PROXY STATEMENT FOR EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF
SILVER CREST ACQUISITION CORPORATION
PROSPECTUS FOR UP TO
43,125,000 ORDINARY SHARES,
26,150,000 WARRANTS AND
26,150,000 ORDINARY SHARES UNDERLYING WARRANTS OF
TH INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
The board of directors of Silver Crest Acquisition Corporation, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Silver Crest”), has unanimously approved the Agreement and Plan of Merger (“Original Merger Agreement”), dated as of August 13, 2021, by and among Silver Crest, TH International Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“THIL”), and Miami Swan Ltd, a Cayman Islands exempted company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of THIL (“Merger Sub”), as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of January 30, 2022 (“Amendment No. 1 to the Merger Agreement”) and Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated March 9, 2022 ( “Amendment No. 2 to the Merger Agreement”), in each case by and among Silver Crest, THIL and Merger Sub. The Original Merger Agreement as so amended and as may be further amended from time to time is referred to as the “Merger Agreement.” Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into Silver Crest (such merger, the “First Merger”), with Silver Crest surviving the First Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of THIL (Silver Crest as the surviving entity of the First Merger, the “Surviving Entity”). Immediately following the consummation of the First Merger and as part of the same overall transaction, the Surviving Entity will merge with and into THIL (such merger, the “Second Merger” and together with the First Merger, the “Mergers”), with THIL surviving the Second Merger (such transactions, collectively, the “Business Combination”). As a result of the Business Combination, and upon consummation of the Business Combination and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (such transactions, collectively, the “Transactions”), the shareholders of Silver Crest will become shareholders of THIL.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, (i) immediately prior to the effective time of the First Merger (the “First Effective Time”), each Class B ordinary share of Silver Crest, par value $0.0001 per share (“Silver Crest Class B Shares”), outstanding immediately prior to the First Effective Time will be automatically converted into one Class A ordinary share of Silver Crest, par value $0.0001 per share (“Silver Crest Class A Shares” and together with the Silver Crest Class B Shares, the “Silver Crest Ordinary Shares”) and, after giving effect to such automatic conversion, at the First Effective Time and as a result of the First Merger, each Silver Crest Class A Share outstanding immediately prior to the First Effective Time will automatically be converted into the right of the holder thereof to receive one ordinary share of THIL, with a par value per share to be calculated pursuant to the methodology set forth in the Merger Agreement (“THIL Ordinary Shares”), after giving effect to the Share Split (as defined below), and (ii) each issued and outstanding warrant to purchase Silver Crest Class A Shares (“Silver Crest Warrants”) will be assumed by THIL and converted into a corresponding warrant to purchase THIL Ordinary Shares (“THIL Warrants”). Immediately prior to the First Effective Time, the Silver Crest Class A Shares and the public Silver Crest Warrants comprising each issued and outstanding Silver Crest Unit (as defined below), consisting of one Silver Crest Class A Share and one-half of one public Silver Crest Warrant, will be automatically separated and the holder thereof will be deemed to hold one Silver Crest Class A Share and one-half of one public Silver Crest Warrant. Accordingly, there will be no THIL units nor any Nasdaq listing of THIL units following the consummation of the Business Combination. No fractional public Silver Crest Warrants will be issued in connection with such separation such that if a holder of such Silver Crest Units would be entitled to receive a fractional public Silver Crest Warrant upon such separation, the number of public Silver Crest Warrants to be issued to such holder upon such separation will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of public Silver Crest Warrants and no cash will be paid in lieu of such fractional public Silver Crest Warrants.
Immediately prior to the First Effective Time, THIL will effect a share split of each THIL Ordinary Share into such number of THIL Ordinary Shares, calculated in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement, such that each THIL Ordinary Share will have a deemed value of $10.00 per share on a fully diluted basis, based on THIL’s implied valuation immediately prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, after giving effect to such share split (the “Share Split”). Unless otherwise indicated, this proxy statement/prospectus does not reflect the Share Split.
Proposals to approve the Merger Agreement and the other matters discussed in this proxy statement/prospectus will be presented at the extraordinary general meeting of Silver Crest shareholders scheduled to be held
on August 18, 2022 at the offices of Appleby at Suites 4201-03 & 12, 42/F, One Island East, Taikoo Place, 18 Westlands Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong and in virtual format.
Silver Crest’s securities, namely the Units (as defined below) (trading symbol “SLCRU”), Silver Crest Class A Shares (trading symbol “SLCR”) and Public Warrants (as defined below) (trading symbol “SLCRW”), are
currently listed on Nasdaq. The Units, Silver Crest Class A Shares and Public Warrants will cease trading upon consummation of the Business Combination and will be delisted from Nasdaq and deregistered under the Exchange Act.
Although THIL is not currently a public reporting company, following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this proxy statement/prospectus is a part and the closing of the Business Combination (the “Closing”), THIL will become subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). THIL intends to apply for listing of THIL Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) under the proposed symbol “THCH” and listing of THIL Warrants on Nasdaq under the proposed symbol “THCHW” to be effective at the consummation of the Business Combination. It is a condition of the consummation of the Transactions that THIL Ordinary Shares and THIL Warrants are approved for listing on Nasdaq (subject only to official notice of issuance thereof). While trading on Nasdaq is expected to begin on the first business day following the date of completion of the Business Combination, there can be no assurance that THIL Ordinary Shares and THIL Warrants will be listed on Nasdaq or that a viable and active trading market will develop. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to THIL’s Securities” for more information.
THIL is an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, and is therefore eligible to take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements otherwise applicable to other
public companies.
THIL is also a “foreign private issuer” as defined in the Exchange Act, and will be exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy
solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, THIL’s officers, directors and principal shareholders will be exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. Moreover, THIL will not be required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.
THIL is a Cayman Islands holding company that conducts its operations in mainland China through wholly owned subsidiaries. THIL is not a Chinese operating company and does not directly own any substantive business operations in mainland China. The securities registered herein are securities of THIL, not those of its operating companies. Therefore, investors in THIL will not directly hold any equity interests in its operating companies. This holding company structure involves unique risks to investors. For example, PRC regulatory authorities could disallow this operating structure and limit or hinder THIL’s ability to conduct its business through, receive dividends from or transfer funds to the operating companies or list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange, which could cause the value of THIL’s securities to significantly decline or become worthless. In addition, THIL and its subsidiaries incorporated under the laws of the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC Subsidiaries”) face various legal and operational risks associated with doing business in China. For a detailed description of the risks related to THIL’s holding company structure and doing business in China, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China.” These risks arise from, among other things, PRC governmental authorities’ significant oversight and discretion over the business and financing activities of its PRC Subsidiaries, the complex and evolving PRC legal system, frequent changes in laws, regulations and government policies, uncertainties and inconsistencies regarding the interpretation and enforcement of laws and regulations, difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals for listing on a foreign stock exchange or conducting certain business activities and increasing oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy and potential anti-monopoly actions related to the PRC government’s recently issued statements and instituted regulatory actions. These risks could result in a material change in the post-combination operations of THIL’s PRC Subsidiaries and significantly limit or completely hinder THIL’s ability to list on a U.S. or other foreign stock exchange, to accept foreign investments and to offer or continue to offer securities to foreign investors. THIL and its PRC Subsidiaries are also subject to various restrictions on intercompany fund transfers and foreign exchange control under current PRC laws and regulations and could be subject to additional, more onerous restrictions under new PRC laws and regulations that may come into effect in the future. For example, THIL’s PRC Subsidiaries may pay dividends only out of their accumulated after-tax profits upon satisfaction of relevant statutory conditions and procedures, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations; each of the PRC Subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the total amount set aside reaches 50% of its registered capital; the PRC Subsidiaries are required to complete certain procedural requirements related to foreign exchange control in order to make dividend payments in foreign currencies; a withholding tax, at the rate of 10% or lower, is payable by the PRC Subsidiaries upon dividend remittance; approval from or registration with competent PRC government authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of mainland China to pay capital expenses, such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies; loans by THIL to its PRC Subsidiaries to finance their operations shall not exceed certain statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the “SAFE”); and any capital contribution from THIL to its PRC Subsidiaries is required to be registered with the competent PRC government authorities. Due to the existing and/or potential interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations by the PRC government on the ability of THIL or its PRC Subsidiaries to transfer cash and/or non-cash assets based on existing or new PRC laws and regulations, cash and/or non-cash assets located in mainland China or held by THIL’s PRC Subsidiaries, such as Tim Hortons (China) Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Tim Hortons China”) and Tim Hortons (Shanghai) Food and Beverage Co., Ltd., may not be available to fund THIL’s foreign currency needs or any foreign operations that THIL may have in the future or for other uses outside of mainland China, and THIL may not be able to effectively utilize the proceeds from the Business Combination and related financings to fund the operations or liquidity needs of its PRC Subsidiaries. For a detailed description of the restrictions and related risks, see “Summary — The Parties to the Business Combination — TH International — Corporate Structure,” “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Restrictions on our subsidiaries on paying dividends or making other payments to us under existing or new laws and regulations of the PRC and the HKSAR may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Foreign exchange controls may limit our ability to effectively utilize our revenues and the proceeds from the Business Combination and related financings and adversely affect the value of your investment.” Based on the experience of its management team, THIL does not believe that remittance of cash and/or non-cash assets from Hong Kong, including cash and/or non-cash assets held by TH Hong Kong International Limited (“THHK”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of THIL incorporated under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the “HKSAR”), is subject to the aforementioned interventions, restrictions and limitations by the PRC government or similar interventions, restrictions or limitations from the government of the HKSAR, nor does THIL believe such interventions, restrictions and limitations will be imposed on THHK or any future Hong Kong subsidiary that THIL may have in the foreseeable future. To the extent that THIL’s cash and/or non-cash assets in Hong Kong or any cash and/or non-cash assets held by its Hong Kong Subsidiaries are subject to the aforementioned interventions, restrictions and limitations by the PRC government or the government of the HKSAR, then, as a result of such interventions, restrictions and limitations, such cash/assets may not be available to pay dividends to THIL, to fund the operations of THIL’s subsidiaries outside Hong Kong or to be used outside of Hong Kong for other purposes. As of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, neither THIL nor any of its subsidiaries have made any dividends or distributions to their parent companies or any investor, and there has been no transfer of capital expenses among THIL and its subsidiaries. As of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, THIL has transferred an aggregate of US$180.0 million in cash to THHK as capital injections and shareholder loans, and THHK has transferred an aggregate of US$134.0 million in cash to Tim Hortons China, a wholly-owned PRC subsidiary of THHK, and US$25.0 million in cash to Tim Hortons (Shanghai) Food and Beverage Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned PRC subsidiary of Tim Hortons China, as capital injections. THIL currently does not have a specific timetable on when to settle the amounts owed within the company and plans to distribute cash dividends after it becomes profitable. See page F-11 of THIL’s audited historical consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus for additional information on the amount of cash balances held at financial institutions in mainland China, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands as of December 31, 2020 and 2021. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of THIL’s board of directors. THIL does not currently have any cash management policy that dictates how funds shall be transferred between THIL and its subsidiaries, including its PRC Subsidiaries, THHK and any other non-PRC subsidiaries that it may have in the future, or among its subsidiaries. In addition, on December 16, 2021, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) issued a report on its determination that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong because of positions taken by local authorities. THIL’s auditors, who are headquartered in mainland China, are subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB. As a result, the PCAOB has been and currently is unable to inspect THIL’s auditors. On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted final amendments implementing the disclosure and submission requirements under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”), pursuant to which the SEC will (i) identify an issuer as a “Commission-Identified Issuer” if the issuer has filed an annual report containing an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that the PCAOB has determined it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of the position taken by the authority in the foreign jurisdiction and (ii) impose a trading prohibition on the issuer after it is identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for three consecutive years. The Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which was passed by the U.S. Senate in June 2021, (the “AHFCAA”), if enacted, would shorten the three-consecutive-year compliance period under the HFCAA to two consecutive years and, as a result, reduce the time before the potential trading prohibition against or delisting of THIL’s securities. The fact that the PCAOB has been and currently is unable to inspect THIL’s auditors could deprive investors of the benefits of such inspections and cause THIL’s securities to be delisted under the HFCAA and the AHFCAA. The delisting of THIL’s securities, or the threat of such securities being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. For a detailed description of the related risks, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — The PCAOB has been and currently is unable to inspect our auditor. Our securities may be delisted under the HFCAA if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditors for three consecutive years after we are identified by the SEC as a Commission-Identified Issuer, or two consecutive years if the AHFCAA is enacted. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of our securities being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections deprives investors of the benefits of such inspections.”
Assuming that none of the holders of Silver Crest Class A Shares (the “Silver Crest Public Shareholders”) demand redemption and there are no Dissenting Silver Crest Shareholders (as defined below) (the “No Redemptions
Scenario”) and the PIPE Investment (as defined below) is fully funded at the Closing and excluding (i) shares reserved for THIL’s granted share options and restricted share units subject to vesting, (ii) shares subject to certain earn-out provisions (the “Earn-out Shares”), (iii) shares issuable at THIL’s discretion upon the Closing under an Equity Support Agreement (the “Equity Support Shares”), the maximum amount of which depends on the level of redemptions and the actual size of the PIPE Investment, and shares issuable after the Closing under a committed equity facility, the amount of which either depends on the fair market value of our shares or is to be determined at our discretion and (iv) shares underlying the warrants issued in Silver Crest’s initial public offering and THIL’s outstanding convertible notes, it is anticipated that, immediately after the Closing, the existing shareholders of THIL will own approximately 74.67% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares (and Peter Yu, our Chairman and the Managing Partner of Cartesian Capital Group, LLC (“Cartesian”), will indirectly own approximately 43.55% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares through Pangaea Two Acquisition Holdings XXIIA Limited, an existing shareholder of THIL that is controlled by him, and another affiliate of Cartesian that is participating in the PIPE Investment), Silver Crest Public Shareholders will own approximately 20.10% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares, and Silver Crest Management LLC (the “Sponsor”) will own approximately 2.80% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares. Assuming maximum redemption by Silver Crest Public Shareholders and excluding shares reserved for THIL’s granted share options and restricted share units subject to vesting (the “Maximum Redemptions Scenario”), it is anticipated that, immediately after the Closing, the existing shareholders of THIL will own approximately 90.97% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares (and Mr. Yu will indirectly own approximately 53.05% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares), Silver Crest Public Shareholders will own approximately 2.84% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares, and the Sponsor will own approximately 3.42% of the outstanding THIL Ordinary Shares. In addition, under the same assumptions, Mr. Yu is anticipated to own over 50% of the equity interest and voting power of the combined company immediately following the Closing if Silver Crest Public Shareholders holding 22,135,130 or more Silver Crest Class A Shares decide to exercise their redemption rights, which would give Peter Yu the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to shareholders for approval, including the appointment or removal of directors (subject to the certain limitations described elsewhere in this registration statement/proxy statement). As a result, the combined company may qualify as a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s corporate governance standards and will have the option not to comply with certain requirements to which companies that are not controlled companies are subject, including the requirement that a majority of its board of directors shall consist of independent directors and the requirement that its nominating and corporate governance committee and compensation committee shall be composed entirely of independent directors. In the event that the combined company qualifies as a “controlled company,” THIL does not intend to take advantage of these exemptions. However, THIL cannot guarantee that this may not change going forward. In addition, it is expected that four out of the nine members of THIL’s board of directors after the Closing, including Peter Yu, will be executives of Cartesian.
The accompanying proxy statement/prospectus provides Silver Crest shareholders with detailed information about the Business Combination and other matters to be considered at the extraordinary general meeting of Silver Crest. We encourage you to read the entire accompanying proxy statement/prospectus, including the Annexes and other documents referred to therein, carefully and in their entirety. You should also carefully consider the risk factors described in “Risk Factors” beginning on page 37 of the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the securities to be issued in connection with the Business Combination, or determined if this proxy statement/
prospectus is accurate or adequate. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
This proxy statement/prospectus is dated July 21, 2022, and is first being mailed to Silver Crest shareholders on or about July 21, 2022.