We are subject to U.S. and foreign anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws and regulations and could face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act and the USA PATRIOT Act, and are or will be subject to other anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which we conduct or will conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to recipients in the public or private sector. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. Any violations of the laws and regulations described above may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm and other consequences.
Any future litigation against us could be costly and time-consuming to defend.
We are, and may become, subject to legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business, such as claims brought by our customers in connection with commercial disputes or employment claims made by our current or former employees. Litigation might result in substantial costs and may divert management’s attention and resources, which might seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Insurance might not cover such claims, might not provide sufficient payments to cover all the costs to resolve one or more such claims and might not continue to be available on terms acceptable to us. A claim brought against us that is uninsured or underinsured could result in unanticipated costs, potentially harming our business, financial position and results of operations.
Changes to applicable U.S. tax laws and regulations or exposure to additional income tax liabilities could harm our future profitability or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Symbotic is a U.S. corporation and thus subject to U.S. corporate income tax on our worldwide operations. Moreover, the majority of our operations and customers are located in the United States, and, as a result, we are subject to various U.S. federal, state and local taxes. New U.S. laws and policy relating to taxes may have an adverse effect on our business and future profitability.
Further, new income, sales, use or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances, in the United States or in other jurisdictions, could be enacted at any time, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, future profitability and operating results. In addition, existing tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be interpreted, changed, modified or applied adversely to us and may have an adverse effect on our business, cash flows and future profitability.
Because of the Up-C structure, the interests of the holders of New Symbotic Holdings Common Units may not fully align with those of the holders of Class A Common Stock of Symbotic.
Our organizational structure is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies undertaking an initial public offering to provide certain tax benefits and associated cash flow advantages to both the issuer corporation and the existing owners of the partnership or limited liability company in the initial public offering. The Up-C structure allows the Warehouse unitholders to retain their equity ownership in New Symbotic Holdings, an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in the form of New Symbotic Holdings Common Units. This allows the holders of New Symbotic Holdings Common Units to retain the tax benefits of owning interests in a pass-through entity
44