UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(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, 2022
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
|
GRAF ACQUISITION CORP. IV |
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) |
Delaware |
| 001-40427 |
| 86-2191918 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (Commission |
| (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
, Texas | | |
1790 Hughes Landing Blvd., Suite 400 The Woodlands, Texas |
| 77380 |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
| (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (346) 442-0819
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class: |
| Trading Symbols |
| Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: |
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share |
| GFOR |
| New York Stock Exchange |
Warrants to purchase one share of Common Stock |
| GFOR WS |
| New York Stock Exchange |
Units, each consisting of one share of Common Stock and one-fifth of one Warrant |
| GFOR.U |
| New York Stock Exchange |
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 Exchange 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 (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post 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 definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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 ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
As of June 30, 2022, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price for the common stock on June 30, 2022, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange, was $166.64 million.
As of March 31, 2023, there were 21,451,875 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share of the registrant issued and outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
******
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
EXPLANATORY NOTE
As previously disclosed in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Graf Acquisition Corp. IV (the “Company”) on March 31, 2023, in connection with the preparation of its financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company reevaluated the accounting for the waiver of the deferred underwriting fee by the underwriters of its initial public offering. The Company had recognized this waiver of fees as an extinguishment of the contingent liability, with a resulting non-operating gain recognized in its statement of operations, in the Company’s quarterly reports for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 (the “Second Quarter 10-Q”) and the quarter ended September 30, 2022 (“Third Quarter 10-Q”). Upon further review and analysis, the Company’s management concluded that the Company should have recognized the extinguishment of the contingent liability as a credit to stockholder’s deficit.
On March 28, 2023, the Company’s management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors concluded that the Company’s previously issued unaudited interim financial statements included in each of the Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q should no longer be relied upon and that it is appropriate to restate the Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the “Form 10-K” or “Annual Report”) contains (i) the Company’s audited financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 and (ii) restated statement of operations, statement of changes in stockholder’s deficit, and statement of cash flows for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and the nine months ended September 30, 2022. Other than as described above, this Form 10-K does not reflect adjustments for events occurring after the filing of the Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q except to the extent that they are otherwise required to be included and discussed herein.
See Part II, Item 8, Note 2 “Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K for a detailed discussion of the effect of the restatement on the previously issued financial statements as of and for the periods ended June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022.
Further, the Company’s management has considered the effect of the foregoing on the Company’s prior conclusions of the adequacy of its internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022. As a result of the error, management has determined that a material weakness existed in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. See Part II Item 9A – Controls and Procedures within this Form 10-K for a description of these matters.
2
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report” or “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 within twenty-four months of the closing if the IPO, unless otherwise extended; |
| ● | 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 prior to or 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; |
| ● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ● | the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) on our ability to consummate an initial business combination; |
| ● | 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; |
| ● | our ability to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange; |
| ● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account (as defined 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.
3
PART I
Item 1.Business
References in this report to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refer to Graf Acquisition Corp. IV. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors.
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on January 28, 2021 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”). We have reviewed, and continue to review, a number of opportunities to enter into a business combination, but we are not able to determine at this time whether we will complete a business combination with any of the target businesses that we have reviewed or with any other target business. We also 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.
Our registration statement for our initial public offering (the “IPO”) was declared effective on May 20, 2021. On May 25, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 15,000,000 units (the “units” and, with respect to the common stock included in the units being offered, the “common stock” or the “public shares”), at $10.00 per unit, with each unit containing one public share and one-fifth of one redeemable warrant (the “public warrants”), generating gross proceeds of $150.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $8.8 million, of which approximately $5.3 million was for deferred underwriting commissions. We granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 units at the IPO price to cover over-allotments. On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option and purchased 2,161,500 additional units (the “additional units”), generating gross proceeds of approximately $21.6 million (the “over-allotment”). The Company incurred additional offering costs of approximately $1.2 million in connection with the over-allotment (of which approximately $757,000 was for deferred underwriting fees).
Prior to the consummation of the IPO, on February 13, 2021, Graf Acquisition Partners LLC (“Graf LLC”) paid an aggregate of $25,000 for certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for issuance of 4,312,500 shares of common stock, or approximately $0.006 per share (the “founder shares”). On April 2, 2021, Graf LLC transferred all of its founder shares to Graf Acquisition Partners IV LLC (the “sponsor”). On April 8, 2021, our sponsor transferred 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors, resulting in our sponsor holding 4,252,500 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the IPO. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, as discussed in more detail below, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,433,333 private placement warrants (as defined below) for a purchase price of $6,650,000, or $1.50 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the private placement (the “private placement”) of 4,433,333 warrants (each, a “private placement warrant” and collectively, the “private placement warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant to our sponsor, generating proceeds of approximately $6.7 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the over-allotment on June 2, 2021, we consummated the second closing of the private placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 288,200 private placement warrants at $1.50 per private placement warrant (the “additional private placement warrants”), generating additional gross proceeds of approximately $432,000.
Upon the closing of the IPO, the over-allotment, and private placement, $171.6 million ($10.00 per unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the IPO, the over-allotment and of the private placement warrants in the private placement were placed in a trust account (the “trust account”) in the United States maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (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, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the trust account, as described below. We may instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the trust account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds held in the trust account and, thereafter, to hold all funds in the trust account in a bank deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. Interest on bank deposit accounts is variable and such accounts currently yield interest of approximately 3.0% per annum.
4
As of December 31, 2022, there was approximately $0.6 million in our operating bank account and working capital deficit of approximately $2.0 million.
Recent Developments
On March 23, 2023, the Company and NKGen Biotech, Inc. (“NKGen Biotech”), a biotechnology company focused on harnessing the power of the body’s immune system through the development of natural killer cell therapies, issued a press release to announce that they had entered into a non-binding letter of intent for a potential business combination.
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 from the proceeds of our IPO, the sale of the private placement warrants, 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 following the consummation of the IPO or otherwise), 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 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.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read the registration statement relating to the IPO and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. We expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company for services rendered prior to, or for any services rendered in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
5
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent valuation or appraisal firm that regularly prepares fairness opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
We may pursue an initial business combination target in any business or industry or geographic region, which may include, without limitation, targets in industries such as mobility, technology, transportation, new energy, software, infrastructure, consumer, defense and cybersecurity, business and real estate services, financial and data services, healthcare, diversified industrial manufacturing, technology, distribution and services, as well as companies that help to address evolving environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) related issues.
New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent valuation or appraisal firm that regularly provides fairness opinions solely with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make such independent determination of fair market value, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value meets the 80% of net assets test, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our stockholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to stockholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
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 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 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 the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of 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 taken into account for purposes of NYSE’s 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
6
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, inspections of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information made available to us and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We may also retain consultants with expertise relating to a prospective target business.
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 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.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| ● | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and |
| ● | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination.
Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
7
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
TYPE OF TRANSACTION |
| WHETHER STOCKHOLDER APPROVAL IS REQUIRED |
Purchase of assets | | No |
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | | No |
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | | No |
Merger of the company with a target | | Yes |
Under the NYSE’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ● | we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) shares of common stock that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of common stock then outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding; |
| ● | any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and if the number of shares of common stock to be issued, or if the number of shares of common stock into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of shares of common stock or 1% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors and officers or (b) 5% of the number of shares of common stock or 5% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial security holders; or |
| ● | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
Permitted Purchases of our Securities
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, 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. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law. 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. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make 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. 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. 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. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial 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 warrant holders 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 shares of common stock or 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.
8
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock 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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions payable to our underwriters. Our sponsor, executive 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 any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct 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 require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our Company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval.
If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| ● | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
| ● | 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. |
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Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
To mitigate the current uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the IR Act (as defined below), in the event that any excise tax is accrued in connection with any redemption event, the Sponsor intends to indemnify us for any Excise Tax (as defined below) liabilities resulting from the implementation of the IR Act with respect to any future redemptions. For the avoidance of doubt, the proceeds deposited in the trust account and the interest earned thereon shall not be used to pay for any Excise Tax due under the IR Act in connection with any redemptions of the public shares in connection with any redemption event.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| ● | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
| ● | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
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 initial 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 toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after the IPO (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 6,435,563, or 37.5%, of the 17,161,500 public shares sold in the IPO to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
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Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with Redemption Rights or a Tender Offer
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy materials up to two days prior to the vote on the initial business combination to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, a public stockholder seeking redemption of its public shares must 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.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we have only 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or until May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, 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 24-month time period.
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Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023, or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or to offer redemption in connection with a business combination unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the proceeds held outside the trust account at that time, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any franchise and income tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay franchise and income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds from the IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business pursuant to a written agreement waive 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, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would 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 an 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 more beneficial to us than any alternative. 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 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. Our
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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 similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 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 $10.00 per 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 IPO 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 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. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification 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 may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business pursuant to a written agreement waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,750,000 from the proceeds of the IPO, less operating expenses incurred to that date, with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses including directors and officers insurance premiums exceed our estimate of approximately $1,900,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses including directors and officers insurance premiums are less than our estimate of approximately $1,900,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
Under the 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 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the 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.
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Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 24th month or such longer period as approved by shareholders and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures.
As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, 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 subsequent 10 years. 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. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business pursuant to a written agreement waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are believed to be significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is believed to be remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If 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, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if 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.
Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our Company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
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Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (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 any provisions of 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or to provide for redemption in connection with a business combination and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. 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.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates and may have outstanding securities with more attractive terms than ours. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. 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 initial business combination of a target business. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the registration statement relating to the IPO, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics preclude our executive officers and directors from directly competing with us. 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 or other factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
We lease our executive offices, which are located at 1790 Hughes Landing Blvd., Suite 400, The Woodlands, Texas 77380, from G-SPAC Management LLC, an affiliate of our sponsor, and our telephone number is (346) 442-0819. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations. We pay G-SPAC Management LLC $15,000 per month for office space, secretarial, administrative and support services provided to us and members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Employees / Officers
We currently have four executive officers: James A. Graf, our Chief Executive Officer; Sterling Cross, our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; Anthony A. Kuznik, our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary; and Sabrina McKee, our Executive Vice President, Strategy and no employees or contractors. Our executive officers 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 initial business combination process we are in. All the executive officers will focus substantially all of their professional time on the Company and Graf-affiliated SPACs. We do not intend to have any full time employees or contractors prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
On December 21, 2022, we held a special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”), at which our stockholders approved the payment by the Company, directly or indirectly, of $16,667.00 per month base cash compensation to the Company’s full-time Chief Financial Officer, Sterling Cross, who is not a member of our Sponsor, plus any related taxes (including, without limitation, Medicare and social security), governmental payments and health care benefits, for services rendered to the Company as an employee, contractor or otherwise from May 6, 2022 (retroactive) through the Company’s closing of a initial business combination.
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At the Special Meeting, our stockholders also approved the payment by the Company, directly or indirectly, of up to $6,000.00 per month in aggregate for health care benefits to be provided to three of the Company’s full-time executive officers, Mr. Graf, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kuznik, the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and Ms. McKee, the Executive Vice President, Strategy, who are not otherwise receiving compensation from the Company, from December 21, 2022 through the Company’s closing of a initial business combination.
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 (e.g., changes in corporate control, acquisitions or dispositions of a significant amount of assets other than in the ordinary course of business and bankruptcy) 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 http://www.sec.gov. In addition, we will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 1790 Hughes Landing Blvd., Suite 400, The Woodlands, Texas 77380 or by telephone at (346) 442-0819.
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. 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.
Summary of Risk Factors
| ● | 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. |
| ● | Our public 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 public stockholders do not support such a combination. |
| ● | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote. |
| ● | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the 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 an initial 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 24 months after the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 COVID-19 outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets. |
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| ● | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public “float” of our common stock. |
| ● | 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| ● | If the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate through at least May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| ● | If our officers and directors allocate time to other businesses, then this may cause 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. |
| ● | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| ● | The NYSE 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 are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
Risks Relating to the Restatement of our Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q and Material Weakness in our Internal Control
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 of 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 interpretation and accounting for extinguishment of a significant contingent obligation. As a result of this material weakness, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2022. This material weakness resulted in an error in our Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q and a restatement of the statement of operations, statement of changes in stockholder’s deficit, and statement of cash flows for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and the nine months ended September 30, 2022.
For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified and the restatement of our prior period financial statements, see Note 2 to the accompanying condensed financial statements, as well as Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report.
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Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our Class A common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect on our business. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.
We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses 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. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
After consultation with management and our audit committee, we concluded that there was a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting. As a result of such material weakness 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. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a business combination.
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our public 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 public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the initial business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial 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 public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our initial stockholders own 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Pursuant to a letter agreement entered into at the time of the IPO, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after the IPO (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 4,290,376 public shares, or 25.0%, of the 17,161,500 public shares sold in the IPO, to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock immediately following the completion of the IPO. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders 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.
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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the initial business combination.
You may 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 an initial business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential 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.
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 an initial business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into an initial business combination 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 may not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, may not be able to proceed with the initial 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing 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 an initial business combination 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 are 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. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions payable to our underwriters.
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 stock.
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 trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock 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 our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 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 COVID-19 outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of 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 adversely affected, and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) could adversely affect, economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be, or may already have been, materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel or 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.
In addition, if any treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 is ineffective or underutilized, any impact on our business and any potential target business may be prolonged. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) 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 (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases), including as a result of increased market volatility and decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross border transactions.
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We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the IPO, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and other risks, including those described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. 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 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “- 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 $10.00 per share” and the other risk factors herein.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public “float” of our 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, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants or a combination thereof 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, 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.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, 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. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial 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 warrant holders 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. 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 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. See “-The NYSE 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” and other risk factors herein.
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You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, 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, 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 that 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 IPO 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.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense 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 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 greater technical, human and other resources or more 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 IPO, the over-allotment, 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, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “- 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 $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
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If the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate through at least May 25, 2023, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate through at least May 25, 2023, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us from the IPO, the over-allotment, and those held outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate through at least May 25, 2023; 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 on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed initial business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we paid fees to consultants or 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “- 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 $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, 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 for an initial business combination, to pay our franchise and income taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants, only $1,750,000 were initially available to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses including directors and officers insurance premiums exceed our estimate of approximately $1,900,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. Conversely, in the event that the IPO expenses, including directors and officers insurance premiums, are less than our initial estimate of approximately $1,900,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into additional warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. 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 are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to 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 approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “- 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 $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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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 $10.00 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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business pursuant to a written agreement waive 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 more beneficial to us than other alternatives.
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 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 are unable to 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 $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to letter agreement entered into at the time of the IPO, which is filed as an exhibit to this 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 similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 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 $10.00 per 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 IPO 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 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. 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) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, 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, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. 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 $10.00 per share.
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Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent years, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $171,615,000, will be 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 would be reduced. As described herein, we will be required in certain circumstances to redeem our public shares for 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 $171,615,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per public share.
Alternatively, we may instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the trust account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds held in the trust account and, thereafter, to hold all funds in the trust account in a bank deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. Interest on bank deposit accounts is variable and such accounts currently yield interest of approximately 3.0% per annum.
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 we and our board may be exposed 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 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, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
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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.
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; |
| ● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
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 in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial 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.
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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. Our securities are 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: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or to provide for redemption in connection with a business combination; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Alternatively, we may instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the trust account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds held in the trust account and, thereafter, to hold all funds in the trust account in a bank deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. Interest on bank deposit accounts is variable and such accounts currently yield interest of approximately 3.0% per annum.
If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. To mitigate the risk of that result, we may instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company to liquidate the securities held in the trust account and instead hold all funds in the trust account in cash. As a result, following such change, we will likely receive minimal, if any, interest, on the funds held in the trust account, which would reduce the dollar amount that our public shareholders would have otherwise received upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company if the assets in the trust account had remained in U.S. government securities or money market funds.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules (the “SPAC Rule Proposals”), relating, among other things, to circumstances in which SPACs such as us could potentially be subject to the Investment Company Act and the regulations thereunder. The SPAC Rule Proposals would provide a safe harbor for such companies from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, provided that a SPAC satisfies certain criteria. To comply with the duration limitation of the proposed safe harbor, a SPAC would have a limited time period to announce and complete a de-SPAC transaction. Specifically, to comply with the safe harbor, the SPAC Rule Proposals would require a company to file a report on Form 8-K announcing that it has entered into an agreement with a target company for an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the registration statement for its initial public offering. The company would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the registration statement for its initial public offering. We understand that the SEC has recently been taking informal positions regarding the Investment Company Act consistent with the SPAC Rule Proposals.
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There is currently uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC, including a company like ours, that does not complete its initial business combination within the proposed time frame set forth in the proposed safe harbor rule. As indicated above, we completed our IPO in May 2021 and have operated as a blank check company searching for a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination since such time (or approximately 22 months after the effective date of our IPO, as of the date of this Annual Report). If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we might be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. If we are required to liquidate the Company, our investors would not be able to realize the benefits of owning shares in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares and warrants following such a transaction, and our warrants would expire worthless.
The funds in the trust account have, since our IPO, been held only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. As of December 31, 2022, amounts held in trust account included approximately $95,000 of accrued interest.
The longer that the funds in the trust account are held in short-term U.S. government securities or in money market funds invested exclusively in such securities, there is a greater risk that we may be considered an unregistered investment company, in which case we may be required to liquidate. Accordingly, we may determine, in our discretion, to liquidate the securities held in the trust account at any time and instead hold all funds in an interest bearing account approved by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, which would further reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders would receive upon any redemption or our liquidation.
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, state 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.
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 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 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 24th month from the closing of the IPO, or such longer period as approved by shareholders, in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
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Because we will not be complying with Section 280, 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 and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one full year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. 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(b) of the DGCL.
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.
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any industry or sector, except that we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. 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 who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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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 some or all of these 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “- 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 $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We may consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if an initial 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 IPO than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not 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 are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting 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 company 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 investment banking firm or from another independent valuation or appraisal firm that regularly prepares fairness opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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In addition, if our board of directors is not able to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, in connection with the NYSE rules that require that our initial business combination must occur 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent valuation or appraisal firm that regularly prepares fairness opinions solely with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
Other than the two circumstances described above, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent valuation or appraisal firm. 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 tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. 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 400,000,000 shares of 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 IPO, there were 381,250,000 authorized but unissued shares of common stock available for issuance (assuming that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option), which amount does not take into account the shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants. Immediately after the consummation of the IPO, there were no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). 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 of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. 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 the approval of our stockholders. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or to provide for redemption in connection with a business combination unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Any such redemptions may be subject to the same procedures and limitations as for redemptions in connection with a business combination.
The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the IPO; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| ● | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are 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, common stock and/or warrants. |
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The value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our common stock at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per share.
Our sponsor have invested in us an aggregate of $7,107,300, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $7,082,300 purchase price for the private placement warrants. Assuming a trading price of $10.00 per share upon consummation of our initial business combination, the 4,290,375 founder shares would have an aggregate implied value of $42,903,750. Even if the trading price of our common stock was as low as $1.78 per share, and the private placement warrants were worthless, the value of the founder shares would be equal to the sponsor’s initial investment in us. As a result, our sponsor is likely to be able to recoup its investment in us and make a substantial profit on that investment, even if our public shares have lost significant value. Accordingly, our management team, which owns interests in our sponsor, may have an economic incentive that differs from that of the public stockholders to pursue and consummate an initial business combination rather than to liquidate and to return all of the cash in the trust to the public stockholders, even if that business combination were with a riskier or less-established target business, than would be the case if our sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public stockholders paid for their public shares. Accordingly, you should consider our management team’s financial incentive to complete an initial business combination when evaluating whether to redeem your shares prior to or in connection with the 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account 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, consultants 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “- 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 $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
We may engage in an initial business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members of other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of this report entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” 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 preliminary discussions concerning an initial 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 might pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for an initial business combination, or does not have some or all of these attributes, and such transaction was approved by all of our directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or from another independent valuation or appraisal firm, regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the IPO, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the IPO, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the IPO, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of the IPO, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with the IPO. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
Since our sponsor, 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 IPO), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On February 13, 2021, Graf LLC paid an aggregate of $25,000 for certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for issuance of 4,312,500 founder shares or approximately $0.006 per share. On April 2, 2021, Graf LLC transferred all of its founder shares to our sponsor. On April 8, 2021, our sponsor transferred 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors, resulting in our sponsor holding 4,252,500 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the IPO. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,433,333 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $6,650,000, or $1.50 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
The holders of our founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a tender offer. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. Our sponsor is controlled by James A. Graf and the membership units relating to the founder shares are owned by Mr. Graf. The personal and financial interests of our 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.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial 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 to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following the IPO, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We 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, subject to the waiver being valid and enforceable. 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; |
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| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our 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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund 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; |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; 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 IPO, the over-allotment, 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 services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from the IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants, $171,615,000, excluding cash held outside the trust account, will be available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses including, $21,615,000 of the Over-Allotment option exercised, of deferred underwriting commissions.
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 operating results 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 our operating results and profitability and 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. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with 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 an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our initial 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 an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. 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 their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check 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 an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check 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. Amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation pertaining to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, 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) 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. 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 our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or to offer redemption in connection with a business combination. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any 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), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, 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 blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement 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-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, 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 and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) 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. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own up to 20% of our common stock upon the closing of the IPO, will 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-initial business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete an initial 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.
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Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or to offer redemption in connection with a business combination unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of 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, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, executive officers and directors. 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, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue an alternative remedy, such as 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 are unable to 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 IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any specific target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, 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 are unable to 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 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 may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of 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 the election of directors, amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any units in the IPO or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is divided into three classes, each of which, other than the initial term, will generally serve for a term of 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 initial 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.
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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 a proxy statement with respect to a vote on an initial business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. 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 this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. 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 company 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.
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination
Subsequent to the 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 our stock price, 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 surface all material issues that may be present inside 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. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The key personnel or 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 or officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate��s key personnel or officers and directors 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 key personnel or officers and directors will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that certain key personnel or officers and directors of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.
We may structure an 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 initial 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 initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of 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 common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of 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 stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. 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 have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
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’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack necessary skills, qualifications or abilities. Should the target’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 who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Risks Relating to Our Management Team
We are dependent upon our key personnel and our executive officers and directors, and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our key personnel and our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel and our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. However, the registration statement relating to the IPO, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics preclude our executive officers and directors from directly competing with us. In addition, at the time of our IPO, all of our executive officers agreed to focus substantially all of their professional time on us and Graf-affiliated SPACs. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our key personnel or our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our key personnel or our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally 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 our ability to effect our initial business combination or 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 employ 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. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post- combination business. The role of an initial business combination 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 initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post- combination business.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. 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 the Company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial 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 initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
If our officers and directors allocate time to other businesses, then this may cause 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 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 an initial business combination and their other businesses. Each of our officers and directors are engaged in several other business endeavors and are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our officers and directors may also have conflicts of interest with respect to their other professional activities, including Mr. Graf’s involvement as an independent director of Catcha Investment Corp. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs (other than time commitments pertaining to us and other Graf-affiliated SPACs) 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 executive officers 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 initial business combination process we are in. All the executive officers will focus substantially all of their professional time on the Company and Graf-affiliated SPACs. Additionally, our executive officers may be appointed to leadership roles, including to the board of directors, in our acquisition target.
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Past performance by our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
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 (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may or may attempt to 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 the Company or the returns the Company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
All of our officers and directors are now, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and 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. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, including another blank check company that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. All of our executive officers are expected to focus substantially all of their professional time on the Company and subsequent Graf-affiliated SPACs. However, our officers and directors may have conflicts of interest with respect to their other professional activities, including Mr. Graf’s involvement as an independent director of Catcha Investment Corp. We do not have employment contracts with our officers and directors that will limit their ability to work at other businesses, however, the registration statement relating to our IPO, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics preclude our executive officers and directors from directly competing with us. In addition to the above, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, other blank check companies prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Although we have no formal policy in place for vetting potential conflicts of interest, our board of directors will review any potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis. Any such companies, including Catcha Investment Corp., may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.
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 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. The purpose for the surrender of corporate opportunities is to allow officers, directors or other representatives with multiple business affiliations to continue to serve as an officer of our Company or on our board of directors. Our officers and directors may from time to time be presented with opportunities that could benefit both another business affiliation and us. In the absence of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our charter, certain candidates would not be able to serve as an officer or director. We believe we substantially benefit from having representatives, who bring significant, relevant and valuable experience to our management, and, as a result, the inclusion of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides us with greater flexibility to attract and retain the officers and directors that we feel are the best candidates.
However, 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. The different timelines of competing business combinations could cause our directors and officers to prioritize a different business combination over finding a suitable acquisition target for our 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, which could negatively impact the timing for a business combination.
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Our 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, 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 an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our sponsor parent entity, our directors or officers, or any of their affiliates, although we do not intend to do so. 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 including Mr. Graf’s involvement as an independent director of Catcha Investment Corp., 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 or any other reason.
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 executive 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, (ii) proceeds have been received from D&O insurance policies, or (iii) 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.
Certain agreements related to the IPO may be amended without stockholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to the IPO 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 include: 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 service agreement among us 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.
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Risks Relating to our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, 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 earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted 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 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or to provide for redemption in connection with a business combination and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. 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.
The NYSE 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.
Our units, common stock and warrants are currently listed on the NYSE. Although after giving effect to the IPO we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum listing standards set forth in the NYSE listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE 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 the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our global market capitalization would be required to be at least $150 million, the aggregate market value of our publicly-held shares would be required to be at least $40 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders and 1,100,000 publicly held shares. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE 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; |
| ● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ● | a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our 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. |
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The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, common stock and warrants are listed on the NYSE, we expect that our units, common stock and warrants will be 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 the NYSE, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
There are circumstances in which the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. First, if a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption from registration. Second, if our common stock is at any time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our 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 we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Third, if we call the public warrants for redemption, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our 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 last sale price of the 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 common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders 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 common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the IPO, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants, the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the founder shares and the private placement warrants held by them and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the common stock issuable upon exercise of such 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 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 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 common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
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The determination of the IPO price of our units and the size of the IPO is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the IPO price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to the IPO there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of the IPO, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of the IPO, prices and terms of the units, including the common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
| ● | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| ● | prior offerings of those companies; |
| ● | our prospects for acquiring an operating business; |
| ● | a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| ● | our capital structure; |
| ● | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| ● | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the IPO; and |
| ● | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
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 our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued 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 to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants 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, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our 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 warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our Company.
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 the 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.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the 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 the forum provisions of the 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 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 warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our Company, 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.
Certain of our warrants are expected to be accounted for as a warrant liability and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
We account for the 4,721,533 private placement warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (ASC 815-40). Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we will classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in our statement of operations and therefore our reported earnings. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, potential targets may seek a SPAC that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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 last reported sales price of our 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 on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. 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. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in the IPO. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to 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 so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 3,432,300 shares of our common stock as part of the units offered by the IPO and, simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we issued in a private placement, an aggregate of 4,721,533 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of common stock at $11.50 per share, including the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option. In addition, if our sponsor or its affiliates, or any of our officers or directors, makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into additional warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercisability and exercise price.
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To the extent we issue shares of common stock to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and reduce the value of the shares of common stock issued to complete the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
Because each unit contains one-fifth of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-fifth 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 common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours, whose units include one share of common stock 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-fifth 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.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination.
If (i) we issue additional common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share of common stock, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted 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 prices will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination with a target business.
A market for our securities may not develop, or if developed, it may not be sustained, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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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 require, 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 to have waived our compliance with 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. 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 these exclusive forum 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 consented to these provisions; however, we note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. 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, the provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
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 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 shares, which 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.
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.
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General Risk Factors
We are a newly formed 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 newly formed company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until completing an initial business combination. 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 with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning an initial business combination and 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.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern”.
As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $0.6 million in our operating bank account and working capital deficit of approximately $2 million. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our cash reserves will be sufficient to complete our acquisition plans or that our plans to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this annual report do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern.
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.
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 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 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.
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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 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 equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or 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.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ● | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | tax issues, including but not limited to tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ● | rates of inflation; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | employment regulations; |
| ● | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
| ● | government appropriations of assets. |
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We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our stockholders and warrant holders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain.
Although we will attempt to structure our initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to any requisite stockholder approval, we may structure our business combination in a manner that requires stockholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, or reincorporate in a different jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). We do not intend to make any cash distributions to stockholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a stockholder or a warrant holder may need to satisfy any liability resulting from our initial business combination with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of the shares received. In addition, stockholders and warrant holders may also be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination.
In addition, we may effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the United States, and possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions. If we effect such a business combination, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in other jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition.
A new 1% U.S. federal excise tax could be imposed on us in connection with redemptions by us of our shares or our liquidation.
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”), which, among other things, imposes a new 1% U.S. federal excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by “covered corporations” (which include publicly traded domestic (i.e., U.S.) corporations) beginning in 2023, with certain exceptions (the “Excise Tax”). The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from which the stock is repurchased. Because we are a Delaware corporation and our securities are trading on the NYSE, we are a “covered corporation” for this purpose. The amount of the Excise Tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the Excise Tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the Excise Tax.
On December 27, 2022, the Treasury published Notice 2023-2, which provided clarification on some aspects of the application of the Excise Tax, including with respect to some transactions in which SPACs typically engage. In the notice, the Treasury appears to have intended to exempt from the excise tax any distributions, including those that occur in connection with redemptions, by a corporation in the same year it completely liquidates, but the guidance is not clearly drafted and arguably could be interpreted to have a narrower application. Consequently, a substantial risk remains that any redemptions would be subject to the Excise Tax, including in circumstances where we either engage in a business combination in 2023 in which we do not issue shares sufficient to offset the earlier redemptions or liquidate later in 2023.
Because the application of the Excise Tax is not entirely clear, any redemption or other repurchase effected by us, in connection with a business combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the Excise Tax. Whether and to what extent we would be subject to the Excise Tax on a redemption of our shares of common stock or other stock issued by us would depend on a number of factors, including (i) whether the redemption is treated as a repurchase of stock for purposes of the Excise Tax, (ii) the fair market value of the redemption treated as a repurchase of stock in connection with our initial business combination, an extension or otherwise (iii) the structure of the initial business combination, (iv) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with the initial business combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with the initial business combination but issued within the same taxable year of a redemption treated as a repurchase of stock) and (v) the content of regulations and other guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As noted above, the Excise Tax would be payable by us, and not by the redeeming holder, and the mechanics of any required payment of the Excise Tax have not yet been determined. The imposition of the Excise Tax could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete an initial business combination or for effecting redemptions and may affect our ability to complete an initial business combination.
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To mitigate the current uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the IR Act (as defined below), in the event that any excise tax is accrued in connection with any redemption event, the Sponsor intends to indemnify the Company for any Excise Tax (as defined below) liabilities resulting from the implementation of the IR Act with respect to any future redemptions. For the avoidance of doubt, the proceeds deposited in the trust account and the interest earned thereon shall not be used to pay for any Excise Tax due under the IR Act in connection with any redemptions of the public shares in connection with any redemption event.
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and recent turmoil in the banking industry may negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. On March 10, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) and appointed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) receiver. Similarly, on March 12, 2023, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital Corp. were each swept into receivership. Although depositors at SVB received access to their funds, uncertainty and liquidity concerns in the broader financial services industry remain. Inflation and rapid increases in interest rates have led to a decline in the trading value of previously issued government securities with interest rates below current market interest rates. The U.S. Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve Board have announced a program to provide up to $25 billion of loans to financial institutions secured by such government securities held by financial institutions to mitigate the risk of potential losses on the sale of such instruments. However, widespread demands for customer withdrawals or other needs of financial institutions for immediate liquidity may exceed the capacity of such program. There is no guarantee that the U.S. Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve Board will provide access to uninsured funds in the future in the event of the closure of other banks or financial institutions in a timely fashion or at all.
The ultimate outcome of these events, and whether further regulatory actions will be taken, cannot be predicted. The extent to which these events impact our search for and completion of a initial business combination with a target business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning similarly situated financial institutions. In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could impact our potential business targets as they may face a material decline in favorable commercial terms or available funding. This may make it more challenging for us to find a suitable target and complete a initial business combination. Further, our ability to consummate a initial business combination may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by these events.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
Our executive offices are located at 1790 Hughes Landing Blvd., The Woodlands, Texas 77380. Our executive offices are provided to us by an affiliate of our sponsor, and we have agreed to pay such affiliate of our sponsor up to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our units, common stock and warrants are listed on the NYSE under the symbols “GFOR.U,” “GFOR” and “GFOR WS”, respectively.
Holders
As of March 31, 2023, there were 1 holder of record of our units, 6 holders of record of our common stock and 2 holders 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. Further, 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 and Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
On May 25, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 15,000,000 units. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $150,000,000. J.P. Morgan and Oppenheimer & Co. (the “underwriters”) acted as book-running managers for the IPO. On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased the 2,161,500 additional units, generating gross proceeds of $21,615,000. The securities in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-253411). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on May 20, 2021.
Simultaneous with the consummation of the IPO, we consummated the private placement of an aggregate of 4,433,333 private placement warrants, at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, to our sponsor, generating total proceeds of $6,650,000. In connection with the over-allotment, we consummated the private placement of an additional 288,200 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating additional proceeds of $432,300. Each whole private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. The issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants underlying the units sold in the IPO, except that the private placement warrants are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of an initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.
Of the gross proceeds received from the IPO, the over-allotment, and the private placement warrants, an aggregate of $171,615,000 was placed in the trust account.
We paid a total of $3,432,300 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $279,527 for other costs and expenses related to the IPO. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $6,006,525 in underwriting discounts and commissions. On May 16, 2022, JPM, one of the representatives of the underwriters of our IPO, waived their deferred underwriting fee that accrued from JPM’s participation in the IPO, resulting in a extinguishment of obligations related to deferred underwriting commissions of approximately $3.9 million.
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Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Graf Acquisition Corp. IV. 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 Form 10-K. 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of 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-K. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other SEC filings.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on January 28, 2021 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination. We are an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
Our sponsor is Graf Acquisition Partners IV LLC. On May 25, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 15,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $150.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $8.8 million, of which approximately $5.3 million was for deferred underwriting commissions. On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased the 2,161,500 additional units, generating gross proceeds of approximately $21.6 million. We incurred additional offering costs of approximately $1.2 million in connection with the over-allotment (of which approximately $0.8 million was for deferred underwriting fees).
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the private placement of 4,433,333 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant to our sponsor, generating proceeds of approximately $6.7 million. We consummated the second closing of the private placement on June 2, 2021, simultaneously with the closing of the over-allotment, resulting in the sale of an additional 288,200 private placement warrants, generating additional gross proceeds of approximately $432,000.
Upon the closing of the IPO, the over-allotment, and the private placement, $171.6 million ($10.00 per unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the IPO and of the private placement warrants in the private placement were placed in the trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. “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, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the trust account as described below. We may instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the trust account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds held in the trust account and, thereafter, to hold all funds in the trust account in a bank deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. Interest on bank deposit accounts is variable and such accounts currently yield interest of approximately 3.0% per annum.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment, and the sale of the private placement warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a business combination.
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If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, or by May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the 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.
Liquidity and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $0.6 million in our operating bank account and working capital deficit of approximately $2.0 million.
Our liquidity needs through December 31, 2022 were satisfied through a payment of $25,000 from our sponsor to purchase the founder shares, the loan of approximately $67,000 from the sponsor under a promissory note, and the proceeds from the consummation of the private placement not held in the trust account. We repaid the promissory note in full on May 26, 2021. 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, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem necessary in their sole discretion (the “working capital loans”). As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loans.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the liquidity condition, the mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution that will be required if the Company does not complete a business combination before May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Although Management expects that it will be able to raise additional capital to support its planned activities and complete a business combination on or prior to May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, it is uncertain whether it will be able to do so. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The financial statements do not include any adjustment that might be necessary if the Company is unable to continue as a going concern. We intend to complete a Business Combination before the mandatory liquidation date or any shareholder-approved extension deadline.
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry 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.
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further, the impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy are not determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements.
Restatement of Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q
As previously disclosed in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Company on March 31, 2023, in connection with the preparation of its financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company reevaluated the accounting for the waiver of the deferred underwriting fee by the underwriters of its initial public offering. The Company had recognized this waiver of fees as an extinguishment of the contingent liability, with a resulting non-operating gain recognized in its statement of operations, in the Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q. Upon further review and analysis, the Company’s management concluded that the Company should have recognized the extinguishment of the contingent liability as a credit to stockholder’s deficit.
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On March 28, 2023, the Company’s management and the audit committee concluded that the Company’s previously issued unaudited interim financial statements included in the Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q should no longer be relied upon and that it is appropriate to restate the Second Quarter 10-Q and Third Quarter 10-Q. This Form 10-K contains (i) the Company’s audited financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 and (ii) restated statement of operations, statement of changes in stockholder’s deficit, and statement of cash flows for each of the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and the nine months ended September 30, 2022. See Part II, Item 8, Note 2 “Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K for a detailed discussion of the effect of the restatement on the previously issued financial statements as of and for the periods ended June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022.
Further, the Company’s management has considered the effect of the foregoing on the Company’s prior conclusions of the adequacy of its internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022. As a result of the error, management has determined that a material weakness existed in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of the December 31, 2022. See Part II Item 9A – Controls and Procedures within this Form 10-K for a description of these matters.
Results of Operations
Our entire activity from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022, was in preparation for our IPO, and since our IPO, 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 will 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 year ended December 31, 2022, we had a net income of approximately $4.5 million, which consisted of approximately $5.1 million in non-operating gain from the change in fair value of warrant liability, approximately $2.4 million in income from investments held in the trust account, approximately $0.2 million in gain on settlement of deferred underwriting commissions, offset by approximately $2.4 million in general and administrative expenses, approximately $169,000 of franchise tax expenses, income tax expense of approximately $438,000, and related party administrative expenses of approximately $180,000.
For period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of approximately $991,000 which consisted of a non-operating loss upon issuance of private placement warrants of approximately $4.2 million, approximately $2.2 million in general and administrative expenses, approximately $185,000 of franchise tax expenses, and related party administrative expenses of approximately $108,000, approximately $34,000 in offering cost allocated to derivative warrant liability, offset by approximately $5.7 million in change in fair value of warrant liability, and approximately $41,000 in income from investments held in trust account.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations or long-term liabilities as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Registration and Stockholder Rights
The holders of our founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans) were entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed upon the effective date of the IPO. These holders are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company registered such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
We granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the IPO to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional units less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option.
56
The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $3.4 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the IPO ($3.0 million) and Over-Allotment (approximately $0.4 million). In addition, $0.35 per unit, or approximately $6.0 million in the aggregate was payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions (approximately $5.25 million related to the IPO and $0.8 million related to the Over-Allotment). 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. On May 16, 2022, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“JPM”), one of the representatives of the underwriters of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, waived their deferred underwriting fee that accrued from JPM’s participation in the Initial Public Offering of approximately $3.9 million. The Company derecognized approximately $3.7 million of the commissions waiver allocated to Public Shares to the carrying value of the common stock subject to possible redemption and the remaining balance of approximately $180,000 as a gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability.
Administrative Services Agreement
On May 20, 2021, we entered into an agreement that provided that, commencing on the date that the Company’s securities were first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of the initial business combination and the liquidation, the Company agreed to pay G-SPAC Management LLC, an affiliate of the sponsor, $15,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services provided to the Company and members of the management team. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the Company incurred expenses of approximately $180,000 and $108,000, respectively, under this agreement. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had no outstanding balance for services in connection with such agreement on the accompanying balance sheets.
Chief Financial Officer Compensation
On December 21, 2022, we held the Special Meeting, at which our stockholders approved the payment by the Company, directly or indirectly, of $16,667.00 per month base cash compensation to the Company’s full-time Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Cross, who is not a member of our Sponsor, plus any related taxes (including, without limitation, Medicare and social security), governmental payments and health care benefits, for services rendered to the Company as an employee, contractor or otherwise from May 6, 2022 (retroactive) through the Company’s closing of a initial business combination.
Health Care Benefits
At the Special Meeting, our stockholders also approved the payment by the Company, directly or indirectly, of up to $6,000.00 per month in aggregate for health care benefits to be provided to three of the Company’s full-time executive officers, Mr. Graf, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kuznik, the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and Ms. McKee, the Executive Vice President, Strategy, who are not otherwise receiving compensation from the Company, from December 21, 2022 through the Company’s closing of a business combination.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these 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 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 Warrant Liability
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company will evaluate its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period.
57
The private placement warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815. Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the carrying value of the instruments to fair value at each reporting period until they are exercised. The fair value of the private placement warrants as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 is determined using Black-Scholes option pricing model. The determination of the fair value of the warrant liability may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly the actual results could differ significantly. Derivative warrant 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.
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including shares of 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) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s 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. Accordingly, as of IPO (including exercise of the over-allotment option), 17,161,500 shares of common stock subject to possible redemption at the redemption amount were presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheets.
We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying value of the common stock shares subject to possible redemption to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for the security. Effective with the closing of the IPO (including exercise of the over-allotment option), the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit.
Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net income (loss) per common stock is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period.
The calculation of diluted net income (loss) per common stock does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the IPO (including exercise of the over-allotment option) and the private placement to purchase an aggregate of 8,153,833 shares of common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, because their exercise is contingent upon future events. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021. Accretion associated with the redeemable common stock is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Recent Accounting Standards
In June 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-03, ASC Subtopic 820 “Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions”. The ASU amends ASC 820 to clarify that a contractual sales restriction is not considered in measuring an equity security at fair value and to introduce new disclosure requirements for equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions that are measured at fair value. The ASU applies to both holders and issuers of equity and equity-linked securities measured at fair value. The amendments in this ASU are effective for the Company in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for both interim and annual financial statements that have not yet been issued or made available for issuance. The Company is still evaluating the impact of this pronouncement on the financial statements.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
58
Recent Developments
On March 23, 2023, the Company and NKGen Biotech, a biotechnology company focused on harnessing the power of the body’s immune system through the development of natural killer cell therapies, issued a press release to announce that they had entered into a non-binding letter of intent for a potential business combination.
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 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 IPO or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
Item 7A. 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 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
59
GRAF ACQUISITION CORP. IV
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Report of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (Auditor Firm ID: 100) |
| F-1 |
Financial Statements | | |
| F-3 | |
| F-4 | |
| F-5 | |
| F-6 | |
| F-7 |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Graf Acquisition Corp. IV
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Graf Acquisition Corp. IV (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 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, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Emphasis of Matter – Restatement of Unaudited Interim Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company previously accounted for its deferred underwriting fee waiver as a forgiveness of debt and recorded a gain on its statement of operations. Management has since re-evaluated its accounting treatment for the forgiveness and has determined that the forgiveness should have been treated as a credit to stockholders’ deficit. Accordingly, the 2022 unaudited interim financial statements have been restated within Note 2 to correct the accounting and related disclosure for the forgiveness of the deferred underwriting fee.
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 raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination by May 25, 2023 then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and 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 audits. 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 audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits 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 audits 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.
F-1
Our audits 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 audits 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 audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
New York, New York
March 31, 2023
PCAOB Number 100
F-2
GRAF ACQUISITION CORP. IV
BALANCE SHEETS
| | | | | | |
| | December 31, | ||||
|
| 2022 |
| 2021 | ||
Assets: |
| | |
| | |
Current assets: | | | | | | |
Cash | | $ | 635,155 | | $ | 1,722,506 |
Prepaid expenses | |
| 242,752 | | | 812,724 |
Total current assets |
| | 877,907 | | | 2,535,230 |
Investments held in Trust Account | | | 173,488,201 | | | 171,656,153 |
Total Assets | | $ | 174,366,108 | | $ | 174,191,383 |
| |
| | | | |
Liabilities, Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption and Stockholders’ Deficit: | |
|
| | |
|
Current liabilities: | | | | | | |
Accounts payable | | $ | 177,157 | | $ | 51,807 |
Accrued expenses | | | 2,444,352 | | | 1,656,137 |
Franchise tax payable | | | 42,705 | | | 185,205 |
Income tax payable | | | 181,374 | | | — |
Total current liabilities | | | 2,845,588 | | | 1,893,149 |
Derivative warrant liability | | | 424,940 | | | 5,571,410 |
Deferred underwriting commissions in connection with the initial public offering | | | 2,102,284 | | | 6,006,525 |
Total Liabilities | |
| 5,372,812 | | | 13,471,084 |
| |
|
| | |
|
Commitments and Contingencies | |
|
| | |
|
| | | | | | |
Common stock subject to possible redemption; 17,161,500 shares at redemption value of approximately $10.09 and $10.00 per share as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively | | | 173,164,122 | | | 171,615,000 |
| | | | | | |
Stockholders’ Deficit: | |
|
| | |
|
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 | |
| — | | | — |
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 400,000,000 shares authorized; 4,290,375 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 (excluding 17,161,500 shares subject to possible redemption) | |
| 429 | | | 429 |
Additional paid-in capital | |
| — | | | — |
Accumulated deficit | |
| (4,171,255) | | | (10,895,130) |
Total stockholders’ deficit | |
| (4,170,826) | | | (10,894,701) |
Total Liabilities, Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption and Stockholders’ Deficit | | $ | 174,366,108 | | $ | 174,191,383 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
GRAF ACQUISITION CORP. IV
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| | | | | | |
| | For the Year | | For the Period from | ||
| | Ended | | January 28, 2021 | ||
| | December 31, | | (Inception) through | ||
|
| 2022 |
| December 31, 2021 | ||
General and administrative expenses | | $ | 2,390,889 | | $ | 2,214,615 |
General and administrative expenses - related party | | | 180,000 |
| | 108,387 |
Franchise tax expenses | | | 169,141 | | | 185,205 |
Loss from operations | | | (2,740,030) | | | (2,508,207) |
| | | | | | |
Other income (expenses): | | | | | | |
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liability | | | 5,146,470 | | | 5,665,840 |
Offering costs - derivative warrant liability | | | — | | | (34,474) |
Loss upon issuance of private placement warrants | | | — | | | (4,154,950) |
Gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability | | | 179,595 | | | — |
Income from investments held in Trust Account | | | 2,400,690 | | | 41,153 |
| | | 7,726,755 | | | 1,517,569 |
Net income (loss) before income taxes | | | 4,986,725 | | | (990,638) |
Provision for income tax | | | (438,374) | | | — |
Net income (loss) | | $ | 4,548,351 | | $ | (990,638) |
| | | | |
| |
Weighted average shares outstanding of common stock, basic and diluted | | | 21,451,875 | |
| 15,083,469 |
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share, common stock | | $ | 0.21 | | $ | (0.07) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
GRAF ACQUISITION CORP. IV
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 28, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Additional | | | | | Total | |||||
| | | | | | | | Paid-In | | Accumulated | | Stockholders’ | |||
| | Common Stock | | Capital | | Deficit | | Deficit | |||||||
|
| Shares |
| Amount |
| | |
| |
| | ||||
Balance - January 28, 2021 (inception) | | | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Issuance of common stock to Sponsor | | | 4,312,500 | | | 431 | | | 24,569 | | | — | | | 25,000 |
Common stock forfeited | | | (22,125) | | | (2) | | | 2 | | | — | | | — |
Fair value of Public Warrants included in the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering | | | — | | | — | | | 7,894,290 | | | — | | | 7,894,290 |
Offering costs associated with issuance of Public Warrants | | | — | | | — | | | (434,186) | | | — | | | (434,186) |
Accretion to common stock possible redemption amount | | | — | | | — | | | (7,484,675) | | | (9,904,492) | | | (17,389,167) |
Net loss |
| | — | |
| — | |
| — | |
| (990,638) | |
| (990,638) |
Balance - December 31, 2021 | | | 4,290,375 | | | 429 | | | — | | | (10,895,130) | | | (10,894,701) |
Adjustment for accretion of common stock subject to possible redemption amount | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 2,175,524 | | | 2,175,524 |
Net income | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 4,548,351 | | | 4,548,351 |
Balance - December 31, 2022 | | | 4,290,375 | | $ | 429 | | $ | — | | $ | (4,171,255) | | $ | (4,170,826) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
GRAF ACQUISITION CORP. IV
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| | | | | | |
| | | | | For the Period from | |
| | For the Year | | January 28, 2021 | ||
| | Ended December 31, | | (Inception) through | ||
|
| 2022 |
| December 31, 2021 | ||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
| | | |
| |
Net income (loss) | | $ | 4,548,351 | | $ | (990,638) |
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: | |
| | |
| |
General and administrative expenses paid by related party in exchange for issuance of common stock | | | — | | | 1,000 |
General and administrative expenses paid by related party under promissory note | | | — | | | 1,981 |
Offering costs - derivative warrant liability | | | — | | | 34,474 |
Loss upon issuance of private placement warrants | | | — | | | 4,154,950 |
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liability | | | (5,146,470) | | | (5,665,840) |
Gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability | | | (179,595) | | | — |
Income from investments held in Trust Account | | | (2,400,690) | | | (41,153) |
Change in operating assets and liabilities: | |
|
| |
|
|
Prepaid expenses | | | 569,972 | | | (812,724) |
Accounts payable | |
| 125,350 | |
| 51,807 |
Franchise tax payable | | | (142,500) | | | 185,205 |
Income tax payable | | | 181,374 | | | — |
Accrued expenses | | | 873,215 | | | 1,557,213 |
Net cash used in operating activities | |
| (1,570,993) | | | (1,523,725) |
| | | | | | |
Cash Flows from Investing Activities | | | | | | |
Cash deposited in Trust Account | | | — | | | (171,615,000) |
Cash withdrawals from Trust Account to pay for taxes | | | 568,642 | | | — |
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | | | 568,642 | | | (171,615,000) |
| |
|
| |
| |
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | |
|
| |
| |
Proceeds from note payable to related party | |
| — | |
| 500 |
Repayment of note payable to related party | | | — | | | (69,809) |
Proceeds received from initial public offering, gross | | | — | | | 171,615,000 |
Proceeds received from private placement | | | — | | | 7,082,300 |
Offering costs paid | |
| (85,000) | |
| (3,766,760) |
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | |
| (85,000) | |
| 174,861,231 |
| |
|
| |
|
|
Net change in cash | |
| (1,087,351) | |
| 1,722,506 |
| | | | | | |
Cash - beginning of the period | |
| 1,722,506 | |
| — |
Cash - end of the period | | $ | 635,155 | | $ | 1,722,506 |
| |
| | |
| |
Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities: | | | | | | |
Offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of common stock | | $ | — | | $ | 24,000 |
Offering costs included in accrued expenses | | $ | 13,924 | | $ | 98,924 |
Offering costs paid by related party under promissory note | | $ | — | | $ | 67,327 |
Deferred underwriting commissions in connection with the initial public offering | | $ | — | | $ | 6,006,535 |
Extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to Public Shares | | $ | 3,724,646 | | $ | — |
Supplemental cash flow information: | | | | | | |
Cash paid for taxes | | $ | 257,000 | | $ | — |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
Note 1-Description of Organization and Business Operations
Graf Acquisition Corp. IV (the “Company”), is a newly organized blank check company incorporated in Delaware and formed for the purpose of effecting into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”).
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022, relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and, subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. 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 on the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The Company’s sponsor is Graf Acquisition Partners IV LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on May 20, 2021. On May 25, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 15,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $150.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $8.8 million, of which approximately $5.3 million was for deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 4). The Company granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 Units at the Initial Public Offering price to cover over-allotments. On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased 2,161,500 additional Units (the “Additional Units”), generating gross proceeds of approximately $21.6 million (the “Over-Allotment”). The Company incurred additional offering costs of approximately $1.2 million in connection with the Over-Allotment (of which approximately $757,000 was for deferred underwriting fees).
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 4,433,333 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of approximately $6.7 million (see Note 5). Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on June 2, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 288,200 Private Placement Warrants at $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant (the “Additional Private Placement Warrants”), generating additional gross proceeds of approximately $432,000.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, Over-Allotment, and Private Placement, $171.6 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering, Over-Allotment and of the Private Placement Warrants in the Private Placement were placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) in the United States maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee, and has been invested only in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or 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, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of its 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. The Company’s initial Business Combination must be 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions) at the time the Company signs a definitive agreement in connection with the initial Business Combination. However, 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 sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
F-7
The Company will provide the holders of 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, solely in its discretion. 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 at $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). These Public Shares were recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity, in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”). In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, a stockholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal 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. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the holders of the Founder Shares prior to this Initial Public Offering (the “Initial Stockholders”) agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the Initial Stockholders agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination. In addition, the Company agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial Business Combination without the prior consent of the Sponsor.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Charter 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 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 20% or more of the shares of common stock sold in the Initial Public Offering, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Company’s Sponsor, executive officers, and directors have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Charter that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for the redemption of its Public Shares in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock in conjunction with any such amendment.
If a Business Combination has not been consummated within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (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 (which interest shall be net of 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 Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the 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.
F-8
The Initial Stockholders agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Initial Stockholders should acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) 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 funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account.
The Company will seek to have all third parties (except the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) and any prospective target businesses enter into valid and enforceable agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in or to any monies held in the Trust Account. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that vendors, service providers and prospective target businesses will execute such agreements. The Company’s insiders agreed that they will be jointly and severally liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor 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 $10.00 per Public Share, except as to any claims by a third party who executed an agreement with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in or to any monies held in the Trust Account and except as 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. However, the Company’s insiders may not be able to satisfy their indemnification obligations. Moreover, the Company’s insiders will not be liable to the Public Stockholders and instead will only have liability to the Company.
Liquidity and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $0.6 million in our operating bank account and working capital deficit of approximately $2.0 million.
The Company’s liquidity needs through December 31, 2022 were satisfied through a payment of $25,000 from the Sponsor to purchase the Founder Shares, the loan of approximately $67,000 from the Sponsor under the Note (as defined in Note 5 to the financial statements), and the proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. The Company repaid the Note in full on May 26, 2021. 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 the Company’s officers and directors, may, but are not obligated to, provide Working Capital Loans (as defined in Note 5 to the financial statements). As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the liquidity condition, the mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution that will be required if the Company does not complete a business combination before May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Although management expects that it will be able to raise additional capital to support its planned activities and complete a business combination on or prior to May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, it is uncertain whether it will be able to do so. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after May 25, 2023 or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The financial statements do not include any adjustment that might be necessary if the Company is unable to continue as a going concern. The Company intends to complete a Business Combination before the mandatory liquidation date or any shareholder-approved extension deadline.
F-9
Note 2. Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements
The Company had recognized a liability upon closing of its initial public offering in May 2021 for a portion of the underwriters’ commissions which was contingently payable upon closing of a future business combination, with the offsetting entry resulting in an initial discount to the securities sold in the initial public offering. On May 16, 2022, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC irrevocably waived its rights to the deferred underwriting commissions due under the underwriting agreement. The Company recognized the waiver as an extinguishment, with a resulting non-operating gain recognized in its statements of operations reported in in the Company’s Form 10-Qs for the quarterly periods ended June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022 (the “Affected Quarterly Periods”). Upon subsequent review and analysis, management concluded that the Company should have recognized the portion allocated to Public Shares as an adjustment to the carrying value of the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption and the remaining balance as a gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liabilities.
Therefore, the Company’s management and the audit committee of the Company’s Board of Directors concluded that the Company’s Affected Quarterly Periods should no longer be relied upon and that it is appropriate to restate them. As such, the Company will restate its financial statements in this Form 10-K. The previously presented Affected Quarterly Period should no longer be relied upon.
Further, the Company’s management has considered the effect of the foregoing on the Company’s prior conclusions of the adequacy of its internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022. As a result of the error, management has determined that a material weakness existed in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of the December 31, 2022. See Part II Item 9A – Controls and Procedures within this Annual Report for a description of these matters.
Impact of the Restatement
The impact of the restatement on the statements of operations, statements of changes in stockholders’ deficit and statements of cash flows for the affected period is presented below. The restatement had no impact on net cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities.
Statements of Operations:
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statements of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022:
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2022 | |||||||
|
| As Previously |
| Restatement |
| | |||
| | Reported | | Adjustment | | As Restated | |||
Loss from operations | | $ | (968,952) |
| | — |
| | (968,952) |
Other income (expenses) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities | |
| 1,605,330 |
| | — |
| | 1,605,330 |
Gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability | |
| 3,904,241 |
| | (3,724,646) |
| | 179,595 |
Income from investments held in Trust Account | |
| 124,764 |
| | — |
| | 124,764 |
Net income before income tax expenses | |
| 4,665,383 |
| | (3,724,646) |
| | 940,737 |
Income tax benefit | |
| 15,402 |
| | — |
| | 15,402 |
Net income | | $ | 4,680,785 | | $ | (3,724,646) | | $ | 956,139 |
| | | | | | | | | |
Weighted average shares outstanding of common stock, basic and diluted | |
| 21,451,875 | |
| — | |
| 21,451,875 |
Basic and diluted net income per share, common stock | | $ | 0.22 | | $ | (0.17) | | $ | 0.04 |
F-10
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 | |||||||
|
| As Previously |
| Restatement |
| | |||
| | Reported | | Adjustment | | As Restated | |||
Loss from operations | | $ | (1,700,860) | | $ | — | | $ | (1,700,860) |
Other income (expenses) | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities | |
| 4,296,600 | |
| — | |
| 4,296,600 |
Gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability | |
| 3,904,241 | |
| (3,724,646) | |
| 179,595 |
Income from investments held in Trust Account | |
| 168,792 | |
| — | |
| 168,792 |
Net income before income tax expenses | |
| 6,668,773 | |
| (3,724,646) | |
| 2,944,127 |
Income tax benefit | |
| 15,402 | |
| — | |
| 15,402 |
Net income | | $ | 6,684,175 | | $ | (3,724,646) | | $ | 2,959,529 |
| | | | | | | | | |
Weighted average shares outstanding of common stock, basic and diluted | |
| 21,451,875 | |
| — | |
| 21,451,875 |
Basic and diluted net income per share, common stock | | $ | 0.31 | | $ | (0.17) | | $ | 0.14 |
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 (there were no adjustments to the three months ended September 30, 2022):
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022 | |||||||
|
| As Previously |
| Restatement |
| | |||
| | Reported | | Adjustment | | As Restated | |||
Loss from operations | | $ | (2,104,916) | | $ | — | | $ | (2,104,916) |
Other income (expenses) |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities |
| | 4,863,180 |
| | — |
| | 4,863,180 |
Gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability |
| | 3,904,241 |
| | (3,724,646) |
| | 179,595 |
Income from investments held in Trust Account |
| | 1,073,311 |
| | — |
| | 1,073,311 |
Net income before income tax expenses |
| | 7,735,816 |
| | (3,724,646) |
| | 4,011,170 |
Income tax expense |
| | (164,076) |
| | — |
| | (164,076) |
Net income | | $ | 7,571,740 | | $ | (3,724,646) | | $ | 3,847,094 |
| | | | | | | | | |
Weighted average shares outstanding of common stock, basic and diluted | |
| 21,451,875 | |
| — | |
| 21,451,875 |
Basic and diluted net income per share, common stock | | $ | 0.35 | | $ | (0.17) | | $ | 0.18 |
F-11
Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit:
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statement of changes in stockholders’ deficit for the six months ended June 30, 2022:
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 | |||||||
|
| As Previously |
| Restatement |
| | |||
| | Reported | | Adjustment | | As Restated | |||
Adjustment for accretion of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption amount - accumulated deficit | | $ | — | | $ | 3,724,646 | | $ | 3,724,646 |
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statement of changes in stockholders’ deficit for the nine months ended September 30, 2022:
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022 | |||||||
|
| As Previously |
| Restatement |
| | |||
| | Reported | | Adjustment | | As Restated | |||
Adjustment for accretion of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption amount - accumulated deficit | | $ | (582,502) | | $ | 3,724,646 | | $ | 3,142,144 |
Statement of Cash Flows:
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statement of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2022:
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 | |||||||
|
| As Previously |
| Restatement |
| | |||
| | Reported | | Adjustment | | As Restated | |||
Net income | | $ | 6,684,175 | | $ | (3,724,646) | | $ | 2,959,529 |
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: |
| |
|
| |
|
| | |
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liability |
| | (4,296,600) |
| | — |
| | (4,296,600) |
Gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability |
| | (3,904,241) |
| | 3,724,646 |
| | (179,595) |
Income from investments held in Trust Account |
| | (168,792) |
| | — |
| | (168,792) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Prepaid expenses |
| | 288,199 |
| | — |
| | 288,199 |
Prepaid expenses - related party |
| | (13,173) |
| | — |
| | (13,173) |
Deferred tax asset |
| | (15,402) |
| | — |
| | (15,402) |
Accounts payable |
| | 79,438 |
| | — |
| | 79,438 |
Franchise tax payable |
| | (56,214) |
| | — |
| | (56,214) |
Accrued expenses |
| | 940,161 |
| | — |
| | 940,161 |
Net cash used in operating activities | | $ | (462,449) | | $ | — | | $ | (462,449) |
F-12
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statement of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2022:
| | | | | | | | | |
| | For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022 | |||||||
|
| As Previously |
| Restatement |
| | |||
| | Reported | | Adjustment | | As Restated | |||
Net income | | $ | 7,571,740 | | $ | (3,724,646) | | $ | 3,847,094 |
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: |
| | |
| | |
| | |
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liability |
| | (4,863,180) |
| | — |
| | (4,863,180) |
Gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability |
| | (3,904,241) |
| | 3,724,646 |
| | (179,595) |
Income from investments held in Trust Account |
| | (1,073,311) |
| | — |
| | (1,073,311) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Prepaid expenses |
| | 394,156 |
| | — |
| | 394,156 |
Accounts payable |
| | 195,119 |
| | — |
| | 195,119 |
Franchise tax payable |
| | (163,696) |
| | — |
| | (163,696) |
Income tax payable |
| | 164,076 |
| | — |
| | 164,076 |
Accrued expenses |
| | 684,840 |
| | — |
| | 684,840 |
Net cash used in operating activities | | $ | (994,497) | | $ | — | | $ | (994,497) |
Note 3-Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
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 an emerging growth 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 an 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 that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
F-13
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires 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 income 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. 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 had no cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Investments Held in the Trust Account
The Company’s portfolio of investments is comprised of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities and generally have a readily determinable fair value, or a combination thereof. When the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are comprised of U.S. government securities, the investments are classified as trading securities. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities are included in income on investments held in the Trust Account in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $250,000. Any loss incurred or a lack of access to such funds could have a significant adverse impact on the Company's financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB Topic ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements,” equal or approximate the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature, other than the derivative warrant liabilities. (see Note 10).
Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers consist of:
| ● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| ● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
F-14
| ● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Derivative Warrant Liability
The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company will evaluate its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period.
The Private Placement Warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815. Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the carrying value of the instruments to fair value at each reporting period until they are exercised. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, is determined using Black-Scholes option pricing model. The determination of the fair value of the warrant liability may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly the actual results could differ significantly. Derivative warrant 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.
Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering
Offering costs consist of legal, underwriting fees, accounting, and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with derivative warrant liability will be expensed as incurred, presented as non-operating expenses in the statements of operations. Offering costs associated with the Public Shares issued were charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering.
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as liability instruments and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including shares of 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 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. Accordingly, as of Initial Public Offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option), 17,161,500 shares of common stock subject to possible redemption at the redemption amount were presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheets.
Under ASC 480-10-S99, the Company has elected to recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying value of the security to equal the redemption value at the end of the reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date of the security. Effective with the closing of the Initial Public Offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option), the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit.
F-15
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement 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. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had full valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets.
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. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. 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 has been subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net income (loss) per common stock is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period.
The calculation of diluted net income per common stock does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 8,153,833 shares of common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per common stock, because their exercise is contingent upon future events. As a result, diluted net income per common stock is the same as basic net income per common stock for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021. Accretion associated with the redeemable common stock is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-03, ASC Subtopic 820, “Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions”. The ASU amends ASC 820 to clarify that a contractual sales restriction is not considered in measuring an equity security at fair value and to introduce new disclosure requirements for equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions that are measured at fair value. The ASU applies to both holders and issuers of equity and equity-linked securities measured at fair value. The amendments in this ASU are effective for the Company in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for both interim and annual financial statements that have not yet been issued or made available for issuance. The Company is still evaluating the impact of this pronouncement on the financial statements.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
F-16
Note 4-Initial Public Offering
On May 25, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 15,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $150.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $8.8 million, of which approximately $5.3 million was for deferred underwriting commissions. The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional Units at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased 2,161,500 additional Units (the “Additional Units”), generating gross proceeds of approximately $21.6 million (the “Over-Allotment”). The Company incurred additional offering costs of approximately $1.2 million in connection with the Over-Allotment (of which approximately $0.8 million was for deferred underwriting fees). On May 16, 2022, one of the underwriters waived their deferred fee of approximately $3.9 million.
Each Unit consists of one share of common stock, and one-fifth of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 9).
Note 5-Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On February 13, 2021, Graf Acquisition Partners LLC (“Graf LLC”) paid an aggregate of $25,000 for certain offering costs on behalf of the Company in exchange for issuance of 4,312,500 shares of common stock (the “Founder Shares”). On April 2, 2021, Graf LLC transferred all of its Founder shares to the Sponsor. On April 8, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 20,000 Founder Shares to each of the Company’s independent directors, resulting in the Sponsor holding 4,252,500 Founder Shares. The holders of the Founder Shares agreed to forfeit up to an aggregate of 562,500 Founder Shares, on a pro rata basis, to the extent that the option to purchase additional units is not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Founder Shares will represent 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. The underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option on June 2, 2021, and forfeited the remaining option; and, as a result, an aggregate of 22,125 Founder Shares were forfeited, resulting in 4,290,375 Founder Shares outstanding. On July 14, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 20,000 Founder Shares to Alexandra Lebenthal in connection with her appointment to the Company’s board of directors.
The Initial Stockholders agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the last sale price of the 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 120 days after the initial 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 stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 4,433,333 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of approximately $6.7 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on June 2, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 288,200 Private Placement Warrants at $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant (the “Additional Private Placement Warrants”), generating additional gross proceeds of approximately $0.4 million.
Each whole Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per full share. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants was added to the 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 Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees (see Note 9).
F-17
Related Party Loans
On January 29, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $150,000 to be used for the payment of costs related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing, unsecured and due upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. The Company had borrowed approximately $70,000 under the Note. The Note was paid back in full on May 26, 2021. Subsequent to the repayment, the facility was no longer available to the Company.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or any of the Company’s officers or directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion (the “Working Capital Loans”). Each loan would be evidenced by a promissory note. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of the initial Business Combination, without interest. In the event that the initial Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into additional warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. 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. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Services Agreement
On May 20, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement that provided that, commencing on the date that the Company’s securities were first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of the initial Business Combination and the liquidation, the Company agreed to pay G-SPAC Management LLC, an affiliate of the Sponsor, $15,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services provided to the Company and members of the management team. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the Company incurred expenses of approximately $180,000 and $108,000, respectively, under this agreement. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had no outstanding for services in connection with such agreement on the accompanying balance sheets.
Other Related Party Transactions
On December 21, 2022, the Company’s stockholders approved the payment of compensation of $16,667 per month base to the Company’s full-time Chief Financial Officer plus any related taxes (including, without limitation, Medicare and social security), governmental payments and health care benefits, for services rendered to the Company as an employee, contractor or otherwise from May 6, 2022 (retroactive) through the Company’s closing of a Business Combination. The stockholders also approved the payment of up to $6,000 per month in aggregate for health care benefits for the officers of the Company who are not otherwise receiving compensation from the Company. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the Company incurred expenses of approximately $158,000 and $0, respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had no outstanding for services in connection with such stockholder approval on the accompanying balance sheets.
In addition, the Sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on the Company’s behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable Business Combinations. The audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by the Company to the Sponsor, officers or directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial Business Combination will be made from funds held outside the Trust Account.
F-18
Note 6-Commitments and Contingencies
Registration and Stockholder Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans) were entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed upon the effective date of the Initial Public Offering. These holders were entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company registered such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional Units less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option. On June 2, 2021, the Underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased an additional 2,161,500 Units.
The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $3.4 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering ($3.0 million) and Over-Allotment (approximately $0.4 million). In addition, $0.35 per unit, or approximately $6.0 million in the aggregate was payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions (approximately $5.25 million related to the Initial Public Offering and $0.8 million related to the Over-Allotment). 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. On May 16, 2022, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“JPM”), one of the representatives of the underwriters of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, waived their deferred underwriting fee that accrued from JPM’s participation in the Initial Public Offering of approximately $3.9 million. The Company derecognized approximately $3.7 million of the commissions waiver allocated to Public Shares to the carrying value of the common stock subject to possible redemption and the remaining balance of approximately $180,000 as a gain from extinguishment of deferred underwriting commissions allocated to derivative warrant liability.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry 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.
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further, the impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy is not determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements.
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”), which, among other things, imposes a new 1% U.S. federal excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by “covered corporations” (which include publicly traded domestic (i.e., U.S.) corporations) beginning in 2023, with certain exceptions (the “Excise Tax”). The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from which the stock is repurchased. Because we are a Delaware corporation and our securities are trading on the NYSE, we are a “covered corporation” for this purpose. The amount of the Excise Tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the Excise Tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the Excise Tax.
F-19
On December 27, 2022, the Treasury published Notice 2023-2, which provided clarification on some aspects of the application of the Excise Tax, including with respect to some transactions in which SPACs typically engage. In the notice, the Treasury appears to have intended to exempt from the excise tax any distributions, including those that occur in connection with redemptions, by a corporation in the same year it completely liquidates, but the guidance is not clearly drafted and arguably could be interpreted to have a narrower application. Consequently, a substantial risk remains that any redemptions would be subject to the Excise Tax, including in circumstances where we either engage in a business combination in 2023 in which we do not issue shares sufficient to offset the earlier redemptions or liquidate later in 2023.
Because the application of the Excise Tax is not entirely clear, any redemption or other repurchase effected by us, in connection with a business combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the Excise Tax. Whether and to what extent we would be subject to the Excise Tax on a redemption of our shares of common stock or other stock issued by us would depend on a number of factors, including (i) whether the redemption is treated as a repurchase of stock for purposes of the Excise Tax, (ii) the fair market value of the redemption treated as a repurchase of stock in connection with our initial business combination, an extension or otherwise (iii) the structure of the initial business combination, (iv) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with the initial business combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with the initial business combination but issued within the same taxable year of a redemption treated as a repurchase of stock) and (v) the content of regulations and other guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As noted above, the Excise Tax would be payable by us, and not by the redeeming holder, and the mechanics of any required payment of the Excise Tax have not yet been determined. The imposition of the Excise Tax could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete an initial business combination or for effecting redemptions and may affect our ability to complete an initial business combination.
To mitigate the current uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the IR Act, in the event that any excise tax is accrued in connection with any redemption event, the Sponsor intends to indemnify the Company for any Excise Tax liabilities resulting from the implementation of the IR Act with respect to any future redemptions. For the avoidance of doubt, the proceeds deposited in the trust account and the interest earned thereon shall not be used to pay for any Excise Tax due under the IR Act in connection with any redemptions of the public shares in connection with any redemption event.
Note 7- Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company’s common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of future events. The Company is authorized to issue 400,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were 21,451,875 shares of common stock outstanding, of which 17,161,500 shares were subject to possible redemption and classified outside of permanent equity in the balance sheets.
The common stock subject to possible redemption reflected on the balance sheets is reconciled on the following table:
| | | |
Gross proceeds from Initial Public Offering |
| $ | 171,615,000 |
Less: | |
|
|
Fair value of Public Warrants at issuance | | | (7,894,290) |
Offering costs allocated at common stock subject to possible redemption | |
| (9,494,877) |
Plus: | |
|
|
Accretion on common stock subject to possible redemption | |
| 17,389,167 |
Common stock subject to possible redemption as of December 31, 2021 | | | 171,615,000 |
Plus: | | | |
Waiver of offering costs allocated to common stock subject to possible redemption | | | 3,724,646 |
Less: | | | |
Adjustment for accretion of common stock subject to possible redemption amount | | | (2,175,524) |
Common stock subject to possible redemption as of December 31, 2022 | | $ | 173,164,122 |
F-20
Note 8-Stockholders’ Deficit
Preferred stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $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. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 400,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were 4,290,375 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, excluding 17,161,500 shares of common stock subject to possible redemption (see Note 7).
Note 9-Warrants
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company has 3,432,300 and 4,721,533 Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants, respectively, outstanding.
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable commencing 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination; provided that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, it will use commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60 business day after the closing of the initial 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 common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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 commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
The warrant has an exercise price of $11.50 per full share and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the 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 such 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 the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company consummates the initial 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 described below will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
F-21
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| ● | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and |
| ● | if, and only if, the last sale 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 on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If the Company calls the warrants for redemption as described above, it will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.”
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that none of the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or any of their permitted transferees.
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 the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
Note 10-Fair Value of Measurements
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques that the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
December 31,2022
| | | | | | | | | |
|
| Quoted Prices in |
| Significant Other |
| Significant Other | |||
| | Active Markets | | Observable Inputs | | Unobservable Inputs | |||
Description | | (Level 1) | | (Level 2) | | (Level 3) | |||
Assets - Investments held in Trust Account (1) |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| | | | | | | | | |
U.S. Treasury securities | | $ | 172,885,459 | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Money market funds (1) | | $ | 602,742 | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Liabilities | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Derivative Warrant liability- Private warrants | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | 424,940 |
F-22
December 31,2021
| | | | | | | | | |
|
| | |
| Significant | | Significant | ||
| | | | | Other | | Other | ||
| | Quoted Prices in | | Observable | | Unobservable | |||
| | Active Markets | | Inputs | | Inputs | |||
Description |
| (Level 1) |
| (Level 2) |
| (Level 3) | |||
Assets - Investments held in Trust Account(1) | | | | | | | | | |
|
| |
|
| |
| | |
|
U.S. Treasury securities | | $ | 171,656,153 | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Liabilities | | | | | | | | | |
Derivative Warrant liability- Private warrants | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | 5,571,410 |
(1) Includes cash balance held within the Trust Account of $1,264 and $1,153 at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2, and 3 are recognized at the beginning of the reporting period. There were no transfers to/from Levels 1, 2, and 3 during the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022.
Level 1 assets include investments in U.S. government securities. The Company uses inputs such as actual trade data, quoted market prices from dealers or brokers, and other similar sources to determine the fair value of its investments.
The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants was measured at fair value using a Black-Scholes model. The estimated fair value of the Private Placement Warrants is determined using Level 3 inputs. Inherent in a Black-Scholes model is assumptions related to expected stock-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The Company estimates the volatility of its common stock warrants based on implied volatility from the Company’s traded warrants and from historical volatility of select peer company’s common stock 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.
For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the Company recognized a gain in the statements of operations resulting from a decrease in fair value of the derivative warrant liabilities of approximately $5.1 million and $5.7 million, respectively, presented as change in fair value of derivative warrant liability in the accompanying statements of operations.
F-23
The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements inputs at their measurement dates:
| | | | | | | |
|
| December 31, |
| December 31, | | ||
|
| 2022 |
| 2021 | | ||
Exercise price |
| $ | 11.50 | | $ | 11.50 | |
Share price | | $ | 9.95 | | $ | 9.69 | |
Expected term (years) | | | 5.40 | | | 5.98 | |
Volatility | | | 5.50 | % | | 16.20 | % |
Risk-free rate | | | 3.98 | % | | 1.35 | % |
Probability of completion of Business Combination | | | 10.00 | % | | 100.00 | % |
Dividend yield (per share) | | | 0.00 | % | | 0.00 | % |
The change in the fair value of the derivative warrant liabilities, measured using Level 3 inputs, for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, is summarized as follows:
| | | |
Derivative warrant liability at December 31, 2021 |
| $ | 5,571,410 |
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liability | |
| (5,146,470) |
Derivative warrant liability at December 31, 2022 | | $ | 424,940 |
| | | |
Derivative warrant liability at January 28, 2021 (inception) |
| $ | — |
Issuance of Private Placement Warrants | | | 10,551,330 |
Issuance of Private Placement Warrants (over-allotment) | | | 685,920 |
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liability | | | (5,665,840) |
Derivative warrant liability at December 31, 2021 | | $ | 5,571,410 |
Note 11 --Income Taxes
The Company’s taxable income primarily consists of interest income on the Trust Account. The Company’s general and administrative expenses are generally considered start-up costs and are not currently deductible. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, there was income tax expense of approximately $438,000 and $0, respectively.
The income tax provision (benefit) consists of the following:
| | | | | | |
|
| | |
| For the Period from | |
| | | | | January 28, 2021 | |
| | For the Year Ended | | (inception) through | ||
| | December 31, 2022 | | December 31, 2021 | ||
Current |
| |
|
| |
|
Federal | | $ | 438,374 | | $ | — |
State | |
| — | |
| — |
Deferred | |
|
| |
|
|
Federal | |
| (539,887) | |
| 518,081 |
State | |
| — | |
|
|
Valuation allowance | |
| 539,887 | |
| (518,081) |
Income tax provision | | $ | 438,374 | | $ | — |
F-24
The Company's net deferred tax assets are as follows:
| | | | | | |
|
| December 31, 2022 |
| December 31, 2021 | ||
Deferred tax assets: |
| |
|
| |
|
Start-up/Organization costs | | $ | 1,027,717 | | $ | 487,830 |
Net operating loss carryforwards | |
| — | |
| 30,251 |
Total deferred tax assets | |
| 1,027,717 | |
| 518,081 |
Valuation allowance | |
| (1,027,717) | |
| (518,081) |
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance | | $ | — | | $ | — |
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had $0 and $144,052, respectively, of U.S. federal operating loss carryovers that do not expire and are available to offset future taxable income. In assessing the realization of 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 assets, 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 years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the change in the valuation allowance was $1,027,717and $518,081, respectively.
There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties at December 31, 2022 and 2021. 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.
A reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate (benefit) to the Company's effective tax rate (benefit) is as follows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021:
| | | | | |
|
| December 31, 2022 |
| December 31, 2021 |
|
Statutory Federal income tax rate |
| 21.0 | % | 21.0 | % |
Offering Costs |
| 0.0 | % | (0.7) | % |
Loss upon issuance of private placement warrants |
| 0.0 | % | (88.1) | % |
Gain on settlement of deferred underwriting commissions |
| (0.8) | % | 0.0 | % |
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
| (21.7) | % | 120.1 | % |
Change in Valuation Allowance |
| 10.8 | % | (52.3) | % |
Income tax provision |
| 9.3 | % | 0.0 | % |
Note 12-Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred up to the date financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than noted below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On March 23, 2023, the Company and NKGen Biotech, Inc. (“NKGen Biotech”), a biotechnology company focused on harnessing the power of the body’s immune system through the development of natural killer cell therapies, issued a press release to announce that they had entered into a non-binding letter of intent for a potential business combination.
F-25
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 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. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2022. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were not effective as of December 31, 2022, because of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. 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 the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Specifically, the Company’s management has concluded that our control around the interpretation and accounting for extinguishment of a significant contingent obligation was not effectively designed or maintained. In light of this material weakness, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP. This material weakness resulted in the restatement of the Company’s interim financial statements for the quarters ended June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we intend to expand and improve our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We have improved this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of assets of the Company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements prepared for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
52
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 using the criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on this assessment and those criteria, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting were not effective as of December 31, 2022.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, as the circumstances that led to the restatement of our financial statements as noted below.
Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for extinguishment of a significant contingent obligation. To address this material weakness, management has devoted, and plans to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of Company’s internal control over financial reporting. While the Company has processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements, management plans to enhance these processes to better evaluate its research and understanding of the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to its financial statements. The Company plans to include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among its personnel and third-party professionals with whom it consults regarding complex accounting applications.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
53
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance Officers and Directors
Our executive officers and directors are as follows:
NAME |
| AGE |
| POSITION |
|
James A. Graf | | 58 | | Chief Executive Officer | |
Sterling Cross | | 34 | | Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | |
Anthony A. Kuznik | | 58 | | Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Director | |
Sabrina McKee | | 55 | | Executive Vice President, Strategy and Director | |
Edwin J. Rigaud | | 79 | | Director | |
A.B. Cruz III | | 64 | | Director | |
Jeanne L. Manischewitz | | 49 | | Director | |
Alexandra Lebenthal | | 59 | | Director | |
James A. Graf has been our Chief Executive Officer since January 2021. Currently, Mr. Graf has served as an independent director of Catcha Investment Corp. (NYSE: CHAA) since February 2021. Mr. Graf served as the chief executive officer of Graf Industrial Corp., a blank check company, from June 2018 through its business combination with Velodyne Lidar, Inc. in September 2020. Mr. Graf served as a director of Graf Industrial Corp. from June 2018 to September 2019 and served as a director of Velodyne Lidar, Inc. from September 2020 to February 2021. Mr. Graf served as a director of Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. from January 2018 through its business combination with Target Logistics Management, LLC and RL Signor Holdings, LLC in March 2019. Mr. Graf served as the vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Double Eagle Acquisition Corp. from its inception in June 2015 through its business combination with Williams Scotsman, Inc. in November 2017. He served as vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer and secretary of Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp. from its inception in April 2013 through Silver Eagle’s business combination with Videocon d2h Limited (“VDTH”), and he served as vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer and secretary of Global Eagle Acquisition Corp. (“GEE”) from its inception in February 2011 to its business combination with Row 44, Inc. and Advanced Inflight Alliance AG in January 2013. He was vice chairman of Global Entertainment AG, the German entity holding GEE’s equity in AIA from 2013 to 2014 and special advisor to GEE in 2013. He served as a special advisor to VDTH from 2015 to 2016. From 2008 to 2011 Mr. Graf served as a managing director of TC Capital Ltd., an investment bank, in Singapore. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Graf was engaged as a consultant to provide financial advisory services to Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. In 2001, Mr. Graf founded and became chief executive officer of Praedea Solutions, Inc., an enterprise software company with operations in the United States, Malaysia and Ukraine. The assets of Praedea Solutions, Inc. were sold in 2006 to a Mergent Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xinhua Finance Ltd., and renamed Mergent Data Technology, Inc., where Mr. Graf continued to serve as Chief Executive Officer from 2006 to 2007. Praedea Solutions Inc. was renamed PSI Capital Inc., and currently serves as an investment holding company for Mr. Graf’s private investments. Mr. Graf continues to be chief executive of PSI Capital Inc. Prior to founding Praedea, Mr. Graf was a managing director at Merrill Lynch, in Singapore from 1998 to 2000 and a consultant to Merrill Lynch in 2001. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Graf served as a director and then managing director and president of Deutsche Bank’s investment banking entity in Hong Kong, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (Hong Kong) Ltd. From 1993 to 1996, he was a vice president at Smith Barney in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. From 1987 to 1993, Mr. Graf was an analyst and then associate at Morgan Stanley in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr. Graf received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago in 1987.
Sterling Cross has been our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since May 2022. Mr. Cross brings ten years of financial experience across special purpose acquisition companies, investment banking, corporate finance and business intelligence roles. Mr. Cross currently serves as the Vice President of the Company and is responsible for target company analysis, business diligence and other aspects of target identification and deal execution. Prior to the Company, Mr. Cross worked at Bank of America Securities (NYSE: BAC) from 2017 to 2021, where he was most recently a Vice President in the Mergers and Acquisitions group. As an investment banker at Bank of America, Mr. Cross advised on over 15 announced M&A and de-SPAC transactions totaling more than $20 billion in transaction value. Prior to banking, Mr. Cross spent 2010 to 2015 in financial and business analytics roles at Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF), where he was responsible for various elements of annual budget planning, business analytics and financial research. Mr. Cross received a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School in 2017 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in 2010.
54
Anthony A. Kuznik has been our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since February 2021 and a member of our board of directors since May 2022. Mr. Kuznik was most recently the vice president and general counsel of two strategic business units of Honeywell International Inc., a Fortune 100 company, where he served as the chief legal counsel responsible for the strategic direction and execution of global legal activities and the management of legal and contracts personnel worldwide. He was vice president and general counsel of Honeywell Building Solutions from 2009 - 2020 and vice president and general counsel of Honeywell Sensing and Control from 2005 - 2009. From 2001 - 2005, Mr. Kuznik was executive vice president, general counsel and director of Praedea Solutions, Inc., an enterprise software company with operations in the United States, Malaysia and Ukraine. From 1999 - 2001, Mr. Kuznik was a director at the investment banking firm Goldsmith Agio Helms (later Lazard Middle Market), where he was a senior member of M&A teams responsible for originating and executing domestic and international, middle-market transactions. From 1996 - 1999, Mr. Kuznik was an associate director at Deutsche Bank’s investment banking entity in Hong Kong, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (Hong Kong) Ltd. From 1995 - 1996, Mr. Kuznik was the managing attorney at Law Audit Services in St. Paul, a national legal management and auditing firm. From 1990 - 1995, Mr. Kuznik was an attorney at the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis. Mr. Kuznik received a Juris Doctor degree from the Columbia University School of Law in 1990 and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree from the University of Chicago in 1987. Mr. Kuznik also completed an Executive Management Program at the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD) in 1996.
Sabrina McKee has been our Executive Vice President, Strategy since April 2021 and a member of our board of directors since May 2022. Ms. McKee was most recently Director, Head of North America Strategy at Ford Motor Company until March 2021. Ms. McKee was previously Global Head of Mobility Strategy from February 2019 to January 2020 and Director of Investor Relations at Ford from February 2017 to February 2019. Ms. McKee served as a Director of Graf Industrial Corp. from October 2018 to September 2020. Ms. McKee a capital markets professional with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the investment process, has a unique blend of sellside, buyside and corporate experience offering a comprehensive understanding of the investment process. From April 2014 to June 2016, Ms. McKee was Managing Director, Head of Equity Capital Markets at Sterne Agee CRT LLC, where she worked with public and private companies on all aspects of the capital-raising process, including SPACs. From 2011 to 2014, Ms. McKee worked as a Director of the Corporate Access businesses at Guggenheim Securities LLC and during 2010 she worked as an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley where she connected public and private companies to the investment community. From 2007 to 2010, Ms. McKee was Vice President at Two Sigma Investments LP, where she helped build out a successful, global, Alpha Capture business, enabling quantitative investment managers to integrate fundamental factors into quantitative stock selection models. In addition, from 2000 to 2007, Ms. McKee worked for UBS Investment Bank as an Executive Director of Equity Research Sales and Equities, from 1999 to 2000 for Schroders plc as a Senior Vice President and from 1991 to 1998 for Tucker Anthony as a Senior Vice President of Institutional Research Sales, where she covered a diverse range of large institutional investors. Ms. McKee received a Bachelor of Arts degree from William Smith College in 1989.
Edwin J. Rigaud has served on our board of directors since May 2021. Mr. Rigaud has more than 50 years of business experience across a multitude of operating and leadership roles. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, since its inception in November 2017 until the closing of its business combination with PARTS iD, Inc. in November 2020. He continues to serve as a member of the board of directors of PARTS iD, Inc. In 2007, Mr. Rigaud founded EnovaPremier and commenced operations through the acquisition of the assets of T&WA, Inc. from entrepreneur Tommie Burns and his partner, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Since that time, he has served as owner and the President and Chief Executive Officer of EnovaPremier (2007-2018) and as Chairman (2019) while guiding that company to a position as one of the leading providers of automotive tire & wheel pre-assembly services in the United States. Prior to founding EnovaPremier, Mr. Rigaud served in numerous operating and management capacities at Procter & Gamble from 1965 to 2001. Mr. Rigaud’s notable leadership positions at Procter & Gamble included his role as a Vice President of Food & Beverage Products and as a Vice President of Government Relations in North America. Adding to his experience as a senior manager, Mr. Rigaud developed significant expertise in product development and brand management having been the first Technical Brand Manager in the exploratory phase of Pringles, and ultimately the Product Development Group Leader during the execution of Pringles’ national launch. Mr. Rigaud also led the product development efforts of Secret Deodorant & Antiperspirant improvements, including key active ingredient technology and perfume upgrades, while having direct participation with the Leo Burnett Agency in the creation of the famous advertising slogan, “strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.” Mr. Rigaud’s leadership in these efforts helped to facilitate a major relaunch of the Secret brand. He was ultimately named a Director in Product Development. Outside of his corporate leadership experience, Mr. Rigaud has served on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Board of the local affiliate of Fifth Third Bank of Cincinnati. Mr. Rigaud has also held appointments by Governor Bob Taft to the Ohio Board of Regents, and by President George W. Bush to the national Institute of Museum and Library Services. In 1997, Mr. Rigaud became the first CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. This 9-year development program included raising $110 million while working closely with John Pepper, former Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble, who served as the national building Campaign Chairman. Mr. Rigaud is also the head of one of the first African American co-ownership groups of a Major League Baseball franchise, the Cincinnati Reds.
55
Rear Admiral Anatolio Benedicto (A.B.) Cruz III has served on our board of directors since May 2021. Since April 2020, Admiral Cruz has been a Senior Advisor at BarkerGilmore LLC, where he provides executive coaching, leadership development and executive search services to legal leaders, CEOs and corporate boards. Since November 2019, he has served as the President of the Board of Governors for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. From September 2016 to October 2018, he served as Senior Vice President & Divisional General Counsel at USAA, a Fortune 100 financial services company, where he led the legal teams that supported the Company’s C-suite members and their organizations. He spearheaded the optimization of the chief legal office’s operating and interaction models, and reviewed and approved new products and services to foster USAA’s future growth, competitiveness, and technology transformation. From 2013-2016, Admiral Cruz was Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer, and PAC chairman for Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. (NYSE: EBS). From 2008 to 2012, Admiral Cruz served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary for Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNI), and from 2004-2008 was Executive Vice President & General Counsel for The E.W. Scripps Company (Nasdaq: SSP). He was Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of BET Networks, playing a leading role in BET’s $3 billion merger with Viacom (Nasdaq: VIA). Other private sector roles include serving as an attorney at Wiley Rein LLP, Roberts & Eckard, Gardner Carton & Douglas, and Leventhal Senter & Lerman. Admiral Cruz served the United States in the US Navy for 33 years, including the following command positions: Reserve Deputy Commander, Maritime Operations at US Fleet Forces Command; Deputy Commander at US Naval Forces Command / US Fourth Fleet; Deputy Commander, Navy Region Southwest; Commanding Officer, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command; Commanding Officer, Naval Inspector General; Commanding Officer, Harbor Defense Command 207; Commanding Officer, Naval Special Warfare Unit 2; and Commanding Officer, Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare 206. Admiral Cruz holds a JD from The Catholic University of America, an MA in Marketing from The University of Maryland, and a BS in General Engineering & Physical Sciences from U.S. Naval Academy. Admiral Cruz has served on numerous boards and previously served as the board chair for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. He currently serves as an advisory board member for Bellatorum Resources as well as VetStoreUSA. He is also a board director and committee chair for the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a board director and governance committee chair for the World Affairs Council of San Antonio, and a board director for the Down Syndrome Association of South Texas. He also serves as a board trustee, executive committee member and finance committee chair for Saint Mary’s Hall, and as a board trustee and governance committee member for the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation.
Jeanne L. Manischewitz has served on our board of directors since May 2021. Ms. Manischewitz is an experienced fiduciary and investment professional with over 25 years in the financial services industry. She currently serves as an independent director of Healthcare Services Acquisition Corp., a SPAC. Most recently she spent 15 years at York Capital Management where she was a portfolio manager and a partner of the firm until September 2020. During that time, she also served on the firm’s ESG committee and was a steering committee member of the Women’s Network. Prior to her time at York Capital Management, Ms. Manischewitz spent a total of seven years as a senior credit analyst at Moore Capital Management and Halcyon Capital Management. Ms. Manischewitz started her career on Wall Street as an investment banker at Salomon Smith Barney. Ms. Manischewitz received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University.
Alexandra Lebenthal has served on our board of directors since July 2021. Ms. Lebenthal is a senior advisor in the Financial Sponsors Group at Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE: HLI) where she leads an initiative focused on female led and founded companies. Ms. Lebenthal previously was the chief executive officer of Lebenthal Holdings, a diversified financial services firm that included one of the nation’s largest woman-owned broker dealers. She was president of Lebenthal Funds, overseeing the firm’s mutual and money market funds. Ms. Lebenthal engineered the sale of Lebenthal Funds in 2001 to The Advest Group, remaining at the firm until it was subsequently sold to Merrill Lynch in 2005. During that time, in addition to managing Lebenthal Funds, she also ran marketing and municipal capital markets for the parent company. Lebenthal Funds was the number one woman-owned firm in debt and equity capital markets from 2012-2016. Ms. Lebenthal was named one of the top 50 Women in Wealth Management by Wealth Manager Magazine, as well as Private Asset Management. She has also been named to the Crain’s New York Top Women-Owned Businesses and the Crain’s Fastest 50 Growing Businesses in New York. She currently is an advisory board member for Interprice Technologies, a former board member and Treasurer of the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), and a member of C200, the leading organization for female businesswomen. Ms. Lebenthal is the co-founder of “The Women’s Executive Circle,” and “Women On Wall Street”, which cultivates high-profile Jewish women under the auspices of United Jewish Appeal. Ms. Lebenthal’s first novel, “The Recessionistas,” a thriller set in Manhattan during the financial crisis, was published in August 2010. Ms. Lebenthal is a graduate of Princeton University with an A.B. in history.
56
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of six members, including four independent members. Our board 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. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Anthony A. Kuznik and Sabrina McKee, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Edwin J. Rigaud and Anatolio Benedicto (A.B.) Cruz III, will expire at our second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Jeanne L. Manischewitz and Alexandra Lebenthal will expire at our third annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the stockholders, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board, or by a majority of the holders of our common stock. Our executive 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 persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
The members of our audit committee are Jeanne L. Manischewitz, Alexandra Lebenthal, Edwin J. Rigaud and Anatolio Benedicto (A.B.) Cruz III. Jeanne L. Manischewitz serves as chairperson of the audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Jeanne L. Manischewitz qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ● | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| ● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| ● | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| ● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
57
| ● | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
The members of our Compensation Committee are Edwin J. Rigaud, Alexandra Lebenthal, Anatolio Benedicto (A.B.) Cruz III and Jeanne L. Manischewitz. Edwin J. Rigaud serves as chairperson of the compensation committee.
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 Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| ● | reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other 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 officers and employees; |
| ● | 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. |
Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent 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 the NYSE and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance are Edwin J. Rigaud, Alexandra Lebenthal, Anatolio Benedicto (A.B.) Cruz III and Jeanne L. Manischewitz. Anatolio Benedicto (A.B.) Cruz III serves as chairperson of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
58
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| ● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of stockholders or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| ● | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| ● | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The charter also provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
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, the 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 officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We filed a copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement in connection with our IPO. You are able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters of the committees of our board of directors can be provided without charge upon request from us. If we make any amendments to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or NYSE rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.
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.
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We have entered into agreements with our executive 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 will 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.
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.
We will reimburse G-SPAC Management LLC, an affiliate of our sponsor, for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team in an amount not to exceed $15,000 per month in the event such space and/or services are utilized and we do not pay directly for such services. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of theirs, for services rendered prior to, or for any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be entitled to certain payments including, but not limited to, reimbursement 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. Additionally, these individuals will be eligible to receive a transfer or reallocation of founder shares for any extraordinary services rendered in order to identify or effectuate the consummation of our initial business combination. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, 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 identifying and consummating an initial business combination.
At the Special Meeting, our stockholders approved the payment by the Company, directly or indirectly, of $16,667.00 per month base cash compensation to the Company’s full-time Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Cross, who is not a member of our Sponsor, plus any related taxes (including, without limitation, Medicare and social security), governmental payments and health care benefits, for services rendered to the Company as an employee, contractor or otherwise from May 6, 2022 (retroactive) through the Company’s closing of a business combination. As of December 31, 2022, have incurred approximately $155,971 under this arrangement.
At the Special Meeting, our stockholders also approved the payment by the Company, directly or indirectly, of up to $6,000.00 per month in aggregate for health care benefits to be provided to three of the Company’s full-time executive officers, Mr. Graf, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kuznik, the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and Ms. McKee, the Executive Vice President, Strategy, who are not otherwise receiving compensation from the Company, from December 21, 2022 through the Company’s closing of a business combination. As of December 31, 2022, we have incurred approximately $4,905 under this arrangement.
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 tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial 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 initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our 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.
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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 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 officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
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, 2023, 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 officers and directors; and |
| ● | all our officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect beneficial ownership of the public warrants or private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this report.
We have based our calculation of the percentage of beneficial ownership on 21,451,875 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2023.
| | | | | |
|
| NUMBER OF |
| APPROXIMATE |
|
| | SHARES | | PERCENTAGE OF | |
| | BENEFICIALLY | | OUTSTANDING | |
NAME AND ADDRESS OF BENEFICIAL OWNER(1) |
| OWNED(2) |
| COMMON STOCK | |
Directors, Executive Officers and Founders |
| 4,210,375 |
| 19.6 | % |
James A. Graf(3) |
| 4,210,375 |
| 19.6 | % |
Anthony A. Kuznik |
| — |
| — | |
Sabrina McKee |
| — |
| — | |
Edwin J. Rigaud |
| 20,000 |
| * | |
A.B. Cruz III |
| 20,000 |
| * | |
Jeanne L. Manischewitz |
| 20,000 |
| * | |
Alexandra Lebenthal |
| 20,000 |
| * | |
All executive officers, directors and director as a group (7 individuals) |
| 4,290,375 |
| 20.0 | % |
Five Percent Holders |
| — |
| — | |
Graf Acquisition Partners IV LLC(3) |
| 4,210,375 |
| 19.6 | % |
Adage Capital Partners(4) |
| 1,350,000 |
| 6.29 | % |
*Less than 1%
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Graf Acquisition Corp. IV, 1790 Hughes Landing Blvd., Suite 400, The Woodlands, Texas 77380. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares. |
| (3) | Represents shares of our common stock held by Graf Acquisition Partners IV LLC, our sponsor. James A. Graf, our Chief Executive Officer, is the managing member of our sponsor and sponsor parent entity and has sole voting and investment discretion with respect to the founder shares held by our sponsor. Certain of our officers and directors are members of our sponsor and own an aggregate of approximately 25% to 70% of the membership interests of our sponsor, depending on financial returns. The remaining membership interests are held by third-party investors that are not affiliated with members of our management. Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence. |
| (4) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on May 25, 2021 on behalf of Adage Capital Partners, L.P. (“ACP L.P.”), Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C. (“ACP GP”), Adage Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (“ACA”), Robert Atchinson and Phillip Gross. Each of ACA L.P., ACP GP, ACA, Mr. Atchinson and Mr Gross may be deemed to beneficially own 1,350,000 shares of the Company’s |
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| common stock. The business address of each of ACA L.P., ACA GP, ACA, Mr. Atchinson and Mr. Gross is 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. |
Our initial stockholders beneficially own 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock. Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors, amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our initial business combination.
The holders of our founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a tender offer.
Our sponsor is deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
On February 13, 2021, we issued an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares to Graf LLC for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. On April 2, 2021, Graf LLC transferred all of its founder shares to our sponsor. On April 8, 2021, our sponsor transferred 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors, resulting in our sponsor holding 4,252,500 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of the IPO. The underwriters partially exercised their overallotment option on June 2, 2021, and forfeited the remaining option; and, as a result, an aggregate of 22,125 founder shares were forfeited, resulting in 4,290,375 founder shares outstanding. On July 14, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 20,000 founder shares to Alexandra Lebenthal in connection with her appointment to the Company’s board of directors.
Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,433,333 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant for an aggregate purchase price of $6,650,000 in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of the IPO. Simultaneously with the closing of the overallotment on June 2, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing of the private placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 288,200 private placement warrants at $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating additional gross proceeds of approximately $432,000. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
On June 2, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased an additional 2,161,500 units, generating gross proceeds of $21,615,000. A total of $171,615,000 of the net proceeds from the sale of the units, the over-allotment units and the private placement warrants was placed in the trust account.
As more fully discussed herein, if any of our officers or directors becomes unaware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-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 other entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
No cash finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers for services rendered, prior to, or for any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, as more fully discussed above, these individuals will be entitled to certain payments including, but not limited to, reimbursement 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. Additionally, these individuals will be eligible to receive a transfer or reallocation of founder shares for any extraordinary services rendered in order to identify or effectuate the consummation of our initial business combination. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
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Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial 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 an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial 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 $1.5 million of such working capital loans may be convertible into additional warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercisability and exercise price. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. 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.
Administrative Support Agreement and Officer and Director Compensation
We have agreed to pay G-SPAC Management LLC, an affiliate of our sponsor, $15,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services provided to us and members of our management team. We will cease paying these monthly fees upon the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or our liquidation.
Item 14.Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to WithumSmith+Brown, PC (“Withum”), for services rendered.
Audit Fees: Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 financial statements and services that are normally provided by Withum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees for Withum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 totaled approximately $111,000 and $102,000, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees: Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Withum for consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
Tax Fees: For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we paid $6,500 and $0, respectively to Withum for tax planning and tax advice.
All Other Fees: We did not pay Withum for other services for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 28, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
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PART IV
Item 15.Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
| (a) | Financial Statements: See “Index to Financial Statements” as “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | Financial Statement Schedules. All schedules are omitted for the reason that the information is included in the financial statements or the notes thereto or that they are not required or are not applicable. |
| (c) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. |
Exhibit Index
Number |
| Description |
3.1 | | |
3.2 | | |
4.1 | | |
4.2 | | |
4.3 | | |
4.4 | | |
4.5 | | |
10.1 | | |
10.2 | | |
10.3 | | |
10.4 | | |
10.5 | | |
10.6 | | |
10.7 | | |
14 | | |
24.1* | |
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31.1* | | |
31.2* | | |
32.1* | | |
32.2* | | |
101.INS | | Inline XBRL Instance Document |
101.SCH | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
101.CAL | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document |
101.DEF | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document |
101.LAB | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document |
101.PRE | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
104 | | Cover Page Interactive Data File (Embedded within the Inline XBRL document and included in Exhibit) |
* Filed herewith.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| GRAF ACQUISITION CORP. IV | |
| | |
| By: | |
| | /s/ James A. Graf |
| Name: | James A. Graf |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
| (Principal executive officer) | |
| | |
Dated: March 31, 2023 | | |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Each of the undersigned, whose signature appears below, hereby constitutes and appoints James A. Graf his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments including post-effective amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name |
| Title |
| Date |
/s/ James A. Graf | | | ||
James A. Graf | | Chief Executive Officer | | March 31,2023 |
(Principal Executive Officer) | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Sterling Cross | | | | |
Sterling Cross | | Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | | March 31,2023 |
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Anthony A. Kuznik | | | ||
Anthony A. Kuznik | | Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Director | | March 31,2023 |
| | | | |
/s/ Sabrina McKee | | | ||
Sabrina McKee | | Executive Vice President, Strategy and Director | | March 31,2023 |
| | | | |
/s/ Edwin J. Rigaud | | | ||
Edwin J. Rigaud | | Director | | March 31,2023 |
| | | | |
/s/ A.B. Cruz III | | | ||
A.B. Cruz III | | Director | | March 31,2023 |
| | | | |
/s/ Jeanne L. Manischewitz | | | ||
Jeanne L. Manischewitz | | Director | | March 31,2023 |
| | | | |
/s/ Alexandra Lebenthal | | | ||
Alexandra Lebenthal | | Director | | March 31,2023 |
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