| Item 2. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to LDH Growth Corp I. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, possible business combinations and the financing thereof, and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-Q. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on October 7, 2020, effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). Our sponsor is LDH Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Sponsor”).
The registration statement for our Initial Public Offering (“Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on March 18, 2021. On March 23, 2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), including 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $13.3 million, of which approximately $8.1 million was for deferred underwriting commissions.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 5,266,667 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $7.9 million.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $230.0 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) in the United States, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be 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 money market funds meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S, government treasury obligations until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to our shareholders, as described below.
If we are unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or March 23, 2023 (the “Combination 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 (less taxes payable 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 Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period.
Results of Operations
Our entire activity from October 7, 2020 (inception) through September 30, 2021, was in preparation for an Initial Public Offering, and since our Initial Public Offering, our activity has been limited to the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. We will not generate any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of investment income from our investments held in the Trust Account. We expect to incur increased 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 three months ended September 30, 2021, we had a net income of approximately $3.6 million, which consisted of a non-cash income of approximately $3.8 million for a change in fair value of derivative liabilities, and approximately $3,000 of income from investments held in the Trust Account, partly offset by approximately $250,000 in general and administrative expenses.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, we had a net income of approximately $969,000, which consisted of a non-cash income of approximately $1.8 million for a change in fair value of derivative liabilities, and approximately $12,000 of income from investments held in the Trust Account, partly offset by approximately $612,000 in general and administrative expenses and approximately $259,000 in offering costs – derivative liabilities.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of September 30, 2021, we had approximately $1.7 million in cash and working capital of approximately $2.1 million.
Our liquidity needs to date have been satisfied through a cash payment of $25,000 from our Sponsor in exchange for the issuance of Founder Shares (as defined below), a loan of $300,000 (which was repaid on March 25, 2021) under a promissory note from our Sponsor, an advance of approximately $321,000 from the Sponsor (of which approximately $311,000 remains outstanding to date), and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an Initial Business Combination, our officers, directors and initial shareholders may, but are not obligated to, provide us Working Capital Loans. As of September 30, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds held outside of the Trust Account for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations or long-term liabilities.
Critical Accounting Policies
This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our unaudited condensed financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these unaudited condensed financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our unaudited condensed financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to fair value of financial instruments and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Derivative Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued share purchase warrants and forward purchase agreements, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is reassessed at the end of each reporting period.
The warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (the “Public Warrants”) and the Private Placement Warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the instruments to fair value at each reporting period until they are exercised. The fair value of the Public Warrants issued in connection with the Public Offering and Private Placement Warrants have initially been measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The fair value of the Public Warrants as of September 30, 2021, is based on observable listed prices for such warrants. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants as of September 30, 2021, is measured based on a Monte Carlo simulation model.
The forward purchase agreement between our Company and the Sponsor, providing for the investor to purchase $50,000,000 of units, with each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-fifth of one warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement concurrently with the closing of the initial Business Combination, is recognized as a derivative liability in accordance with ASC 815. Accordingly, we recognize the instrument as a liability at fair value and with changes in fair value recognized in our unaudited condensed statement of operations. The fair value of the forward purchase agreement is determined as the estimated unit value less the net present value of the forward purchase agreement.
The determination of the fair value of the derivative liabilities may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly the actual results could differ significantly. Derivative liabilities are classified as non-current liabilities as their liquidation is not reasonably expected to require the use of current assets or require the creation of current liabilities.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Shares of conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares 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 our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, shares of Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of September 30, 2021, 23,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable Class A ordinary shares resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
Net Loss per Ordinary Share
We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” We have two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income by the weighted average shares of ordinary shares outstanding for the respective period.
The calculation of diluted net income (loss) does not consider the effect of the warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering (including the consummation of the Over-allotment) and the private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 9,866,667 shares of Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, because their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. We have considered the effect of Class B ordinary shares that were excluded from the basic weighted average number of shares outstanding as they were contingent on the exercise of over-allotment option by the underwriters. Since the contingency was satisfied, we included these shares in the weighted average number as of the beginning of the interim period to determine the dilutive impact of these shares. Accretion associated with the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-06, “Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
The Company’s management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards updates, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of September 30, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
JOBS Act
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”) contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, the condensed financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our Initial Public Offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
| Item 3. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk |
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
| Item 4. | Controls and Procedures |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, we determined our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2021.
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021 covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Remediation of a Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We recognize the importance of the control environment as it sets the overall tone for the Company and is the foundation for all other components of internal control. Consequently, we designed and implemented remediation measures to address the material weakness previously identified in the second quarter of 2021 and enhanced our internal control over financial reporting. In light of the material weakness, we enhanced our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our condensed consolidated financial statements, including providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The foregoing actions, which we believe remediated the material weakness over financial reporting, were completed as of the date of September 30, 2021.
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
None.
Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in this report include the risk factors described in our final prospectus for our Initial Public Offering filed with the SEC and the below risk factors. Any of those factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risk factors not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business or results of operations. As of the date of this report, other than as described below, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our final prospectus for our Initial Public Offering. We may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results and thus may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.
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 equity. As a result of the SEC Staff Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 4,600,000 Public Warrants and 5,266,667 Private Placement Warrants and determined to classify the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our condensed balance sheet as of March 31, 2021, contained in our March 31, 2021 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and as of September 30, 2021 contained herein are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, 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 securities.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2021 that has been remediated as of September 30, 2021. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
Following the issuance of the SEC Staff Statement, after consultation with our independent registered public accounting firm, management identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for the warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering. Our internal control over financial reporting did not result in the proper accounting classification of the warrants, which, due to its impact on our financial statements, we determined to be a material weakness.
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. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
| Item 2. | Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities |
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
On January 15, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain expenses of the Company in consideration for the issuance of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”). On January 21, 2021, the Sponsor irrevocably surrendered to the Company for cancellation and for nil consideration 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares outstanding. The Sponsor agreed to forfeit up to 750,000 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Founder Shares would represent 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. On March 23, 2021, the underwriter fully exercised its over-allotment option; thus, these 750,000 Founder Shares were no longer subject to forfeiture.
On January 15, 2021, we consummated the Private Placement of 5,266,667 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $7.9 million. Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Use of Proceeds
On March 23, 2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 Units, including 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $13.3 million, of which approximately $8.1 million was for deferred underwriting commissions.
After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the Initial Business Combination, if consummated) and the other offering costs incurred, $230.0 million of the net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering, sale of the Over-Allotment Units and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the Private Placement Warrants (or $10.00 per Unit sold in the Initial Public Offering) was placed in the Trust Account. The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, sale of the Over-Allotment Units and certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants are held in the Trust Account and invested as described elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement as is described in the Company’s final prospectus related to the Initial Public Offering.
| Item 3. | Defaults Upon Senior Securities |
None.
| Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures |
Not applicable.
None.
Exhibit Number | Description |
| Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| 101.INS | XBRL Instance Document |
| 101.SCH | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
| 101.CAL | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document |
| 101.DEF | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document |
| 101.LAB | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document |
| 101.PRE | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
Pursuant to the requirements 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 on this 15th day of November 2021.
| LDH GROWTH CORP I |
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| By: | /s/ Marcelo Claure |
| Name: | Marcelo Claure |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
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| By: | /s/ Christopher Cooper |
| Name: | Christopher Cooper |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
