In accordance with the SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity – SEC Materials (“ASC 480-10-S99”), redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. The Company had previously classified 1,100,888 shares in permanent equity. Although the Company did not specify a maximum redemption threshold, its charter provides that currently, the Company will not redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. The Company restated its financial statements to classify all Class A common stock as temporary equity and any related impact, as the threshold in its charter would not change the nature of the underlying shares as redeemable and thus would be required to be disclosed outside of permanent equity.
The Company’s accounting for the warrants, forward contract, and Class A common stock will have no impact on the Company’s current or previously reported cash position, operating expenses or total operating, investing or financing cash flows.
The following tables summarize the effect of the restatement on each financial statement line items as of the dates, and for the period, indicated:
| December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| As Previously Reported | Adjustments | As Restated | ||||||||||
Balance Sheet | ||||||||||||
Public warrants derivative liability | $ | — | 19,435,000 | 19,435,000 | ||||||||
Private warrant derivative liability | — | 17,080,500 | 17,080,500 | |||||||||
Forward contract derivative liability | — | 3,542,000 | 3,542,000 | |||||||||
Total liabilities | 8,402,051 | 40,057,500 | 48,459,511 | |||||||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | 221,181,032 | 11,118,968 | 232,300,000 | |||||||||
Total temporary equity | 221,181,032 | 11,118,968 | 232,300,000 | |||||||||
Class A common stock | 110 | (110 | ) | — | ||||||||
Additional paid-in capital | 5,350,190 | (5,350,190 | ) | — | ||||||||
Accumulated deficit | (350,866 | ) | (45,826,168 | ) | (46,177,034 | ) | ||||||
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) | 5,000,009 | (51,176,468 | ) | (46,176,459 | ) | |||||||
Statement of Operations | ||||||||||||
Change in fair value of derivative liability | $ | — | $ | (15,457,500 | ) | $ | (15,457,500 | ) | ||||
Transaction costs allocated to warrant issuance | — | (854,301 | ) | (854,301 | ) | |||||||
Other less, net | 2,673 | (16,311,801 | ) | (16,309,128 | ) | |||||||
Net loss | (350,866 | ) | (16,311,801 | ) | (16,662,667 | ) | ||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B non-redeemable common stock | $ | (0.07 | ) | (3.13 | ) | (3.20 | ) | |||||
Statement of Cash Flows | ||||||||||||
Net loss | $ | (350,866 | ) | $ | (16,311,801 | ) | $ | (16,662,667 | ) | |||
Transaction costs allocated to warrant issuance | — | 854,301 | 854,301 | |||||||||
Changes in fair value of derivative liability | — | 15,457,500 | 15,457,500 | |||||||||
| November 19, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| As Previously Reported | Adjustments | As Restated | ||||||||||
Balance Sheet | ||||||||||||
Public warrants derivative liability | — | 14,950,000 | 14,950,000 | |||||||||
Private warrant derivative liability | — | 12,738,000 | 12,738,000 | |||||||||
Forward contract derivative liability | — | 1,104,000 | 1,104,000 | |||||||||
Total liabilities | 8,519,093 | 28,792,000 | 37,311,993 | |||||||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | 221,530,900 | 11,118,968 | 232,300,000 | |||||||||
Total temporary equity | 221,530,900 | 11,118,968 | 232,300,000 | |||||||||
Class A common stock | 107 | (107 | ) | — | ||||||||
Additional paid-in capital | 5,000,325 | (5,000,325 | ) | — | ||||||||
Accumulated deficit | (1,000 | ) | | (34,560,668 | ) | (34,561,668 | ) | |||||
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) | 5,000,007 | (39,561,100 | ) | (34,561,093 | ) | |||||||
F-10
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
As described in Note 2—Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements, the Company’s financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2020 are restated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A (Amendment No. 1) (this “Annual Report”) to correct the misapplication of accounting guidance related to the Company’s warrants, forward contract to issue additional warrants, and Class A common stock in the Company’s previously issued audited and unaudited condensed financial statements for such periods. The restated financial statements are indicated as “Restated” in the audited financial statements and accompanying notes, as applicable. See Note 2—Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements for further discussion.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant and forward contract derivative liabilities. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2020, the assets held in the Trust Account were substantially held in money market funds which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury Securities.
F-11
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Offering Costs
Offering costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting, and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs amounting to $13,143,093 were recognized with $854,301 allocated to the Public Warrants, included in the Statement of Operations as a component of other income/(expense) and $12,288,792 included in stockholders’ equity upon completion of the Initial Public Offering. Deferred underwriting commissions are classified as a long-term liability due to their encumbrance to the trust account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. The Company’s derivative instruments are recorded at fair value and re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the Statement of Operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified on the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. The Company has determined the warrants and the forward contract for additional warrants are derivatives. As the financial instruments meet the definition of a derivative the warrants and the forward contract for additional warrants are measured at fair value at issuance and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change.
Fair Value Measurements
The Company complies with FASB ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements, for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually. ASC 820 determines fair value to be the price that would be received to sell an asset or would be paid to transfer a liability (i.e., the exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.
The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
| Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. | |
| Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. | |
| Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. | |
See Note 11 for additional information on assets and liabilities measured at fair value.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption, if any, are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events.
As discussed in Note 4, all of the 23,000,000 Class A Common Stock sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s second amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Accordingly, all of the Company��s Class A common stock are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.
Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. The calculation of diluted loss per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering, (ii) the exercise of the over-allotment option and (iii) Private Placement Warrants since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive. The warrants are exercisable to purchase 21,150,000 shares of Class A common stock in the aggregate.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for common shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income (loss) per share. Net income per common share, basic and diluted, for Class A redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, net of applicable franchise and income taxes, by the weighted average number of Class A redeemable common stock outstanding since original issuance. Net loss per share, basic and diluted, for Class B non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net loss, adjusted for income attributable to Class A redeemable common stock, net of applicable franchise and income taxes, by the weighted average number of Class B non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the period. Class B non-redeemable common stock includes the Founder Shares as these shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the Trust Account.
F-12
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per common share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
| For the Period From August 7, 2020 (inception) Through December 31, 2020 | ||||
Redeemable Class A Common Stock | ||||
Numerator: Earnings allocable to Redeemable Class A Common Stock | ||||
Interest Income | $ | 2,673 | ||
Income and Franchise Tax | (2,673 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Net Earnings | $ | — | ||
Denominator: Weighted Average Redeemable Class A Common Stock | ||||
Redeemable Class A Common Stock, Basic and Diluted | 23,000,000 | |||
Earnings/Basic and Diluted Redeemable Class A Common Stock | $ | 0.00 | ||
Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock | ||||
Numerator: Net Loss minus Redeemable Net Earnings | ||||
Net Loss | $ | (16,662,667 | ) | |
Redeemable Net Earnings | — | |||
|
| |||
Non-Redeemable Net Loss | $ | (16,662,667 | ) | |
Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock | ||||
Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock, Basic and Diluted | 5,214,286 | |||
Loss/Basic and Diluted Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock | $ | (3.20 | ) | |
As of December 31, 2020, basic and diluted shares are the same as there are no non-redeemable securities that are dilutive to the stockholders.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
The Company may be subject to potential examination by federal, state and city taxing authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal, state and city tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 4. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 23,000,000 Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 3,000,000 Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consisted of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8).
All of the 23,000,000 Class A common stock sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the Class A common stock was issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., public warrants), the initial carrying value of Class A Common Stock classified as temporary equity is the allocated proceeds based on the guidance in ASC 470-20.
Our Class A Common Stock is subject to SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or to recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The accretion or remeasurement is treated as a deemed dividend (i.e., a reduction to retained earnings, or in absence of retained earnings, additional paid-in capital). The Company elected to remeasure the Class A common stock to the redemption amount immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering.
As of December 31, 2020, the Class A common stock reflected on the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
| As of December 31, 2020 | ||||
Gross proceeds | $ | 230,000,000 | ||
Less: | ||||
Proceeds allocated to public warrants | $ | -14,950,000 | ||
Class A common stock issuance costs | $ | -12,288,792 | ||
|
| |||
Plus: | ||||
Immediate remeasurement of the Class A common stock to the redemption amount | $ | 29,538,792 | ||
|
| |||
Contingently redeemable Class A common stock | $ | 232,300,000 | ||
|
| |||
The immediate remeasurement of the Class A common stock to the redemption amount includes $2,300,000 related to the difference between the issuance price of $10 per Unit and the redemption price of $10.10 for the 23,000,000 Class A shares issued.
F-13
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 5. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,650,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant or $9,650,000. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8). The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were added to the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Private Placement Warrants. As the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants exceeded the purchase price, the Company recorded an expense of $3,088,000 related to the sale of the Private Placement Warrants. This amount is reflected in the Company’s statement of operations as part of the change in fair value of derivative liabilities expense.
Additionally, the Company is obligated to issue an additional 2,300,000 Private Place Warrants to the Sponsor at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or $2,300,000, for each 6-month extension of the Company’s period to consummate an initial business combination. The terms of the additional Private Placement Warrants, if issued, will be consistent with the initial 9,650,000 Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsors at the Initial Public Offering. The Company recorded an expense of $1,104,000 for the initial recognition of the forward contract derivative liability. This amount is reflected in the Company’s statement of operations as part of the change in fair value of derivative liabilities expense.
NOTE 6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
The Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration for 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”).
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company entered into an administrative services agreement, commencing on November 19, 2020, through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination or its liquidation, to pay to the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of the Company’s management team. For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred $10,000 in fees for these services, of which such amount is included in accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheet.
Promissory Notes — Related Party
On August 7, 2020, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2020 or (ii) the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Promissory Note of $90,093 was subsequently repaid on November 23, 2020.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid
F-14
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2020, no amounts were outstanding under the Working Capital Loans.
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration and Stockholder Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on November 16, 2020, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
NOTE 8. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock—The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At December 31, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock—The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020, there were 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding.
Class B Common Stock—The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020, there were 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding.
Holders of Class A common stock and holders of Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders except as otherwise required by law.
F-15
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of Class A common stock outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of shares of Class A common stock by Public Stockholders), including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of a Business Combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
NOTE 9. WARRANTS LIABILITIES
As of December 31, 20201, the Company issued 11,500,000 warrants to purchase Class A shares to investors in the Company’s Initial Public Offering and simultaneously issued 9,650,000 Private Placement Warrants.
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination and (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its best efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60th) business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if the shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, it will use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem for cash the outstanding Public Warrants:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant; |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| • | if, and only if, the closing price of the common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
F-16
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors, and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or its affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the completion of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company completes a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable, except as described above, so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 10. INCOME TAX
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
| December 31, 2020 | ||||
Deferred tax assets | ||||
Net operating loss carryforward | $ | 16,318 | ||
Organizational costs/Startup expenses | 57,364 | |||
|
| |||
Total deferred tax assets | $ | 73,682 | ||
Valuation allowance | (73,682 | ) | ||
|
| |||
Deferred tax assets, net of allowance | $ | — | ||
|
| |||
F-17
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The income tax provision consists of the following:
| As of December 31, 2020 | ||||
Federal | ||||
Current | $ | — | ||
Deferred | (73,682 | ) | ||
State | ||||
Current | $ | — | ||
Deferred | — | |||
Change in valuation allowance | 73,682 | |||
|
| |||
Income tax provision | $ | — | ||
|
| |||
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $77,704 of U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryovers available to offset future taxable income with no expiration date.
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the period from August 7, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the change in the valuation allowance was $73,682.
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:
| December 31, 2020 | ||||
Statutory federal income tax rate | 21.0 | % | ||
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit | 0.0 | % | ||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities | (19.5 | )% | ||
Transaction costs allocated to warrant issuance | (1.1 | )% | ||
Change in valuation allowance | (0.4 | )% | ||
|
| |||
Income tax provision | 0.0 | % | ||
|
| |||
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and in various state and local jurisdictions and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities.
F-18
ZANITE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2020, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $232,302,673 in money market funds which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury Securities. Through December 31, 2020, the Company did not withdraw any interest earned on the Trust Account.
Warrants and Forward Contract Derivative Liabilities
At December 31, 2020, the Company’s warrant liability was valued at $36,515,500 and its forward contract liability to issue additional warrants was valued at $3,542,000. Under the guidance in ASC 815-40 the warrants and forward contract do not meet the criteria for equity treatment. As such, the warrants and forward contract must be recorded on the balance sheet at fair value. This valuation is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each re-measurement, the warrant and forward contract liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s Statement of Operations.
Recurring Fair Value Measurements
The following table presents fair value information as of December 31, 2020 of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company utilized to determine such fair value. Since all of the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account consist of U. S. Treasury Bills or U.S. Money Market, fair values of these investments are determined by Level 1 inputs utilizing quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets. The fair value of the warrants and forward contract are classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of the Company’s warrants and forward contract are based on a valuation model utilizing management judgment and pricing inputs from observable and unobservable markets with less volume and transaction frequency than active markets. Significant deviations from these estimates and inputs could result in a material change in fair value. Transfers to / from Levels 1, 2, and 3 are recognized at the beginning of the reporting period. For the period ending December 31, 2020 there were no transfers into or out of Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 classification.
The following table sets forth by level within the fair value hierarchy our financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis:
| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Significant Other Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | ||||||||||
Assets: | ||||||||||||
Investments held in Trust Account – U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market Fund | $ | 232,302,673 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||||||
Public Warrants | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 19,435,000 | ||||||
Private Warrants | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 17,080,500 | ||||||
Forward Contract | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3,542,000 | ||||||
Measurement
The Company established the initial fair value for the warrant liability and forward contract liability on November 19, 2020, the date of the consummation of the Company’s IPO. On December 31, 2020 the fair value was remeasured. For both periods, neither the Public Warrants nor the Private Warrants were separately traded on an open market. As such, the Company used a Monte Carlo simulation model to value the Public Warrants and a modified Black-Scholes model to value the Private Warrants. The Company valued the forward contract to issue additional Private Warrants by determining the difference between the purchase price and the valuation of the underlying Private Warrants, as described above, and used a probability-weighted average to estimate the number of additional Private Warrants to be issued. For the Public Warrants, the Company allocated the proceeds received from the sale of Units (which is inclusive of one share of Class A ordinary shares and one-half of one Public Warrant) first to the Public Warrants based on their fair values as determined at initial measurement with the remaining proceeds allocated to Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption (temporary equity). The Warrants and forward contract were classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy at the measurement dates due to the use of unobservable inputs.
The Company estimates the volatility of its ordinary shares based on historical volatility of select peer companies that matches the expected remaining life of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants. The expected life of the warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term. The dividend rate is based on the historical rate, which the Company anticipates remaining at zero.
The key inputs into the Monte Carlo simulation model and the modified Black-Scholes model were as follows at initial measurement and at December 31, 2020:
Input | November 19, 2020 (Initial Measurement) | December 31, 2020 | ||||||
Risk-free interest rate | 0.51 | % | 0.50 | % | ||||
Expected term (years) | 6.0 | 6.0 | ||||||
Expected volatility | 20.0 | % | 25.0 | % | ||||
Exercise price | $ | 11.50 | $ | 11.50 | ||||
Dividend yield | 0 | % | 0 | % | ||||
Expected stock price at De-SPAC | $ | 10.00 | $ | 10.00 | ||||
Probability-weighted average of additional shares to be issued for the forward contract | 3,450,000 | 4,600,000 | ||||||
The change in the fair value of the derivative liabilities for the period ended December 31, 2020 is summarized as follows:
| Private Placement | Public | Forward Contract | Derivative Liabilities | |||||||||||||
Fair value at issuance November 19, 2020 | $ | 12,738,000 | $ | 14,950,000 | $ | 1,104,000 | $ | 28,792,000 | ||||||||
Change in fair value | 4,342,500 | 4,485,000 | 2,438,000 | 11,265,500 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||
Fair value at December 31, 2020 | $ | 17,080,500 | $ | 19,435,000 | $ | 3,542,000 | $ | 40,057,500 | ||||||||
The non-cash loss related to initial recognition of the Private Placement Warrant and forward contract derivative liabilities, as described in Note 5, is included in loss on change in fair value of derivative liabilities on the statement of operations.
NOTE 12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. The Company did not identify any other subsequent events, other than as described below and herein, that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements that are not already disclosed.
On May 18, 2021, our Sponsor exercised its option to purchase 2,300,000 Private Placement Warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $2,300,000, in order to extend the time the Company will have to consummate an initial business combination by 6 months, to November 19, 2021. The Private Placement Warrants issued on May 18, 2021 are identical to the Private Placement Warrants sold to the Sponsor in connection with the Company’s initial public offering. As a result of the sale the Company has issued a total of 11,950,000 Private Placement Warrants.
F-19
