As previously disclosed, on June 17, 2021, Leo Holdings III Corp, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Leo”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Leo, Longleaf Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“First Merger Sub”), Longleaf Merger Sub II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Second Merger Sub”), and Local Bounti Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Local Bounti”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, (i) Leo will become a Delaware corporation (the “Domestication”) and, in connection with the Domestication, (A) Leo’s name will be changed to “Local Bounti Corporation” (“New Local Bounti”) (B) each outstanding Class A ordinary share of Leo will become one share of common stock of Leo (the “New Local Bounti Common Stock”), (C) each outstanding Class B ordinary share of Leo will become one share of New Local Bounti Common Stock, and (D) each outstanding warrant of Leo will become one warrant to purchase one share of New Local Bounti Common Stock; (ii) following the Domestication, First Merger Sub will merge with and into Local Bounti, with Local Bounti as the surviving company in the merger and, after giving effect to such merger, continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leo (the “First Merger”); and (iii) immediately following the consummation of the First Merger, Local Bounti will merge with and into Second Merger Sub, with Second Merger Sub as the surviving company in the merger and, after giving effect to such merger, continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leo (the “Second Merger” and together with the First Merger, the “Mergers”). The Domestication, the Mergers and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement are hereinafter referred to as the “Business Combination.”
On July 19, 2021, Leo filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-257997) in connection with the Business Combination (the “Proxy Statement”). The Proxy Statement was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 20, 2021, and Leo commenced mailing the Proxy Statement on or about October 22, 2021.
Leo has received three letters from purported shareholders of Leo (the “Shareholder Letters”) claiming certain allegedly material omissions in the Proxy Statement. While Leo believes that the disclosures set forth in the Proxy Statement comply fully with applicable law, to avoid nuisance, cost and distraction, and to preclude any efforts to delay the closing of the Business Combination, Leo has determined to voluntarily supplement the Proxy Statement with the supplemental disclosures set forth below (the “Supplemental Disclosures”). Nothing in the Supplemental Disclosures shall be deemed an admission of the legal necessity or materiality under applicable law of any of the disclosures set forth herein. To the contrary, Leo specifically denies all allegations in the Shareholder Letters that any additional disclosure was or is required. Leo believes the Shareholder Letters are without merit.
Supplemental Disclosures to the Proxy Statement
The following supplemental information should be read in conjunction with the Proxy Statement, which should be read in its entirety. All page references are to pages in the Proxy Statement, and terms used below, unless otherwise defined, have the meanings set forth in the Proxy Statement. Underlined text shows text being added to a referenced disclosure in the Proxy Statement.
The following disclosure replaces the first paragraph on page 117 of the Proxy Statement under the heading “Background to the Business Combination”:
In the process that led to identifying Local Bounti as an attractive investment opportunity, from the date of Leo’s initial public offering through March 2021, Leo’s management team evaluated over 30 potential business combination targets in various industries, including consumer products, consumer technology, e-commerce, retail, leisure, media, health and wellness, agricultural technology, real estate technology and financial technology, and entered into non-disclosure agreements with approximately 10 potential business combination targets (other than Local Bounti). Of the ten (10) potential targets with which Leo entered into non-disclosure agreements, Leo conducted additional due diligence with respect to three (3) prior to executing the merger agreement with Local Bounti. Such non-disclosure agreements contained customary terms for a special purpose acquisition company and a private company target, including confidentiality provisions and use restrictions for information provided by the targets and exceptions to such provisions.
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