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
OR
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to .
Commission file number 001-41081
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| Cayman Islands | +55 (21) 3687-1500 | N/A | ||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address if changed since last report)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act
| Rua Aníbal de Mendonça, 27, 2nd floor, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil | 22410-050 | |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | Zip Code |
+55 (21) 3687-1500
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code
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 Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered | ||
| Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share | CREC | Nasdaq Capital Market | ||
| Redeemable warrants, each one whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 | CRECW | Nasdaq Capital Market | ||
| Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant | CRECU | Nasdaq Capital Market |
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 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 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 the definitions 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. ☐
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). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
As of April 14, 2023, 20,125,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 6,708,333 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, were issued and outstanding, respectively.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
table of contents
i
Certain Terms
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”), references to:
“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Crescera Capital Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company;
“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that the company;
“Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;
“directors” are to our current directors;
“equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities of our company that are convertible into, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt;
“final prospectus” are to the Company’s final prospectus (File No. 333-255382), dated November 18, 2021, which was declared effective by the SEC on November 18, 2021;
“founders” are to Jaime Cardoso Danvila, our Chairman of the Board, Felipe Samuel Argalji, our Chief Executive Officer, Laura Guaraná Carvalho, our former Chief Financial Officer, and Daniel Arthur Borghi, one of our Directors;
“founder shares” are to Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described herein;
“initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and each other holder of our founder shares upon the consummation of our initial public offering;
“IPO” are to our initial public offering that closed on November 23, 2021;
“management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors;
“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares;
“Crescera” are to Crescera Investimentos Ltda.;
“private placement warrants” are to the warrants sold to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our IPO and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any;
“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our IPO (whether they are purchased in our IPO or thereafter in the open market);
“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and management team to the extent our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares;
“public warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO (whether they are purchased in our IPO or thereafter in the open market) and to the private placement warrants if held by third parties other than our sponsor (or permitted transferees);
“sponsor” are to CC Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company;
“warrants” are to our public warrants and private placement warrants; and
“$,” “US$” and “U.S. dollar” each refer to the United States dollar.
ii
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this annual report 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 Annual Report may include, for example, statements about:
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | 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 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; |
| ● | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| ● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| ● | our public securities’ liquidity and trading; |
| ● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account 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 Annual Report 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 in “Item 1a. 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. Some of these risks and uncertainties may in the future be amplified by the COVID-19 outbreak and there may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. 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.
iii
Part I
Item 1. Business
Introduction
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated on March 11, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. To date, we have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any business, industry or geographical location, we intend to focus our search for a target in Latin America, and more specifically in Brazil, and in sectors with technology-enabled transformations and strong growth potential in the region, including, but not limited to technology, healthcare, education services, consumer and retail, or the Target Sectors.
Our sponsor is an affiliate of Crescera. Founded in 2008, Crescera is an independent asset management firm based in Brazil that currently manages approximately R$5.7 billion in assets under management, or AUM, focused on two main investment strategies: growth equity and venture capital, in each case in Brazil. The core of Crescera’s investment team is comprised of six senior investment professionals, five of which have worked together at Crescera for the past ten years, investing successfully in Brazilian companies within the Target Sectors. Overall, Crescera’s investment team is composed of 11 talented professionals.
Crescera’s track record has enabled it to raise and invest successfully in four growth equity funds, as well as two venture capital funds. Crescera is currently investing out of its fifth growth equity and fundraising for its third venture capital vintages. A distinguishing aspect of Crescera’s strategy is its partnership model. Crescera believes that this feature has helped it attract, develop and retain top-quality talent.
Crescera focuses on areas in which it has significant industry expertise. The main areas in which Crescera has developed such expertise are technology, healthcare, education and consumer, retail and services. Crescera combines its strategy and expertise with capital to help build companies into regional or national leaders. By combining its extensive knowledge of Brazilian markets with deep industry expertise, Crescera seeks to position itself as a partner of choice for leading Brazilian entrepreneurs and family-owned companies, adding significant value through hands-on governance and strategic inputs, as well as providing capital for growth.
Furthermore, we believe that Crescera’s value creation capabilities as well as its efforts to position itself as a partner of choice have been recognized by companies within the Target Sectors. We believe that this has helped enhance proprietary origination capabilities, as such companies often seek out Crescera as a partner or prefer Crescera over other potential financial sponsors.
Company History
On November 23, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 20,125,000 Public Units, including the issuance of 2,625,000 Units as a result of the underwriter’s (the “Underwriter”) exercise of its over-allotment option (“Over-allotment Option”) in full, at a price of $10.00 per Public Unit, generating gross proceeds of $201,250,000. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we consummated the sale of 10,150,000 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, in a Private Placement to CC Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $10,150,000.
Of the net proceeds from the IPO, exercise of the over-allotment option, and associated private placements, $205,275,000 of cash was placed in the Trust Account.
We cannot assure you that our plans to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
1
On January 10, 2022, we announced that, commencing January 10, 2022, holders of the 20,125,000 units sold in the IPO may elect to separately trade the Crescera Class A Ordinary Shares and the public warrants included in the units. Those units not separated continued to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “CRECU” and the Crescera Class A Ordinary Shares and public warrants that were separated trade under the symbols “CREC” and “CRECW,” respectively.
Initial Business Combination
The rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of signing the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination upon standards generally accepted by the financial community. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, or if we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, such transaction would be subject to approval by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. We would not be required to obtain an opinion from a third party firm in such event to address whether the business combination is fair to our public shareholders from a financial point of view. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. We also will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. Subject to these limitations, our directors and executive officers will have virtually unlimited flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective businesses.
We may, at our option, pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with Crescera, or one or more parties affiliated with Crescera, including without limitation officers and affiliates of Crescera, funds associated with Crescera or investors in such funds. Any such party may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by borrowing from or issuing to such parties a class of equity or debt securities. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such joint acquisition or specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders 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-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the prior owners of the target business, the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons. We will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination 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 of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on the relative 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, shares or other equity interests of a target or issue a substantial number of new shares to third parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. 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 shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and 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-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 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 and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
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.
2
Other Considerations
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Crescera and our directors and officers are regularly made aware of potential business combination opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue. However, we have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
In addition, certain of our directors and officers currently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities, including without limitation Crescera and funds associated with Crescera or their current or former portfolio companies. These funds may have overlapping investment objectives and potential conflicts may arise with respect to Crescera’s decision regarding how to allocate investment opportunities among these funds. If any of our directors and officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for a fund or entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations (including, without limitation, any funds associated with Crescera or their current or former portfolio companies), then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such fund or entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If Crescera, funds associated with Crescera or other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. In addition, investment ideas generated within or presented to Crescera or our directors and executive officers may be suitable for both us and Crescera, a current or future Crescera fund or one or more of their portfolio companies and, subject to applicable fiduciary duties or contractual obligations, will first be directed to Crescera, such fund, investment vehicle or portfolio company before being directed, if at all, to us. However, we do not expect these fiduciary duties or contractual obligations to materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity (including with respect to any business transaction that may involve another Crescera entity) for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. Accordingly, Crescera and our directors or officers may not be obliged to present a business combination opportunity to us.
Our officers and directors, including our chief executive officer, are and in the future will be required to commit time and attention to Crescera and current and future funds associated with Crescera. To the extent any conflict of interest arises between, on the one hand, us and, on the other hand, any of such entities (including, without limitation, arising as a result of certain of officers and directors being required to offer acquisition opportunities to such entities), Crescera and its affiliated funds will resolve such conflict of interest in their sole discretion in accordance with their then existing fiduciary, contractual and other duties and there can be no assurance that such conflict of interest will be resolved in our favor.
On November 17, 2021, we filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at R. Aníbal de Mendonça, 27, 2nd floor, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22410-050, Brazil, our telephone number is +55 (21) 3687-1500 and our corporate website is https://cresceraspac.com/. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this annual report.
3
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, or the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to 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 of 2002 (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 non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 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 any fiscal year for so long as either (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates did not equal or exceed $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues did not equal or exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates did not equal or exceed $700 million as of the prior June 30.
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 following our IPO until closing a business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash held in the Trust Account, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), 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.
4
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 Class A ordinary shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-business combination 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.
We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry, we intend to focus our search on Brazilian companies in sectors with strong growth potential benefiting from positive trends in the region, including, but not limited to, healthcare, technology, education services, consumer and retail.
Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into in the future. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. Neither our sponsor, nor any of our officers, directors or shareholders are required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware 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. In addition, 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 track record and business relationships of our officers and directors. In addition, various unaffiliated sources, including but not limited to investment bankers and private investment funds, may bring target businesses to our attention as a result of being solicited by us through 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 this annual report and know what types of businesses we are targeting. 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 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 a finder’s fee 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 they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Any such payments prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than the foregoing, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
5
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or funds managed by certain of our affiliates, or from completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers, directors or funds managed by certain of our affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or funds managed by certain of our affiliates, such transaction would be subject to approval by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors to determine whether such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We would not be required to obtain an opinion from a third party firm in such event to address whether the business combination is fair to our public shareholders from a financial point of view.
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
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, inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
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, and negotiation with, 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. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial 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. 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’s 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.
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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 a 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.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ● | We issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our Class A shares then issued and outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
| ● | Any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest earned on the trust account (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| ● | The issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek shareholder 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 shareholders, 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 shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. 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. 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.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. 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.
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The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) 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 Class A ordinary shares or public 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.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) 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 shareholders 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 shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on a negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares 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 purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares 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 calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, 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 their founder shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
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Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed 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 shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.
The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above is contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on the Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by holders of two-thirds of our ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment.
If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a general meeting, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| ● | 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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of a majority of issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, shares underlying the private placement warrants 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 an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreement of our sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will:
| ● | 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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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 shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.
Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our IPO without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
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Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights
As described above, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the broker submitting or tendering shares a fee of approximately $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 submit or 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.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. 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 shareholders 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 business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus).
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have until May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus). If we have not completed our initial business combination within such period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time period.
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Our sponsor, 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 by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus). However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares in or after our 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 time period.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, 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. 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, 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 $1,450,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. 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 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 of our IPO 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 shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. The funds 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 shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. 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 Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving 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 shareholders, 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 consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. 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 significantly 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. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our IPO will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. 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. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm) 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 other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per unit 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 $10.20 per unit 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 our 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 we 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. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per unit. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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In the event that the funds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per unit 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 $10.20 per unit due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, 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 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. 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 $10.20 per unit.
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 Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving 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 our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,450,000 from the proceeds of our IPO 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, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $650,000, 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 are less than our estimate of $650,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the funds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per unit to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. 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, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders 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 shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus), (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of our initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
Conflicts of Interest
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an 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 entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently utilize office space at R. Aníbal de Mendonça, 27, 2nd floor, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22410-050, Brazil from our sponsor as our executive offices. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two officers: Felipe Samuel Argalji and Rafael Moreira Pereira. These individuals 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 business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities is subject to a number of risks, including risks relating to our business and industry, risks relating to Brazil and risks relating to the offering and our securities. The following list summarizes some, but not all, of these risks. Please read the information in the section entitled “Risk Factors” for a more thorough description of these and other risks.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
| ● | Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| ● | Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek shareholder approval of the 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 within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| ● | The ability of our public shareholders 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 a business combination with a target. |
| ● | Our search for a business combination, and any partner business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets. |
Risks Relating to Our Sponsor and Management Team
| ● | We are dependent upon our founders and officers and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate. |
| ● | Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be 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 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, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. 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 officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing 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. |
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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. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| ● | Nasdaq 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. |
| ● | Holders of our public shares are not entitled to vote on the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination. |
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries, in Particular in Latin America
| ● | If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us. |
| ● | If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues. |
| ● | After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate. |
| ● | We will be exposed to certain risks that are particular to investing in Latin America and other emerging markets. |
Certain Factors Relating to Latin America
| ● | Governments have a high degree of influence in the economies in which we plan to operate. The effects of this influence and political and economic conditions in Latin America could harm us and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. |
| ● | Developments and the perceptions of risks in other countries, including other emerging markets, the United States and Europe, may harm the economy of the countries in which we operate and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. |
| ● | The ongoing economic uncertainty and political instability in Brazil, including as a result of ongoing corruption investigations, may harm us and the price of our Class A ordinary shares. |
General Risk Factors
| ● | We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| ● | Past performance by our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company. |
| ● | Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss. |
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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 annual report on Form 10-K and the prospectus associated with our IPO, before making a decision to invest in our securities. 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.
General Risk Factors
We are a blank check 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 blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and all of our activities to date have been related to our formation, our IPO and our search for a business combination target. 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. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a 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.
Past performance by our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
Information regarding our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team and their affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our shareholders, or of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experiences of our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team or their affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
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 may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our 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 or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders 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 shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’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.
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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, regional 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.
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 internal controls 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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or 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.
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 Rule 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 any fiscal year for so long as either (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates did not exceed $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues did not exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates did not exceed $700 million as of the prior June 30. 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.
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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 our 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 business 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.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
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Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. For instance, Nasdaq rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders 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 shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.
Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek shareholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will 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 a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to effect the investment decision regarding our initial 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 shareholders in which we describe our 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 within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter 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, domestic and international, 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 similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local 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 from our IPO 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. In addition, as our strategy is to focus on business combination targets in Latin America, where there is a more limited pool of targets, we may be unable to find a suitable business combination target. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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The ability of our public shareholders 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 a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that 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, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination or less than such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption of our public shares and the related business combination, and we may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions. The ability of our public shareholders 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 shareholders 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. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
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The ability of our public shareholders 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 shares.
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 shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares 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 your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame 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 shareholders.
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 by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus). 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 sponsor may decide not to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
Our sponsor and its affiliates or permitted designees are not obligated to purchase private placement warrants to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within such applicable 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per public share, or less than $10.20 per public share, on the redemption of their shares.
Our search for a business combination, and any partner business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in, a widespread health crisis that has adversely affected the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected.
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Furthermore, the continuing surges of COVID-19 cases, along with potential new strains and variants being discovered and challenges associated with the roll out and availability of vaccines have resulted in the reimposition of certain restrictions in certain countries, particularly in Latin America, and may lead to other restrictions being implemented in response to efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, 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. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern 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, 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.
Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Item 1A. Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
Our initial business combination or reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
We may effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or reincorporate in another jurisdiction. Such transactions may result in tax liability for a stockholder or warrant holder in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident (or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity), in which the target company is located, or in which we reincorporate. In the event of a reincorporation pursuant to our initial business combination, such tax liability may attach prior to any consummation of redemptions. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to pay such taxes.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus). Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic continues both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the pandemic 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 COVID-19 pandemic 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
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If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such time frame before redemption from our trust account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus), the funds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up or liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus) before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the funds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.
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.”
In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” our management has determined that liquidity condition and mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate on June 14, 2023 (which is 15 months after the closing of the IPO on March 14, 2022, or January 14, 2023, which is up to 21 months if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus). The annual audited financial statements do not include any adjustment that might be necessary if the company is unable to continue as a going concern.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders own approximately 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares as of December 31, 2022. Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,708,334, or 33.3%, of the 20,125,000 public shares sold in our IPO to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive an ordinary resolution, being the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, our other initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder 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 shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public 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, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material non-public information), our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. 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 purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.
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In the event that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the 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. See “Item 1. Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares 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.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their stock certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the date on which the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination is to be held. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this annual report entitled “Item 1. Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights.”
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.
We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds from our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make it 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. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-business combination businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, 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, advisors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. Other than in connection with a forward purchase agreement we may enter into, none of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
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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, including geographic area, for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive 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 shareholders 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 shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder 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 shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We may consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a 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 than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a 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 annual 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 ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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 shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, 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 shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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.
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 business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’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 shareholders or warrant holders who choose to remain shareholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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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 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 investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers 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.
Moreover, in pursuing our 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 a business combination with a company that is not as profitable (if at all) as we believed at the time of signing an agreement to acquire such private company or that fails to meet the projections upon which our valuation may be based.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our 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 a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
The 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 could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition 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 acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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 our IPO), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In March 2021, one of our officers paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs, in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares, which were temporarily issued to such officer and, on April 7, 2021, transferred to our sponsor. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of expenses paid on behalf of the company by the number of founder shares issued. In October 2021, our sponsor received a further 958,333 founder shares by way of share capitalization using the existing share premium account. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on our IPO of 20,125,000 and therefore the corresponding 6,708,333 founder shares represent approximately 25% of the outstanding shares. Out of the 6,708,333 founder shares, 5,031,250 founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares after our initial business combination and 1,677,083 founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares only to the extent our stock trades at or above $12.50 per share as described in the final prospectus. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has purchased an aggregate of 10,150,000 private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $10,150,000, or $1.00 per warrant. The private placement warrants will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. 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. This risk may become more acute as May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus), which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
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Because we must furnish our shareholders 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 the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. 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, or “GAAP,” or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or “IFRS,” depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the 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.
If the net proceeds from our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least until May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus), 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 and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds from our IPO, only $1,450,000 was available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that these funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate until November 23, 2023; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate, and our sponsor, its affiliates and members of our management team are under no obligation to advance funds to us in the event that the funds available to us outside of the trust account are subsequently determined to be insufficient. 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 or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we 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.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $650,000, 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 offering expenses are less than our estimate of $650,000, 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. Neither 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 $2,100,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. 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. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time. 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 shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.20 per unit, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Subsequent to our 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 the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present within 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 or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders or warrant holders who choose to remain shareholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If third parties bring claims against us, the funds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per unit.
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, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving 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 shareholders, 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 consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our IPO will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
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 significantly 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 have not completed 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 shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per unit initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement included as an exhibit to the registration statement for our IPO, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm) 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 other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per unit and (ii) the actual amount per unit held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per unit 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 our 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 we 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. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per unit. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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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 shareholders.
In the event that the funds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per unit 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 $10.20 per unit due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy his obligations or that he 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 shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per unit.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per unit.
The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government 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 that we do not to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income earned thereon and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per unit.
If, after we distribute the funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. 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 shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the funds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
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You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units.
We have not registered, and will not register, the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis, in which case the number of Class A ordinary shares that the holders of warrants will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum number of shares equal to 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders 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. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of $18,293 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
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We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are required to hold an annual general meeting no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first general meeting) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any 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.
Although we expect to invest in a Brazilian company, our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region in Latin America. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in strategy and finance, including companies in sectors with strong growth potential benefiting from positive trends in the region, including, but not limited to, healthcare, technology, education services, consumer and retail. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibit us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If we consider an initial business combination with an affiliated entity or if our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business, such transaction would be subject to approval by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. We would not be required to obtain an opinion from a third party firm in such event to address whether the business combination is fair to our public shareholders from a financial point of view, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, or if we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, such transaction would be subject to approval by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. We would not be required to obtain an opinion from a third party firm in such event to address whether the business combination is fair to our public shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders 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 proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares may be converted into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 25% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders and regardless of whether the founder shares have converted), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants to be issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of December 31, 2022 to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers 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. 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; |
| ● | 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 Class A ordinary shares; |
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| ● | 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 Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and 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; and |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds from our IPO 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 products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from our IPO and the private placement of warrants provided us with $205,275,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $7,043,750 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account, and offering expenses and working capital costs of $2,100,000).
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 the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
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. 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.
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We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. 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 structure our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders 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-business combination 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-business combination company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the 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 business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. 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 Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder 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 any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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Certain agreements related to our IPO may be amended without shareholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to our IPO to which we are a party, other than (i) the warrant agreement (except for provisions of the warrant agreement enabling amendments without shareholder or warrant holder approval that are necessary or advisable in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements, provided that any modifications or amendments that would increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period shall require the approval of the warrant holders in accordance with the warrant agreement) and (ii) the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without shareholder approval. Such agreements include the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders; the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and our sponsor; and a forward purchase agreement between us and our sponsor we may enter into following consummation of our IPO. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders 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 shareholders, 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 materials or tender offer documents, 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 shareholders, 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 shareholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Prior to the initial business combination, the holders of founder shares will hold approximately 25% of the combined voting power of the founder shares and public shares voting together as a single class (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the parties to the letter agreement have not acquired any Class A ordinary shares). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this annual report. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a terms for three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint 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 business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
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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 IPO, 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, the COVID-19 pandemic and government measures taken to curb the spread of the virus, 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.
Risks Relating to Our Sponsor and Management Team
We are dependent upon our founders and officers and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our founders and officers. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our founders and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our founders and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our founders or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our founders or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be 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 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 engage 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.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. 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 our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the 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 business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
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Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing 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 a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs 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. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Directors and Executive Officers.”
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in 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. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. 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, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer on the one hand, and us, on the other.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or to complete our initial business combination.
For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Directors and Executive Officers,” “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”
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 a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors, officers or funds managed by certain of our affiliates. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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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 when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. See the section titled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors, existing holders or funds managed by certain of our affiliates, 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, directors, existing holders or funds managed by certain of our affiliates. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.” 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 substantive discussions concerning a 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 would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Item 1. Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. We would not be required to obtain an opinion from a third party firm in such event to address whether the business combination is fair to our public shareholders from a financial point of view. Despite being subject to approval by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors, existing holders or funds managed by certain of our affiliates, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Certain members of our board of directors and management team may be involved in and have a greater financial interest in the performance of other entities affiliated with our sponsor, and such activities may create conflicts of interest in making decisions on our behalf.
Certain of our directors and members of our management team may be subject to a variety of conflicts of interest relating to their responsibilities to our sponsor and its other affiliates. Such individuals may serve as members of management or a board of directors (or in similar such capacity) to various other affiliated entities. Such positions may create a conflict between the advice and investment opportunities provided to such entities and the responsibilities owed to us. The other entities in which such individuals may become involved may have investment objectives that overlap with ours. Furthermore, certain of our principals and employees may have a greater financial interest in the performance of such other affiliated entities than our performance. Such involvement may create conflicts of interest in sourcing investment opportunities on our behalf and on behalf of such other entities.
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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. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus), subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the funds held in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq 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, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on Nasdaq. Although we expect to meet on a pro forma basis Nasdaq’s minimum initial listing standards, which generally only require that we meet certain requirements relating to shareholders’ equity, market capitalization, aggregate market value of publicly held shares and distribution requirements, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq were to delist our securities prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, or we were to voluntarily delist our securities prior to such time, we would no longer be required to complete a business combination having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account). This would allow us to acquire a target business valued substantially below the amount of funds in our trust account.
If Nasdaq delists any of 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 Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares 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 and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants qualify as 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 Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Holders of our public shares are not entitled to vote on the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of Class B ordinary shares have the right to appointment directors in any general meeting. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. Accordingly, holders of our public shares may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the completion of an initial business combination.
You are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our IPO 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, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001 as of the completion of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants and we filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units were immediately tradable and we have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our IPO were subject to Rule 419, that rule would have prohibited 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.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. As a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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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.
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 of the forum provisions of our 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.
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 with the SEC; |
| ● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are not subject to. |
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 of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-business combination 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 initial public is 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 either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus), our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders 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 a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis after we call the warrants for redemption or if there is no effective registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants will cause holders to receive fewer Class A ordinary shares upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.
If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option, in our sole discretion, to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis under certain circumstances described in the prospectus for our IPO. If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of Class A ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his or her warrant for cash. For example, if the holder is exercising 875 public warrants at $11.50 per share through a cashless exercise when the Class A ordinary shares have a fair market value of $17.50 per share when there is no effective registration statement, then upon the cashless exercise, the holder will receive 300 Class A ordinary shares. The holder would have received 875 Class A ordinary shares if the exercise price was paid in cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants 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 Class A ordinary shares.
Our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such units, shares, warrants or the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We may be subject to an excise tax under the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in connection with redemptions of our ordinary shares after December 31, 2022.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, enacted in August 2022, imposes a 1% excise tax on the fair market value of stock repurchased by “covered corporations” beginning in 2023, with certain exceptions (the “Excise Tax”). The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders. Because we are a “blank check” Cayman Islands corporations with no subsidiaries or previous merger or acquisition activity, we are not currently a “covered corporation” for this purpose. The amount of the Excise Tax is generally equal to 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, there are certain other exceptions to the Excise Tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to issue regulations or other guidance to carry out, and to prevent the avoidance of, the Excise Tax. The Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service recently have issued preliminary guidance regarding the application of this excise tax, but there can be no assurance that this guidance will be finally adopted in its current form. A repurchase that occurs in connection with a business combination with a U.S. target company might be subject to the Excise Tax, depending on the structure of the business combination and other transactions that might be engaged in during the relevant year.
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We believe that we were a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” for our 2021 and 2022 taxable years, and we may also be a PFIC for our current taxable year, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. investor in our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. investor may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and additional reporting requirements. We believe that we did not qualify for the PFIC “start-up exception” (as described in our final prospectus under the caption “Taxation — U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”) for our taxable year ended December 31, 2021. Therefore, we believe that we were a PFIC for our taxable years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022. In addition, even if our business combination is completed during our current taxable year, it is possible that we will be a PFIC for our current taxable year depending on the timing and structure of the business combination and the nature of the income, assets and activities of the company with which we combine, the details of which are currently unknown. If we are a PFIC during any taxable year during which a U.S. investor owns our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, we will generally continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to such U.S. investor’s Class A ordinary shares or warrants even if we are not a PFIC for any subsequent taxable year, unless the U.S. investor makes a “deemed sale” election.
A U.S. shareholder (but not warrant holder) that made a timely “qualified electing fund”, or “QEF,” election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares may be able to mitigate the adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences under the PFIC rules by including in its income the U.S. shareholder’s pro rata share of our earnings on a current basis, whether or not they are distributed. We will endeavor to provide PFIC annual information statements in order to enable our U.S. shareholders to make and maintain QEF elections with respect to our 2021 and 2022 taxable years. However, there can be no assurance that we will timely provide the required information to make a QEF election, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases.
We urge U.S. investors to consult their tax advisers regarding the application of the PFIC rules, and the availability, advisability and consequences of making any election that may be available under the PFIC rules (including the possible combination of a “deemed sale” and QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, if a timely QEF election had not been made previously). For a more detailed explanation of these and other elections, as well as other aspects of the PFIC rules, see the section of our final prospectus under the caption “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue additional Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 479,875,000 and 43,291,667 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares may be converted into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or following the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination. We have no preferred shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond November 23, 2023 or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preferred shares:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of our investors; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
| ● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares 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; |
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| ● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
If all of our founder shares convert into our Class A ordinary shares, and all of the private placement warrants are exercised, our sponsor and initial shareholders will own, in the aggregate, approximately 62.8% of the ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Most blank check companies issue founder shares representing 20% of the ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the consummation of such blank check company’s IPO. We have issued 6,708,333 founder shares, of which 5,031,250 will convert into Class A ordinary shares after our initial business combination and 1,677,083 will convert into Class A ordinary shares only to the extent our stock trades at or above $12.50 per share as described in this prospectus. In addition, we may be required to issue 10,150,000 Class A ordinary shares as shares underlying our private placement warrants held by our sponsor. If following our initial business combination all of the founder shares convert into our Class A ordinary shares and all of the private placement warrants are exercised, our initial shareholders will hold approximately 62.8% of the total ordinary shares issued and outstanding. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all founder shares that have not been converted to Class A ordinary shares on the second anniversary of our initial business combination will be exchanged on such date, at the Company’s election, for an aggregate for all such founder shares of either (i) 100 Class A ordinary shares or (ii) cash, in an amount equal to the value of 100 Class A ordinary shares, based on the average market price of Class A ordinary shares over the period of five trading days ending two trading days before the date of exchange. If all of our founder shares convert into our Class A ordinary shares, the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of such shares would dilute the interest of our shareholders relative to shareholders of other blank check companies.
We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition 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. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, a majority of the then outstanding private placement warrants (except for provisions of the warrant agreement enabling amendments without shareholder approval or warrant holder that are necessary or advisable in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements, provided that any modifications or amendments that would increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period shall require the approval of the warrant holders in accordance with the warrant agreement). In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the 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.
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The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company (or 65% of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company with respect to amendments to the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Certain other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds from our IPO 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 shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution under Cayman Islands law which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, 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 ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 25% of our ordinary shares, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our shareholders 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 shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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 a majority of the then outstanding public warrants, or for amendments necessary for the warrants to be classified as equity. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares 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 shareholder or warrant holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision or to make any amendments that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements (provided that any modifications or amendments that would increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period shall require the approval of the warrant holders in accordance with the warrant agreement), but otherwise requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants; provided that any amendment that solely affects the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement solely with respect to the private placement warrants will also require at least a majority of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants (i) in a manner adverse to a holder of public warrants if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment or (ii) to the extent necessary for the warrants in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements without the consent of any shareholder or warrant holder (provided that any modifications or amendments that would increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period shall require the approval of the warrant holders in accordance with the warrant agreement). Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority 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 shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If (i) we issue additional ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary share, (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 (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value of our Class A ordinary shares 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, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrants are accounted for as a warrant liability and 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 Class A ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Following the consummation of our IPO and the concurrent private placement of warrants, we issued an aggregate of 20,212,500 warrants in connection with our IPO (comprised of the 10,062,500 warrants included in the units and the 10,150,000 private placement warrants) in accordance with the guidance contained in 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 account for these as a warrant liability and record at fair value upon issuance any changes in fair value each period reported in earnings as determined by us based upon a valuation report obtained from an independent third party valuation firm. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. 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 the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, if, among other things, the last reported sales price of our Class A ordinary shares, or Reference Value, equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). Please see “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $18.00” of our final prospectus, incorporated by reference herein. 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. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination, or Market Value, of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
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In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of our Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. Please see “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $10.00” of our final prospectus, incorporated by reference herein. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 of our Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 10,062,500 Class A ordinary shares as part of the units in connection with our IPO and, simultaneously, issued in a private placement an aggregate of 10,150,000 warrants, at $1.00 per warrant. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 2,100,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-half 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 Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole 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-half of the number of shares, rather than units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole 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.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders 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.
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Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors, upon the listing of our shares on Nasdaq, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. As a result, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| ● | we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq; |
| ● | we have a compensation committee of our board of directors that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| ● | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries, in Particular in Latin America
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
We intend to pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, which may subject us to additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, including differences between U.S. GAAP and the International Accounting Standards; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
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| ● | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| ● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| ● | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| ● | longer payment cycles; |
| ● | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ● | rates of inflation; |
| ● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | employment regulations; |
| ● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| ● | corruption; |
| ● | protection of intellectual property; |
| ● | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| ● | regime changes and political upheaval; |
| ● | natural disasters and public health events; |
| ● | terrorist attacks and wars; and |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
We will be exposed to certain risks that are particular to investing in Latin America and other emerging markets.
In seeking significant investment exposure in Latin American countries, we are subject to political, economic, legal, operational and other risks that are inherent to operating and investing in these countries. These risks range from challenges in finding suitable acquisition targets to difficulties in settling transactions markets and operating businesses once acquired. Countries in Latin America have, at times and to varying degrees, experienced periods of economic contraction, political instability, civil strife, organized crime, corruption and other adverse conditions. The economies of these countries are susceptible to fluctuations in certain global commodity prices and are also impacted by adverse developments in other markets. Additionally, countries in the region tend to have significant physical and digital infrastructure deficiencies, as compared to the United States. Governments in Latin America have in the past made significant policy and regulatory shifts in response to social pressures, including changes in taxation. Moreover, these governments have, at times, exercised a significant degree of control over the private sector, including due to possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls and other restrictive governmental actions. We could also face the risk that exchange or capital controls or similar restrictions imposed by foreign governmental authorities may restrict our ability to convert local currency received or held by us in their countries into U.S. dollars or other currencies, or to take those dollars or other currencies out of those countries.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
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We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
We employ a mail forwarding service, which may delay or disrupt our ability to receive mail in a timely manner.
Mail addressed to the company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by the company to be dealt with. None of the company, its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused in mail reaching the forwarding address, which may impair your ability to communicate with us.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
Certain Factors Relating to Latin America
Governments have a high degree of influence in the economies in which we plan to operate. The effects of this influence and political and economic conditions in Latin America could harm us and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Governments in many of the markets in which we currently, or may in the future, operate, frequently exercise significant influence over their respective economies and occasionally makes significant changes in policy and regulations. Government actions to control inflation and other policies and regulations have often involved, among other measures, increases or decreases in interest rates, changes in fiscal policies, wage and price controls, foreign exchange rate controls, blocking access to bank accounts, currency devaluations, capital controls and import and export restrictions. We have no control over and cannot predict what measures or policies governments may take in the future. We and the market price of our securities may be harmed by changes in government policies, as well as general economic factors, including, without limitation:
| ● | growth or downturn of the relevant economy; |
| ● | interest rates and monetary policies; |
| ● | exchange rates and currency fluctuations; |
| ● | inflation; |
| ● | liquidity of the capital and lending markets; |
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| ● | import and export controls; |
| ● | exchange controls and restrictions on remittances abroad and payments of dividends; |
| ● | modifications to laws and regulations according to political, social and economic interests; |
| ● | fiscal policy and changes in tax laws and related interpretations by tax authorities; |
| ● | economic, political and social instability, including general strikes and mass demonstrations; |
| ● | the regulatory framework governing the financial services industry; |
| ● | labor and social security regulations; |
| ● | energy and water shortages and rationing; |
| ● | commodity prices; |
| ● | natural disasters; |
| ● | public health, including as a result of epidemics and pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| ● | changes in demographics; and |
| ● | other political, diplomatic, social and economic developments in or affecting Latin America. |
Uncertainty over whether Latin American governments will implement reforms or changes in policy or regulation affecting these or other factors in the future may affect economic performance and contribute to economic uncertainty in Latin America, such as increased tax uncertainty regarding the tax authorities’ interpretations of applicable tax laws and exemptions, which may have an adverse effect on our activities and consequently our operating results, and may also adversely affect the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Recent economic and political instability in Brazil, for instance, has led to a general negative perception of the Brazilian economy and higher volatility in the Brazilian securities markets, which also may adversely affect us and our Class A ordinary shares. See “—The ongoing economic uncertainty and political instability in Brazil, including as a result of ongoing corruption investigations, may harm us and the price of our Class A ordinary shares.”
Developments and the perceptions of risks in other countries, including other emerging markets, the United States and Europe, may harm the economy of the countries in which we operate and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
The market for securities offered by companies with significant operations in Latin America is influenced by political, economic and market conditions in the region and, to varying degrees, market conditions in other emerging markets, as well as the United States, Europe and other countries. To the extent the conditions of the global markets or economy deteriorate, the business of companies with significant operations in Latin America may be harmed. The weakness in the global economy has been marked by, among other adverse factors, lower levels of consumer and corporate confidence, decreased business investment and consumer spending, increased unemployment, reduced income and asset values in many areas, reduction of China’s growth rate, currency volatility and limited availability of credit and access to capital, in addition to significant uncertainty results from the current COVID-19 pandemic. Developments or economic conditions in other emerging market countries have at times significantly affected the availability of credit to companies with significant operations in Latin America and resulted in considerable outflows of funds from Latin American countries, decreasing the amount of foreign investments in the region.
Crises and political instability in other emerging market countries, the United States, Europe or other countries, including increased international trade tensions and protectionist policies, could decrease investor demand for securities offered by companies with significant operations in Brazil and Latin America, such as our Class A ordinary shares. For example, in 2019, political and social unrest in Latin American countries, including Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia, sparked political demonstrations and, in some instances, violence. In October 2019, presidential elections were held in Bolivia, Uruguay and Argentina. Controversial outcomes in Bolivia and Uruguay led to violent protests and claims of fraudulent elections in Bolivia and a runoff election in Uruguay. Similarly, Chile experienced political unrest and social strife, including a wave of protests and riots, beginning on October 18, 2019, sparked by an increase in the subway fare of the Santiago Metro and widened to reflect anger over living costs and inequality. These developments, as well as potential crises and other forms of political instability or any other as of yet unforeseen development, may harm our business and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
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The ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine may have repercussions on the world’s geopolitical and economic scenarios.
The ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has provoked strong reactions from the United States, the UK, the EU and various other countries around the world, including from the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or “NATO.” Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine beginning on February 24, 2022, the United States, the UK, the EU and other countries announced broad economic sanctions against Russia, including financial measures such as freezing Russia’s central bank assets, limiting its ability to access its dollar reserves, the US, the EU and the UK have also banned people and businesses from dealings with the Russian central bank, its finance ministry and its wealth funds, selected Russian banks will also be removed from Swift messaging system, which enables the smooth transfer of money across borders. Other sanctions by the UK include major Russian banks from the UK financial system, stopping them from accessing sterling and clearing payments, excluding major Russian companies and the state will be stopped from raising finances or borrowing money on the UK markets, and establishment of limits on deposits Russians can make at UK banks. The US, the EU and the UK adopted personal measures, such as sanctions on individuals with close ties to Mr. Putin, and placed visa restrictions on several oligarchs, as well as their family members and close associates, and froze their assets.
While the precise effect of the ongoing armed conflict and these sanctions on the Russian and global economies remains uncertain, should tensions continue to increase, markets may face continued volatility as well as economic and security consequences including, but not limited to, supply shortages of different kinds, increases in prices of commodities, including piped gas, oil and agricultural goods, among others. Given that Russia and Ukraine are among the largest grain exporters in the world, impacts on financial markets, inflation, interest rates, unemployment and other matters could affect the global economy that is currently recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly, these effects could result in increased inflation in Brazil and in measures by the Brazilian government to contain inflation, such as raising the basic interest rate, which could materially impact the cost of debt and third-party capital for financing and investing activities across industries.
Other potential consequences include, but are not limited to, growth in the number of popular uprisings in the region, increased political discontent, especially in the regions most affected by the conflict or economic sanctions, an increase in cyberterrorism activities and attacks, exodus to regions close to the areas of conflict and an increase in the number of refugees fleeing across Europe, among other unforeseen social and humanitarian effects.
As our target business may operate globally, the adverse effects – global or localized – of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and/or economic sanctions and import and/or export controls to be imposed on the Russian government by the United States, the UK, the EU or others, could materially affect our operations, expansion plans, and ultimately our results.
The ongoing economic uncertainty and political instability in Brazil, including as a result of ongoing corruption investigations, may harm us and the price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Brazil’s political environment has historically influenced, and continues to influence, the performance of the country’s economy. Political crises have affected and continue to affect the confidence of investors and the general public, which have historically resulted in economic deceleration and heightened volatility in the securities offered by companies with significant operations in Brazil.
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The recent economic instability in Brazil have contributed to a decline in market confidence in the Brazilian economy. Various ongoing investigations into allegations of money laundering and corruption being conducted by the Office of the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor, including the largest of such investigations, known as “Operação Lava Jato,” have negatively impacted the Brazilian economy and political environment. The potential outcome of these investigations is uncertain, but they have already had an adverse impact on the image and reputation of the implicated companies, and on the general market perception of the Brazilian economy. We cannot predict whether the ongoing investigations will result in further political and economic instability, or if new allegations against government officials and/or executives of private companies will arise in the future. A number of senior politicians, including current and former members of Congress and the Executive Branch, and high-ranking executive officers of major corporations and state-owned companies in Brazil were arrested, convicted of various charges relating to corruption, entered into plea agreements with federal prosecutors and/or have resigned or been removed from their positions as a result of these Lava Jato investigations. These individuals are alleged to have accepted bribes by means of kickbacks on contracts granted by the government to several infrastructure, oil and gas and construction companies. The profits of these kickbacks allegedly financed the political campaigns of political parties, for which funds were unaccounted or not publicly disclosed. These funds were also allegedly directed toward the personal enrichment of certain individuals. The effects of Lava Jato as well as other ongoing corruption-related investigations resulted in an adverse impact on the image and reputation of the companies that have been implicated as well as on the general market perception of the Brazilian economy, political environment and capital markets. We have no control over, and cannot predict, whether such investigations or allegations will lead to further political and economic instability or whether new allegations against government officials will arise in the future.
It is expected that the current Brazilian federal government may propose certain reforms to stimulate the economy and reduce the forecasted budget deficit for 2021 and following years, but it is uncertain whether the Brazilian government will be able to gather the required support in the Brazilian Congress to pass additional specific reforms. We cannot predict which policies the Brazilian federal government may adopt or change or the effect that any such policies might have on our business and on the Brazilian economy. In addition, the Brazilian government is incurring significant levels of debt to finance measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic which is expected to increase the Brazilian budget deficit. Any new policies or changes to current policies, including measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Any of the above factors may create additional political uncertainty, which could harm the Brazilian economy and, consequently, our business, and could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Inflation and government measures to curb inflation may adversely affect the economies and capital markets in some of the countries in which we operate, and as a result, harm our business and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
In the past, high levels of inflation have adversely affected the economies and financial markets of some of the countries in which we operate, particularly Argentina and Brazil, and the ability of their governments to create conditions that stimulate or maintain economic growth. Moreover, governmental measures to curb inflation and speculation about possible future governmental measures have contributed to the negative economic impact of inflation and have created general economic uncertainty and heightened volatility in the capital markets. As part of these measures, governments have at times maintained a restrictive monetary policy and high interest rates that have limited the availability of credit and economic growth.
According to the National Consumer Price Index (Índice Nacional de Preços ao Consumidor Amplo), or IPCA, which is published by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística), or IBGE, Brazilian inflation rates were 10.1%, 4.5% and 4.3% for the years ended as of December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Brazil may experience high levels of inflation in the future and inflationary pressures may lead to the Brazilian government’s intervening in the economy and introducing policies that could harm our business and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. One of the tools used by the Brazilian government to control inflation levels is its monetary policy, specifically relating to interest rates. An increase in the interest rate restricts the availability of credit and reduces economic growth, and vice versa. During recent years there has been significant volatility in the official Brazilian interest rate, which ranged from 14.25% on December 31, 2015, to 2.00% on December 31, 2020. This rate is set by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank (Comitê de Política Monetária), or COPOM. On February 7, 2018, the Monetary Policy Committee reduced the base interest rate (Sistema Especial de Liquidação e Custódia, or SELIC rate) to 6.75% and further reduced the SELIC rate to 6.50% on March 22, 2018. The Monetary Policy Committee reconfirmed the SELIC rate of 6.50% on May 16, 2018 and subsequently on June 20, 2018. As of December 31, 2018, the SELIC rate was 6.50%. The Monetary Policy Committee reconfirmed the SELIC rate of 6.50% on February 6, 2019, but reduced the SELIC rate to 6.00% on August 1, 2019, further reduced the rate to 5.50% on October 30, 2019 and further reduced the rate to 4.50% on December 12, 2019. On February 6, 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee reduced the SELIC rate to 4.25%, on March 19, 2020, further reduced the rate to 3.75%, on May 7, 2020, further reduced the rate to 3.00%, on June 18, 2020, further reduced the rate to 2.25% and on August 6, 2020, further reduced the rate to 2.00%. On March 18, 2021, the Monetary Policy Committee raised the SELIC rate to 2.75% and further raised the rate to 3.50% on May 5, 2021, to 5.25% on August 4, 2021, to 6.25% on September 22, 2021, to 7.75% on October 28, 2021, to 9.25% as of December 19, 2021, to 10.75% on February 2, 2022, to 11.75% on March 16, 2022, to 12.75% on May 4, 2022, to 13.25% on June 15, 2022 and to 13.75% on August 3, 2022. As of April 14, 2023, the SELIC rate was 13.75%. Conversely, more lenient government and Central Bank policies and interest rate decreases have triggered and may continue to trigger increases in inflation and, consequently, growth volatility and the need for sudden and significant interest rate increases, which could negatively affect us and increase our target business indebtedness. Any change in interest rates, in particular any volatile swings, could adversely affect our growth, results of operations and financial condition, as well as our target business.
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In addition, as of July 1, 2018, Argentina is considered highly inflationary under U.S. GAAP. Although inflation rates in certain of the other countries in which we operate have been relatively low in the recent past, we cannot assure you that this trend will continue. The measures taken by the governments of these countries to control inflation have often included maintaining a tight monetary policy with high interest rates, thereby restricting the availability of credit and retarding economic growth. Inflation, measures to combat inflation and public speculation about possible additional actions have also contributed materially to economic uncertainty in many of these countries and to heightened volatility in their securities markets. Periods of higher inflation may also slow the growth rate of local economies that could lead to reduced demand for the products and services of our target business. Inflation is also likely to increase some costs and expenses of our target business, which the target business may not be able to fully pass on to customers and which could adversely affect our operating margins and operating income.
Exchange rate instability may have adverse effects on the Brazilian economy, our business and the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Our functional currency is the U.S. dollar. The Brazilian currency has been historically volatile and has been devalued frequently over the past three decades. Throughout this period, the Brazilian government has implemented various economic plans and used various exchange rate policies, including sudden devaluations, periodic mini-devaluations (during which the frequency of adjustments has ranged from daily to monthly), exchange controls, dual exchange rate markets and a floating exchange rate system. Although long-term depreciation of the Brazilian real is generally linked to the rate of inflation in Brazil, depreciation of the real occurring over shorter periods of time has resulted in significant variations in the exchange rate between the real, the U.S. dollar and other currencies. The real/U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$3.259 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2016, an appreciation of 19% against the rate of R$3.905 per US$1.00 reported on December 31, 2015. In 2017, the real depreciated by 1%, with the exchange rate reaching R$3.308 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2017. In 2018, the real depreciated an additional 18%, to R$3.875 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2018. In 2019, the real depreciated an additional 4% to R$4.031 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2019. In 2020, the real depreciated an additional 29% to R$5.197 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2020. The real/U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$5.581 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2021, which reflected a 7% depreciation of the real against the U.S. dollar during 2021 due primarily to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Brazilian economy. The real/U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$5.218 per US$1.00 on December 31, 2022, which reflected a 7% appreciation of the real against the U.S. dollar during 2022 due primarily to the recovery of the Brazilian economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. As of April 13, 2023, the real/U.S. dollar exchange rate reported by the Central Bank was R$4.910 per US$1.00, an appreciation of 5.9% of the real since December 31, 2022. There can be no assurance that the real will not appreciate or further depreciate against the U.S. dollar or other currencies in the future.
A devaluation of the real relative to the U.S. dollar could create inflationary pressures in Brazil and cause the Brazilian government to, among other measures, increase interest rates. Any depreciation of the real may generally restrict access to the international capital markets. It would also reduce the U.S. dollar value of our results of operations. Restrictive macroeconomic policies could reduce the stability of the Brazilian economy and harm our results of operations and profitability. In addition, domestic and international reactions to restrictive economic policies could have a negative impact on the Brazilian economy. These policies and any reactions to them may harm us by curtailing access to foreign financial markets and prompting further government intervention. A devaluation of the real relative to the U.S. dollar may also, as in the context of the current economic slowdown, decrease consumer spending, increase deflationary pressures and reduce economic growth.
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On the other hand, an appreciation of the real relative to the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies may deteriorate the Brazilian foreign exchange current accounts. Depending on the circumstances, either devaluation or appreciation of the real relative to the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies could restrict the growth of the Brazilian economy, and affect our business, results of operations and profitability.
We will be subject to significant foreign currency exchange controls and currency devaluation in certain countries in which we may operate.
Certain Latin American economies have experienced shortages in foreign currency reserves and their respective governments have adopted restrictions on the ability to transfer funds out of the country and convert local currencies into U.S. dollars. This may increase our costs and limit our ability to convert local currency into U.S. dollars and transfer funds out of certain countries, including for the purchase of dollar-denominated inputs, the payment of dividends or the payment of interest or principal on our outstanding debt. In the event that any of our subsidiaries may be unable to transfer funds to us in the future due to currency restrictions, we are responsible for any resulting shortfall.
Since September 2019, the current Argentine government has tightened restrictions on capital flows and imposed exchange controls and transfer restrictions, substantially limiting the ability of companies to retain foreign currency or make payments outside of Argentina. Furthermore, the Central Bank of Argentina implemented regulations requiring its prior approval for certain foreign exchange transactions otherwise authorized to be carried out under the applicable regulations, such as dividend payments or repayment of principal of inter-company loans as well as the import of goods. As a consequence of the re-imposition of exchange controls, the spread between the official exchange rate and other exchange rates resulting implicitly from certain capital market operations usually effected to obtain U.S. dollars has broadened significantly. The implementation of the above-mentioned measures could impact our ability to transfer funds outside of Argentina in the future and may prevent or delay payments that Argentine portfolio companies may be required to make outside Argentina, if any. As a result, if we are prohibited from transferring funds out of Argentina, or if we become subject to similar restrictions in other countries in which we operate, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. In addition, the continuing devaluation of the Argentine peso since the end of 2015 has led to higher inflation levels, has significantly reduced competitiveness, real wages and consumption and has had a negative impact on businesses whose success is dependent on domestic market demand and supplies payable in foreign currency. Further currency devaluations in any of the countries in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We and our target business are subject to review by taxing authorities, and an incorrect interpretation by us of tax laws and regulations may have a material adverse effect on us.
Our activities will require the use of estimates and interpretations of complex tax laws and regulations and are subject to review by taxing authorities. We and our target business may be subject to the income and investment tax laws of Brazil and the other jurisdictions in which we expect to operate. These tax laws are complex and subject to different interpretations by the taxpayer and relevant governmental taxing authorities, leading to disputes which are sometimes subject to prolonged evaluation periods until a final resolution is reached. In making investment decisions or in establishing a provision for income tax expense and filing returns, we must make judgments and interpretations about the application of these inherently complex tax laws. If the judgments, estimates and assumptions we use in making our investment decisions or in preparing our tax returns are subsequently found to be incorrect, there could be a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. The interpretations of Brazilian taxing authorities and the other jurisdictions in which we operate are unpredictable and frequently involve litigation, which introduces further uncertainty and risk as to tax expense.
Infrastructure and workforce deficiencies in Latin America may impact economic growth and have a material adverse effect on us and our target business.
After our business combination, our performance will depend in part on the overall health and growth of the Latin American economy, especially in Brazil. Brazilian GDP growth has fluctuated over the past few years, with contractions of 3.5% and 3.3% in 2015 and 2016, respectively, followed by growth of 1.3%, 1.8% and 1.4% in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. In 2020, Brazilian GDP contracted by 3.3%. In 2021 and 2022, Brazilian GDP grew by 5.0% and 2.9%, respectively. Growth is limited by inadequate infrastructure, including potential energy shortages and deficient transportation, logistics and telecommunication sectors, general strikes, the lack of a qualified labor force, and the lack of private and public investments in these areas, which limit productivity and efficiency. Additionally, despite our plans to adopt business continuity and crisis management policies, travel restrictions or potential impacts on personnel due to the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt our target business operations and the markets in which it operates. Any of these factors could lead to labor market volatility and generally impact income, purchasing power and consumption levels, which could limit growth and ultimately have a material adverse effect on us and our target business.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue to have a negative impact on global, regional and national economies, and we would be materially adversely affected by a protracted economic downturn.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue to have a negative impact on global, regional and national economies and to disrupt supply chains and otherwise reduce international trade and business activity. Reflecting this, the COVID-19 pandemic has already caused, since February 2020, the levels of equity and other financial markets to decline sharply and to become volatile, and such effects may continue or worsen in the future. This may in turn further impact the stock market and private equity markets in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, which may impact our future business in Latin America and our resulting business combination operations. The market declines and volatility could negatively impact our operations causing us to incur losses as well as result in the postponement or cancellation of expansion plans or mergers and acquisitions thereby reducing our future growth prospects, among others. The economic slowdown and market downturn could also negatively impact our target business performance through lower demand for its products or services and higher than expected losses, potentially leading our investors to redirect investments away from us. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its continued impact on the global economy may affect our ability to meet our financial targets or business combination. While it is too early for us to predict the impacts on our target business or our financial targets that the pandemic, and the governmental responses to it, may have, we would be materially adversely affected by a protracted downturn in local, regional or global economic conditions.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Property
None.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
To the knowledge of our management, 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
(a) Market Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are each traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “CRECU,” “CREC” and “CRECW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on November 19, 2021. Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on January 10, 2022.
(b) Holders
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares, four holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares and two holders of record of our warrants.
(c) Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a 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 condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time, and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under Cayman Islands law. If we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
(e) Performance Graph
Not applicable.
(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
In March 2021, one of our officers paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs, in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares, which were temporarily issued to such officer and, on April 7, 2021, transferred to our sponsor. In October 2021, our sponsor received a further 958,333 founder shares by way of share capitalization using the existing share premium account. Immediately prior to our IPO, our sponsor transferred 25,000 of our founder shares to each of our three independent directors. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by one of our officers, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. After our IPO, we had 6,708,333 outstanding founder shares, representing 25% of the outstanding shares at the time. Out of the 6,708,333 founder shares, 5,031,250 founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares after our initial business combination and 1,677,083 founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares only to the extent our stock trades at or above $12.50 per share as described in our final prospectus.
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The founder shares may be converted into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 25% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders and regardless of whether the founder shares have converted), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants to be issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 720 days after our initial business combination, and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 10,150,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or approximately $10,150,000 in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our IPO. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per ordinary share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor was added to the proceeds from our IPO to be 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 (except as described under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $10.00” of our final prospectus, incorporated by reference herein) so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.
Use of Proceeds
A total of $205,275,000, comprised of $197,225,000 of the proceeds from the IPO, including $7,043,750 of the underwriter’s deferred discount, and $8,050,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from such use as described in the Company’s final prospectus.
(g) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6. [Reserved]
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
References in this report (the “Annual Report”) to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Crescera Capital Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to CC Sponsor LLC. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Annual Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Overview
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of Cayman Islands on March 11, 2021 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar Business Combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, and forward purchase securities, our capital stock, debt, or a combination of cash, stock, and debt.
Our sponsor is CC Sponsor LLP, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. Our registration statement for the IPO became effective on November 18, 2021. We consummated the IPO of 20,125,000 units on November 23, 2021. Each unit consisted of one Class A ordinary shares and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”), including the issuance of 2,625,000 Units as a result of the underwriter’s (the “Underwriter”) exercise of its over-allotment option (“Over-allotment Option”) in full. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $201,250,000. We incurred $11,068,750 in underwriting fees (inclusive of $7,043,750 in deferred underwriting fees) as well as $720,328 of other offering costs.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO on November 23, 2021, we completed the closing of the private placement of an aggregate 10,150,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant to the sponsor, generating proceeds of $10,150,000.
Upon the closing of the IPO, the over-allotment and the private placements, $205,275,000 ($10.20 per unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the IPO, the over-allotment and the private placement warrants were placed in the Trust Account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and invested in United States government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, as determined by us, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the trust account as described below.
Our management and our board of directors have broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO, the over-allotment 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.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months (if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in this prospectus) from the closing of the IPO, or November 23, 2023 (the “Combination Period”), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities for the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the IPO, described below, our search for a target business with which to complete a Business Combination and activities in connection with the proposed Transactions. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held after the initial public offering. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as due diligence expenses in connection with completing a Business Combination.
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For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had net income of $15,514,272, which resulted from a gain on the change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities of $13,302,237, gain on marketable securities, along with interest and dividends of $2,950,321, and other income of $295, partially offset by formation and operating costs of $738,581.
For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had net income of $1,633,867, which consists of formation and operating costs of $88,245, unrealized gain on marketable securities, along with interest and dividends, held in the Trust Account of $17,557, transaction costs allocated to derivative warrant liability of $498,614, gain on the change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities of $2,203,163, and other income of $6.
Liquidity, Going Concern and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs were satisfied prior to the completion of our IPO through $25,000 paid by our sponsor to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares to our sponsor.
Following the closing of the IPO on November 23, 2021, an amount of $205,275,000 ($10.20 per Unit) comprised of $197,225,000 of the proceeds from the IPO and $8,050,000 of the proceeds from the Private Placement were placed in a U.S.-based trust account (the “Trust Account”) at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account that may be released to us to pay its expenses relating to the administration of the Trust Account, the proceeds from the IPO held in the Trust Account will not be released until the earliest of (i) the consummation of the initial business combination or (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account proceeds as described below. The remaining proceeds outside the Trust Account may be used to pay for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisitions and continuing general and administrative expenses.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in operating activities was $329,441, which was due to a change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities of $13,302,237, gain on marketable securities (net) held in Trust Account of $2,950,321, partially offset by net income of $15,514,272 and changes in working capital of $408,845.
For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $610,322. The net income of $1,633,867 was offset by an unrealized gain on marketable securities, along with interest and dividends earned, held in the Trust Account of $17,557, transaction costs allocated to derivative warrant liability of $498,614, gain on fair value of derivative warrant liabilities of $2,203,163, formation and operating expenses paid in exchange for founder shares of $23,804 and changes in operating assets and liabilities, which used $545,887 of cash.
As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and marketable securities, along with interest and dividends earned, held in the Trust Account of $208,242,878 consisting of securities held in a money market fund that invests in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 180 days or less. Interest income on the balance in the Trust Account may be used by us to pay dissolution costs. Through December 31, 2022, we did not withdraw any interest earned on the Trust Account to pay dissolution costs.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions), to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest income (if any) to pay taxes. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account. We expect the interest income earned on the amount in the Trust Account (if any) will be sufficient to pay our taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, we had cash of $618,891 and $961,893, respectively, held outside the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
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We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following the IPO in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination, other than funds available from loans from our Sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or 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 our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that our 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 $2,100,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor, its affiliates or our management team 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.
As of December 31, 2022, we had a working capital surplus of $578,139.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a 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 a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a 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 $2,100,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant unit at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loans.
We have incurred and expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations, management has determined that our liquidation deadline raises substantial doubt about the our ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date that the financial statements are issued. There is no assurance that our plans to consummate a Business Combination or raise additional funds will be successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Contractual Obligations
Registration Rights
The holders of founder shares, private placement warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. These holders are entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. 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 final prospectus relating to the IPO to purchase up to 2,625,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the IPO price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On November 23, 2021, the underwriters fully exercised their over-allotment option.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All of the 20,125,000 Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our initial public offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the our liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the business combination and in connection with certain amendments to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of us require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Therefore, all Class A ordinary shares have been classified outside of permanent equity.
We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit. The redemption value of the redeemable ordinary shares as of December 31, 2022 increased as the income earned on the trust account exceeds the Company’s expected dissolution expenses (up to $100,000). As such, the Company recorded an increase in the carrying amount of the redeemable ordinary shares of $2,867,878 for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. The remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to redemption value is excluded from the earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value. Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture is included in the calculation of basic income (loss) per share as of the date that the forfeiture contingency has lapsed. Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture is included in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share as of the beginning of the interim period in which the forfeiture contingency lapsed. We have not considered the effect of the public warrants and private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 20,212,500 shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events.
The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Earnings are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares as long as an Initial business combination is consummated. Re-measurement associated with the Class A ordinary shares is excluded from net income per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Warrant Liabilities
We account for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to our own ordinary shares, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations. The fair value of the public warrants and private placement warrants issued in connection with the initial public offering was measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model.
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Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be 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, our 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 independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (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 report of the independent registered public accounting firm 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
The net proceeds from our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account is invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
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 controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. 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.
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As of December 31, 2022, as required by Rules 13a-15 paragraphs 13(d)-15(e) and 15d-15 paragraphs 15(d)-15(e) under the Exchange Act, our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were effective.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15-15(f) under the Exchange Act), our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
| (1) | pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company, | |
| (2) | provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and | |
| (3) | provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. |
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. 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 or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2022. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that our internal controls over financial reporting were effective as of December 31, 2022.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
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Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Directors and Executive Officers
| Name | Age | Position | ||
| Felipe Samuel Argalji | 35 | Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Rafael Moreira Pereira | 40 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Jaime Cardoso Danvila | 53 | Chairman | ||
| Daniel Arthur Borghi | 49 | Director | ||
| Denise Pauli Pavarina | 58 | Director | ||
| Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto | 52 | Director | ||
| Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva | 45 | Director |
Our directors and executive officers are as follows:
Felipe Samuel Argalji, Chief Executive Officer
Felipe Samuel Argalji is our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Argalji is also a Partner of Crescera and co-responsible for the Education platform. Prior to joining Crescera in January 2009, Mr. Argalji began his career in the private equity division of Gávea Investimentos from June 2007 to November 2008, where he covered investments in several sectors including agribusiness, logistics, retail and utilities. He is currently a director of AOVS Sistema de Informática S.A. (Alura) since December 2020. He previously served as director of Afya Ltd. (Nasdaq: AFYA), from June 2019 to August 2021, Afya Participações S.A. (formerly NRE Participações S.A.), or Afya Brazil, from August 2016 to December 2019 and of Anima Educação (B3: ANIM3) from January 2012 to January 2015. Mr. Argalji holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from IBMEC Business School, Rio de Janeiro.
Rafael Moreira Pereira, Chief Financial Officer
Rafael Moreira Pereira is the Company’s newly appointed CFO. Mr. Pereira joined Crescera in July 2022 to head the Crescera’s operations. Prior to joining Crescera, he was one of the four founding members of the Greenhill office in São Paulo (May 2014 to July 2020), helping establish Greenhill & Co. Do Brasil Assessoria Ltda. and later Seneca Evercore Advisors Ltda. (July 2020 to April 2022) as one of the leading independent investment banks in Brazil. Mr. Pereira began his career as an analyst for Goldman Sachs (May 2006 to February 2014) after receiving his bachelor’s degree from Fundação Getulio Vargas.
Jaime Cardoso Danvila, Chairman
Jaime Cardoso Danvila serves as the Chairman of our board of directors. Mr. Cardoso is also a Partner at Crescera and is co-responsible for its Consumer, Retail, Healthcare & Services platform. Prior to joining Crescera in May 2010, Mr. Cardoso served as a Director of mergers and acquisitions at Citigroup Global Markets from June 2000 to April 2008, Bradesco Banco de Investimentos from April 2008 to April 2010, and as an economist at the International Monetary Fund from May 1999 to May 2000. Mr. Cardoso serves as a board member for Hospital Vera Cruz since June 2017; Hospital Care S.A. since May 2017; Grupo São Lucas since December 2017; Rede Oba Hortifruti since December 2017, Vita Participações since August 2018, Grupo Baia Sul since December 2018; Semantix Tecnologia em Sistemas de Informação S.A. since August 2019; Domicile Home Care Assistência Médica Domiciliar since August 2020; and Grupo Zelo since August 2020. Mr. Cardoso has also served as a board member for Estapar (B3: ALPK3) from February 2012 to January 2021; Hortigil Hortifruti S.A. from September 2010 to April 2016; Laticínios São Vicente from May 2013 to August 2019; and Forno de Minas Alimentos S.A. from January 2014 to March 2018. Mr. Cardoso holds a Master of Arts and C. Phil degree in Economics from UCLA.
Due to his extensive private equity and investment experience, we believe Mr. Cardoso is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
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Daniel Arthur Borghi, Director
Daniel Arthur Borghi serves as a director on our board of directors. Mr. Borghi is also a Partner at Crescera and is co-responsible for its Education platform. He joined Crescera in February 2008. Mr. Borghi is also a member of Afya Ltd.’s board of directors, a position he has held since July 2019. He was a member of the board of directors of Afya Participações S.A. (formerly NRE Participações S.A.), or Afya Brazil, from August 2016 to December 2019, when the board of directors of Afya Brazil was extinguished. Since November 2018, he is also Co-Chief Executive Officer of Crescera, a managing director and a member of its Executive Committee. He is also currently a member of the board of directors of União Educacional do Planalto Central S.A. (UNICEPLAC) since March 2018 and Nelogica Sistemas de Software Ltda. since December 2020. He was previously a member of the board of directors of Wide Desenvolvimento Humano e Tecnologia S.A. from February 2015 to July 2020; Prepona Sistema de Testagem e Avaliação S.A. from July 2015 to March 2018; Passei Direto S.A. from February 2015 to March 2018; and Guardaya Empreendimentos e Participações S.A. (Medcel) from March 2016 to January 2019. Prior to joining the board of directors of Afya Brazil, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. from July 2006 to February 2008; an executive at Docas Participações S.A. from September 2003 to June 2004; and a partner at Finance Ltda. from May 1999 to August 2003, working in mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and restructuring. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and telecommunications from PUC-RJ, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Specialist Title in Finance from the Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais – IBMEC.
Due to his extensive entrepreneurial, investment and management experience, we believe Mr. Borghi is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Denise Pauli Pavarina, Director
Denise Pauli Pavarina serves as a director on our board of directors. Mrs. Pavarina was Director of Companies at BNDES (Brazilian National Development Bank) from April 2019 to September 2019, responsible for corporate credit for large companies. Before BNDES, she was an executive director and investor relations director at Banco Bradesco from January 2012 to January 2019, managing director of Bradesco Asset Management from January 2009 to January 2012 and, previously, head of the investment bank of Bradesco (Banco Bradesco BBI), from January 2007 to January 2009. Mrs. Pavarina holds over 30 years of experience in financial and capital markets. She was president of the Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Markets (Anbima) from April 2012 to April 2016, and a member of the Advisory Boards of Cielo S.A. (B3: CIEL3) from June 2008 to July 2009; Belgo Mineira (Arcelor Group); Alpargatas S.A. (B3: ALPA3), Latasa (Reynolds Group); Vale S.A. from February 2017 to March 2019; B3 S.A. - Brasil Bolsa Balcão (B3: B3SA3) from April 2015 to April 2019, and Hospital Care Caledonia from February 2021 to February 2023. In addition, Mrs. Pavarina was a member of the Advisory Board of BSM Supervisão de Mercados and is a member of B3's Mergers & Acquisitions Committee (CAF) since September 2019. Mrs. Pavarina is currently a board member of Solvi Essencis Ambiental and Banco Bradesco S. A. and vice chair of TCFD (FSB) - Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. She holds a degree in Economics from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP), a Law degree from Universidade Paulista (UNIP), and post graduate degrees in Finance from Insper and in Advanced Management from Fundação Dom Cabral and IESE - AMP.
Due to her extensive entrepreneurial, investment and management experience, we believe Ms. Pavarina is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto, Director
Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto serves as a director on our board of directors. Ms. Sadir has broad international general management experience and strategic background in projects for country growth and turnaround, built in companies such as McKinsey & Company from March 1995 to May 1996, Monsanto Chemical Company from June 1996 to May 1997, Abril S.A. from June 1997 to July 2004, Avon Cosméticos Ltda. from August 2004 to December 2012 and Amway do Brasil Ltda. from April 2013 to January 2020. She also has expertise as transformation agent, leading operations through major strategic changes with significant results in digital innovation, aggressive growth, turnaround processes, organizational restructuring and development of new commercial models. Ms. Sadir is a Certified Board of Director and member of the Strategy Committee for IBGC (the Brazilian Corporate Governance Institute (IBGC), the BMB Material de Construção S.A. (Obramax) Advisory Council since November 2020, and the Committee of Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability of the Baumgart Participações S.A. since December 2020. She holds a Bachelor and Master degrees in Business Administration from Universidade de São Paulo, SDA Bocconi and Kellogg – Northwestern University. Ms. Sadir is fluent in five languages, having lived in eight countries in Latin America.
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Due to her extensive entrepreneurial, investment and management experience, we believe Ms. Sadir is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva, Director
Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva serves as a director on our board of directors. Mr. Dias holds experience in general management, retail, e-business, e-commerce and CRM. Mr. Dias spent 20 years as the executive in charge in three out of the five of the top e-commerce companies in Brazil – WMB Comércio Eletrônico Ltda. (Walmart) from March 2007 to July 2014, Cnova Comércio Eletrônico S.A. from February 2016 to December 2016 and Via Varejo S.A. (B3: VVAR3) from December 2016 to January 2020. Previously, Mr. Dias was the CEO at Banco Original S.A. from August 2014 to February 2016, the first Brazilian digital bank. Currently, Mr. Dias is an independent board member at Afya Ltd. (Nasdaq: AFYA) since June 2020, Coppel S.A. since September 2019 and is a partner of 500 Startups since March 2020, a company in charge of building and growing the fund operations in Brazil. Mr. Dias holds a degree in Production Engineering from FEI Centro Universitário, an MPA from Fundação Getulio Vargas and an MBA from UCLA.
Due to his extensive entrepreneurial, investment and management experience, we believe Mr. Dias is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among the officers and directors.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement, our board of directors consisted of five members divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed annually and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first general meeting) serving three-year terms. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Denise Pauli Pavarina, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto and Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva, will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Jaime Cardoso Danvila and Daniel Arthur Borghi, will expire at the third annual general meeting.
Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to the rights of holders of Class B ordinary shares to appoint directors may be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 662/3% of our Class B ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. Our 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 officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our IPO. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). We have three “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that Denise Pauli Pavarina, Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto and Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
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Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our 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 our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. 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 from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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 shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders 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.
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.
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. Both our audit committee and our compensation committee are composed solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter approved by our board and have the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website at https://cresceraspac.com/.
Audit Committee
Denise Pauli Pavarina and Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva serve as the members and Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto serve as chair of the audit committee. Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto, Denise Pauli Pavarina and Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva are independent of and unaffiliated with our sponsor and our underwriters. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent.
Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that she qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
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We have adopted an audit committee charter, which will detail 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 registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm 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 registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the registered public accounting firm has 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 registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the independent registered public accounting 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 registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Item 7. 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 |
| ● | reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, 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
Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto and Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva serve as the members and Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva serve as chair of the compensation committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards, all the directors on the compensation committee must be independent.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which will detail 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’s 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; |
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| ● | 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. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. 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 Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance are Denise Pauli Pavarina and Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto. Denise Pauli Pavarina serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which will detail 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 appointment at the annual general meeting 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 shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
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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.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than ten percent of our ordinary shares to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. These reporting persons are also required to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. Based solely upon a review of such forms, we believe that during the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 there were no delinquent filers.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be 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 will be provided without charge upon request from us. See the section of our final prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.” 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 Nasdaq 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 our final prospectus 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.
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
| (i) | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole; |
| (ii) | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
| (iii) | directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
| (iv) | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
| (v) | duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and |
| (vi) | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
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Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an 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 entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Below is a table summarizing the other entities to which our officers, directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
| Individual | Entity/Organization | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
| Felipe Samuel Argalji | Crescera Investimentos Ltda. | Investments Holding Company | Partner and Officer | |||
| AOVS Sistema de Informática S.A. (Alura) | Education | Director | ||||
| Jaime Cardoso Danvila | Crescera Investimentos Ltda. | Investments Holding Company | Partner and Officer | |||
| Semantix Tecnologia em Sistemas de Informação S.A. | Technology | Director | ||||
| Vita Participações S.A. | Healthcare | Director | ||||
| Grupo Fartura de Hortifruti S.A. (Rede Oba Hortifruti) | Retail | Director | ||||
| Hospital Care Caledonia S.A. | Healthcare | Director | ||||
| Chicaco Prosum Participações S.A. (Plural Care) | Healthcare | Director | ||||
| Companhia Brasileira de Planos Funerários S.A. (Grupo Zelo) | Services | Director | ||||
| TZ Participações S.A. (TerraZoo) | Retail | Director | ||||
| Daniel Arthur Borghi | Crescera Investimentos Ltda. | Investments Holding Company | Partner and Officer | |||
| Nelogica Sistemas de Software Ltda. | Technology | Director | ||||
| Denise Pauli Pavarina | Hospital Care Caledonia S.A. | Healthcare | Director | |||
| TCFD (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures | Non-profit | Vice Chair | ||||
| Solvi Essencia Ambiental S.A. | Waste Management and Recycling | Director | ||||
| Solvi Participações S.A. | Waste Management and Recycling | Director | ||||
| Banco Bradesco S.A. | Financial Services | Director | ||||
| Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto | Brazilian Corporate Governance Institute (IBGC)’s Strategy Committee | Non-profit | Director | |||
| BMB Material de Construção S.A. (Obramax) Advisory Council | Advisory Services | Director | ||||
| Baumgart Participações S.A. Committee of Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability | Industrial Products | Director | ||||
| Sosyo Plus Bilgi Billsim Tekn. Dan. Hiz. Tic A.S (Insider) | Technology | Director | ||||
| Diamantino & Hofman Comércio e Representação Ltda. (Elettromec) | Retail | Director | ||||
| Ta-Ta S.A. (Grupo Ta-Ta) | Retail | Director | ||||
| Furnas Centrais Elétricas S.A. | Energy | Director | ||||
| Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva | Afya Ltd. | Education | Director | |||
| Coppel S.A. | Retail | Director | ||||
| Facily Soluções e Tecnologia Ltda. | Technology | Officer |
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Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| ● | 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 a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
| ● | Our initial shareholders purchased founder shares prior to the date of our IPO and purchased private placement warrants in a transaction that closed simultaneously with the closing of our IPO. Our sponsor, 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 their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 720 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. |
| ● | The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our officers and directors will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. In addition, investment ideas generated within or presented to Crescera or our directors and executive officers may be suitable for both us and Crescera, a current or future Crescera fund or one or more of their portfolio companies and, subject to applicable fiduciary duties or contractual obligations, will first be directed to Crescera, such fund, investment vehicle or portfolio company before being directed, if at all, to us. |
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or funds managed by certain of our affiliates or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers, directors or funds managed by certain of our affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or funds managed by certain of our affiliates, such transaction would be subject to approval by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors to determine whether such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We would not be required to obtain an opinion from a third party firm in such event to address whether the business combination is fair to our public shareholders from a financial point of view. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We expect to purchase 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. We also intend to enter into indemnity agreements with them.
Our 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 have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders 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 shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’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.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
None of our officers or directors have received or, prior to our initial business combination, will receive any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our 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 our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or any of their affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.
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We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
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 ordinary shares available to us as of April 14, 2023, with respect to our ordinary shares held by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares; |
| ● | 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 have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of April 14, 2023.
| | Class A ordinary shares | Class B ordinary shares(2) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Name of Beneficial Owners(1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class | Approximate Percentage of Ordinary Shares | |||||||||||||||
| 5% Shareholders: | | | ||||||||||||||||||
| CC Sponsor LLC(3) | — | — | 6,633,333 | 98.9 | % | 24.7 | % | |||||||||||||
| Entities affiliated with Millennium Management LLC(4) | 1,366,248 | 6.8 | % | — | — | 5.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Highbridge Capital Management, LLC (5) | 1,684,739 | 8.4 | % | — | — | 6.3 | % | |||||||||||||
| Entities affiliated with Taconic Capital Advisors L.P.(6) | 1,312,500 | 6.5 | % | — | — | 4.9 | % | |||||||||||||
| Entities affiliated with Saba Capital Management, L.P.(7) | 1,554,537 | 7.7 | % | — | — | 5.8 | % | |||||||||||||
| Entities affiliated with Sculptor Capital LP(8) | 900,000 | 4.5 | % | — | — | 3.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| Entities affiliated Adage Capital Partners, L.P.(9) | 1,500,000 | 7.5 | % | — | — | 5.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Calamos Market Neutral Income Fund, a series of Calamos Investment Trust(10) | 1,500,000 | 7.5 | % | — | — | 5.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Directors and Officers: | | |||||||||||||||||||
| Felipe Samuel Argalji | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Rafael Moreira Pereira | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Jaime Cardoso Danvila | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Daniel Arthur Borghi | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Denise Pauli Pavarina | — | — | 25,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto | — | — | 25,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva | — | — | 25,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| All officers and directors as a group (seven individuals) | — | — | 75,000 | 1.1 | % | * | ||||||||||||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the persons and entities listed above is R. Aníbal de Mendonça, 27, 2nd floor, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22410-050, Brazil. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares may be converted into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
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| (3) | CC Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of such shares and is controlled by a board of managers. There are three managers in CC Sponsor LLC’s board of managers: Jaime Cardoso Danvila, Daniel Arthur Borghi and Felipe Samuel Argalji. Each manager of CC Sponsor LLC has one vote, and the approval of two of the three members of the board of managers is required to approve an action of CC Sponsor LLC. Under the so-called “rule of three,” if voting and dispositive decisions regarding an entity’s securities are made by two or more individuals, and a voting and dispositive decision requires the approval of a majority of those individuals, then none of the individuals is deemed a beneficial owner of the entity’s securities. This is the case with regard to CC Sponsor LLC. Based upon the foregoing analysis, no individual manager of CC Sponsor LLC exercises voting or dispositive control over any of the securities held by CC Sponsor LLC even those in which he directly holds a pecuniary interest. Accordingly, none of them will be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership of such shares and, for the avoidance of doubt, each expressly disclaims any such beneficial interest to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
| (4) | This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 25, 2023 on behalf of Millennium Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Millennium Management”), Millennium Group Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Millennium Group”),and Mr. Israel A. Englander (“Mr. Englander”). The business address of each of Millennium Management, Millennium Group and Mr. Englander is 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022. |
| (5) | This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 2, 2023 on behalf of Highbridge Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Highbridge”). The business address for Highbridge is 277 Park Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, New York 10172. |
| (6) | This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 10, 2023 on behalf of Taconic Capital Advisors L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Taconic Advisors LP”); Taconic Capital Advisors UK LLP, a United Kingdom limited liability partnership (“Taconic Advisors UK”); Taconic Associates LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Taconic Associates”); Taconic Capital Partners LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Taconic Capital”); Taconic Capital Performance Partners LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Taconic Partners”); and Mr. Frank P. Brosens (“Mr. Brosens”). The business address for each of Taconic Advisors LP, Taconic Associates, Taconic Partners, Taconic Capital and Mr. Brosens is c/o Taconic Capital Advisors L.P. 280 Park Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017. |
| (7) | This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023 on behalf of Saba Capital Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Saba Capital”), Saba Capital Management GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Saba GP”), and Mr. Boaz R. Weinstein. The business address of each of Saba Capital, Saba GP and Mr. Boaz R. Weinstein is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
| (8) | This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023 on behalf of Sculptor Capital LP (“Sculptor”), Sculptor Capital II LP (“Sculptor-II”), Sculptor Capital Holding Corp. (“SCHC”), Sculptor Capital Holding II LLC (“SCHC-II”), Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. (“SCU”), Sculptor Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCMF”), Sculptor Special Funding, LP (“NRMD”), Sculptor Credit Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCCO”), Sculptor SC II LP (“NJGC”) and Sculptor Enhanced Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCEN”). Sculptor, a Delaware limited partnership, is the principal investment manager to a number of private funds and discretionary accounts (collectively, the “Sculptor Accounts”). Sculptor-II, a Delaware limited partnership that is wholly owned by Sculptor, also serves as the investment manager to certain of the Sculptor Accounts. The Ordinary Shares reported in the referred to Schedule 13G are held in the Sculptor Accounts managed by Sculptor and Sculptor-II. SCHC, a Delaware corporation, serves as the general partner of Sculptor. SCHC-II, a Delaware limited liability company that is wholly owned by Sculptor, serves as the general partner of Sculptor-II. SCU, a Delaware limited liability company, is a holding company that is the sole shareholder of SCHC. Sculptor is the investment adviser to SCMF, a Cayman Islands company. NRMD is a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership. SCCO is a Cayman Islands company. Sculptor is the investment adviser to SCCO. NJGC is a Delaware limited partnership. Sculptor-II is the investment adviser to NJGC. SCEN is a Cayman Islands company. Sculptor is the investment adviser to SCEN. The business address of each of Sculptor, Sculptor-II, SCHC, SCHC-II, SCU, SCMF, NRMD, SCCO, NJGC and SCEN, is 9 West 57 Street, 39th Floor, New York, NY 10019. |
| (9) | This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on November 23, 2021 on behalf of Adage Capital Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“ACP”) with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by it; Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C., a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ACPGP”), as general partner of ACP with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by ACP; Adage Capital Advisors, L.L.C., a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ACA”), as managing member of ACPGP, general partner of ACP, with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by ACP; Robert Atchinson (“Mr. Atchinson”), as managing member of ACA, managing member of ACPGP, general partner of ACP with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by ACP; and Phillip Gross (“Mr. Gross”), as managing member of ACA, managing member of ACPGP, general partner of ACP with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by ACP. The business address of each of ACP, ACPGP, ACA, Mr. Atchinson and Mr. Gross is 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. |
| (10) | This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 8, 2022 on behalf of Calamos Market Neutral Income Fund, a series of Calamos Investment Trust (“Calamos”) with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by it. The business address of Calamos is 2020 Calamos Court, Naperville, IL 60563. |
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Our initial shareholders beneficially own 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 10,150,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or approximately $10,150,000 in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our IPO. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in our IPO except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants was added to the proceeds from our IPO to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of our IPO $205,275,000 was held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination by May 23, 2023 (or November 23, 2023 if we extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination in accordance with the terms described in our final prospectus), the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below.
CC Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and management team. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 720 days after our initial business combination and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliate or family member of any of our officers or directors, any affiliate of our sponsor or to any member of our sponsor or any of their affiliates, (b) in the case of an individual, as a gift to such person’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such person’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of such person; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares or warrants were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or our sponsor’s limited liability company agreement upon dissolution of our sponsor, (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to our consummation of our initial business combination; or (h) in the event that, subsequent to our consummation of an initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements.
79
Registration Rights
The holders of the (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of our IPO, (ii) private placement warrants, which were issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our IPO and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming $2,100,000 of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 18,958,333 Class A ordinary shares and 12,250,000 warrants. The number of Class A ordinary shares includes (i) 6,708,333 Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares, (ii) 10,150,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and (iii) 2,100,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes 10,150,000 private placement warrants and up to 2,100,000 additional private placement warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Equity Compensation Plans
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we had no compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which equity securities were authorized for issuance.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
In March 2021, Jaime Cardoso Danvila, the Chairman of our board of directors, paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs, in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares, which were temporarily issued to such officer and, on April 7, 2021, transferred to our sponsor. In October 2021, our sponsor received a further 958,333 founder shares by way of share capitalization using the existing share premium account.
In connection with our IPO and pursuant to a written agreement, our sponsor purchased through a private placement 10,150,000 warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $10,150,000 in the aggregate. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in our IPO except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
We currently utilize office space at R. Aníbal de Mendonça, 27, 2nd floor, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22410-050, Brazil from our sponsor as our executive offices.
80
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. In addition, these individuals will be reimbursed 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. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
The Sponsor agreed to loan us up to $250,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our IPO. As of December 31, 2022, we had borrowed $149,008 under a promissory note with the Sponsor. The principal on the promissory note (as amended January 2023) is due on the closing of the initial business combination.
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 on a non-interest basis. 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 $2,100,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. 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.
Any of the foregoing payments to our sponsor, repayments of loans from our sponsor or repayments of working capital loans prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans (if any), which is described under the heading “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters—Registration Rights.”
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors has adopted a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the company’s total assets at year end for the prior two completed fiscal years in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy will include: (i) our directors, or officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who may be a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party.
81
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing rules require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our IPO. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Our board of directors has determined that Denise Pauli Pavarina, Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto and Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The following is a summary of fees paid to Marcum LLP, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements, reviews of our quarterly financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Marcum LLP for audit fees, inclusive of required filings with the SEC for the period: (i) for the year ended December 31, 2022 totaled $103,035; and (ii) from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 including the services rendered in connection with our IPO, totaled $72,100.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees 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.” For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022, Marcum LLP did not render such services.
Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022, Marcum LLP did not render such services.
All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022, Marcum LLP did not render any of these other services.
82
Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K:
(1) Financial Statements:
(2) Financial Statement Schedules:
None.
(3) Exhibits
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be accessed on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
| * | Filed herewith. |
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
Not applicable.
83
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities 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, on April 14, 2023.
| CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. | |||
| By: | /s/ Felipe Samuel Argalji | ||
| Name: | Felipe Samuel Argalji | ||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed by the following persons in the capacity and on the dates indicated below.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Felipe Samuel Argalji | Chief Executive Officer | April 14, 2023 | ||
| Felipe Samuel Argalji | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Rafael Moreira Pereira | Chief Financial Officer | April 14, 2023 | ||
| Rafael Moreira Pereira | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Jaime Cardoso Danvila | Director | April 14, 2023 | ||
| Jaime Cardoso Danvila | ||||
| /s/ Daniel Arthur Borghi | Director | April 14, 2023 | ||
| Daniel Arthur Borghi | ||||
| /s/ Denise Pauli Pavarina | Director | April 14, 2023 | ||
| Denise Pauli Pavarina | ||||
| /s/ Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto | Director | April 14, 2023 | ||
| Rossana Isabel Sadir Prieto | ||||
| /s/ Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva | Director | April 14, 2023 | ||
| Flavio Dias Fonseca da Silva |
84
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Crescera Capital Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Crescera Capital Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in ordinary shares subject to possible redemption and shareholders’ deficit, and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from March 11, 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 for the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1, the Company lacks the liquidity it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be at least one year from the date that the financial statements are issued, as it expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its acquisition plans. In addition, the Company’s business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination and the Company currently has a mandatory liquidation date of May 23, 2023. These conditions 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.
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/ Marcum llp
Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
Boston, MA
April 14, 2023
F-2
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current Assets: | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | 618,891 | $ | 961,893 | ||||
| Prepaid expenses | 273,893 | 311,789 | ||||||
| Total current assets | 892,784 | 1,273,682 | ||||||
| Marketable securities held in trust account | 208,242,878 | 205,292,557 | ||||||
| Other non-current assets | — | 263,192 | ||||||
| Total Assets | $ | 209,135,662 | $ | 206,829,431 | ||||
| LIABILITIES, ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 25,325 | $ | 19,583 | ||||
| Promissory note - related party | 149,008 | 162,569 | ||||||
| Accrued expenses | 140,312 | 38,297 | ||||||
| Total current liabilities | 314,645 | 220,449 | ||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | 7,043,750 | 7,043,750 | ||||||
| Derivative warrant liabilities | 624,350 | 13,926,587 | ||||||
| Total Liabilities | 7,982,745 | 21,190,786 | ||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) | ||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, $0.0001 par value; 20,125,000 shares at redemption value of approximately $10.34 and $10.20 as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively | 208,142,878 | 205,275,000 | ||||||
| Shareholders’ Deficit: | ||||||||
| Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 | — | — | ||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding (excluding 20,125,000 shares subject to possible redemption) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 | — | — | ||||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 6,708,333 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 | 671 | 671 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | — | — | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (6,990,632 | ) | (19,637,026 | ) | ||||
| Total Shareholders’ Deficit | (6,989,961 | ) | (19,636,355 | ) | ||||
| Total Liabilities, Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption, and Shareholders’ Deficit | $ | 209,135,662 | $ | 206,829,431 | ||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Formation and operating costs | $ | 738,581 | $ | 88,245 | ||||
| Loss from operations | (738,581 | ) | (88,245 | ) | ||||
| Gain, dividends and interest on marketable securities (net), held in trust account | 2,950,321 | 17,557 | ||||||
| Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities | 13,302,237 | 2,203,163 | ||||||
| Transaction costs allocation to derivative warrant liabilities | — | (498,614 | ) | |||||
| Other income | 295 | 6 | ||||||
| Net income | $ | 15,514,272 | $ | 1,633,867 | ||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares, basic and diluted | 20,125,000 | 2,660,593 | ||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A ordinary shares | $ | 0.58 | $ | 0.19 | ||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares, basic and diluted(1) | 6,708,333 | 5,985,169 | ||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B ordinary shares | $ | 0.58 | $ | 0.19 | ||||
| (1) | The period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through November 23, 2021, the date of the Company's initial public offering, excludes up to 875,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter (see Note 5). On November 23, 2021, the over-allotment option was exercised in full and the shares are no longer subject to forfeiture. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 11, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH
DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption(1) | Ordinary Shares | Additional | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Paid-in | Accumulated | Shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 11, 2021 (inception) | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor | — | — | 6,708,333 | 671 | 24,329 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from the sale of Class A ordinary shares | 20,125,000 | 201,250,000 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Paid underwriters fees | — | (4,025,000 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred underwriting fees payable | — | (7,043,000 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities associated to equity instruments – Public Warrants | — | (8,009,750 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other offering costs | — | (221,734 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Excess of cash received over fair value of Private Placement Warrants | — | — | — | — | 2,030,012 | — | 2,030,012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Re-measurement of Class A ordinary shares to redemption value | — | 23,325,234 | — | — | (2,054,341 | ) | (21,270,893 | ) | (23,325,234 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | 1,633,867 | 1,633,867 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 | 20,125,000 | $ | 205,275,000 | 6,708,333 | $ | 671 | $ | — | $ | (19,637,026 | ) | $ | (19,636,355 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Net income | — | — | — | — | — | 15,514,272 | 15,514,272 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to redemption value | — | 2,867,878 | ��� | — | — | (2,867,878 | ) | (2,867,878 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2022 | 20,125,000 | $ | 208,142,878 | 6,708,333 | $ | 671 | $ | — | $ | (6,990,632 | ) | $ | (6,989,961 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| (1) | Due to the Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption being accounted for as temporary equity on the Balance Sheets, the Class A amounts are not included in the Total Shareholders’ Deficit column, as those amounts reflect permanent equity items. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
| Net income | $ | 15,514,272 | $ | 1,633,867 | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
| Gain, dividends and interest on marketable securities (net), held in trust account | (2,950,321 | ) | (17,557 | ) | ||||
| Transaction costs allocated to derivative warrant liabilities | — | 498,614 | ||||||
| Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities | (13,302,237 | ) | (2,203,163 | ) | ||||
| Formation costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares | — | 23,804 | ||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other non-current assets | 301,088 | (574,981 | ) | |||||
| Accounts payable | 5,742 | — | ||||||
| Accrued expenses | 102,015 | 29,094 | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (329,441 | ) | (610,322 | ) | ||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities | ||||||||
| Investment of cash into trust account | — | (205,275,000 | ) | |||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | — | (205,275,000 | ) | |||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities | ||||||||
| Repayments of promissory note – related party | (13,561 | ) | — | |||||
| Proceeds from sale of Class A shares, gross | — | 201,250,000 | ||||||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | — | 10,150,000 | ||||||
| Offering costs paid | — | (4,552,785 | ) | |||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (13,561 | ) | 206,847,215 | |||||
| Net Change in Cash | (343,002 | ) | 961,893 | |||||
| Cash - Beginning of period | 961,893 | — | ||||||
| Cash - End of period | $ | 618,891 | $ | 961,893 | ||||
| Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
| Initial class A shares subject to possible redemption | $ | — | $ | 181,949,766 | ||||
| Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption value | $ | 2,867,878 | $ | 23,325,234 | ||||
| Offering costs included in accounts payable | $ | 19,583 | ||||||
| Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs | $ | — | $ | 9,203 | ||||
| Deferred offering costs paid through promissory note – related party | $ | — | $ | 162,569 | ||||
| Issuance of Founder Shares to Officer in exchange for payment of legal and formation costs | $ | — | $ | 1,196 | ||||
| Deferred underwriting fees payable | $ | — | $ | 7,043,750 | ||||
| Initial measurement of public warrants and private placement warrants | $ | — | $ | 16,129,750 | ||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Crescera Capital Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on March 11, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar Business Combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”) as described below, and since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on investments held in a trust account from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering and non-operating income or expense in the form of changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities.
The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on November 18, 2021. On November 23, 2021, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 20,125,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), including 2,625,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $201,250,000 (see Note 3).
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 10,150,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to CC Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”) generating gross proceeds of $10,150,000 (see Note 4).
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering on November 23, 2021, an amount of $205,275,000 ($10.20 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”), and was invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with maturities of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the Trust Account, as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. Nasdaq rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Shareholders”) 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 shareholders meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. In connection with an initial Business Combination, the Company may seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which public shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
F-7
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
If the Company seeks shareholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”) provides that, a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to 15% or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.20 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 Shareholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the representative of the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. These shares of Class A ordinary shares were recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.
If a shareholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.
The Company’s Sponsor agreed (a) to vote its 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, (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association with respect to the Company’s pre-Business Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) into the right to receive cash from the Trust Account in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek shareholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association relating to shareholders’ rights of pre-Business Combination activity and (d) that the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or May 23, 2023 (or within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or November 23, 2023, if the Company extends the period of time to consummate its initial Business Combination in accordance with the terms described in the prospectus) (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirement of applicable law. The representative of the underwriters agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission 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 Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).
If the period of time is extended to consummate our initial Business Combination, the Company may need to obtain additional financing from our Sponsor in order to meet its obligations. The Company may, but is not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional six months (for a total of up to 24 months to complete a business combination); provided that the Company's sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to $0.10 per unit sold in its offering, for an aggregate additional amount of $2,012,500 for such extension, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note to be repaid by us following the Company's business combination. Such loan may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
F-8
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Sponsor agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has 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) $10.20 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 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 monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply 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 of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Risks and Uncertainties
COVID-19
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak 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.
War in Ukraine
As a result of the military action commenced in February 2022 by the Russian Federation and Belarus in the country of Ukraine and related economic sanctions, the Company’s ability to consummate a Business Combination, or the operations of a target business with which the Company ultimately consummates a Business Combination, may be materially and adversely affected. Further, the Company’s ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by these events, including as a result of increased market volatility, or decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to the Company or at all. The impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy and the specific impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations and/or ability to consummate a Business Combination are not yet determinable. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Going Concern, Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $618,891 in cash held outside of the Trust Account and a working capital surplus of $578,139.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company working capital loans (as defined in Note 5). As of December 31, 2022, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loans.
The Company will have until May 23, 2023 to complete a Business Combination, which period can be extended to November 23, 2023 if the Company extends the period of time to consummate its initial Business Combination in accordance with the terms described in the prospectus. If a Business Combination is not consummated by May 23, 2023 and an extension has not been effected as described above, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company.
The Company has incurred and expects to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations, management has determined that the Company’s liquidation deadline raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date that the financial statements are issued. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to consummate a Business Combination or raise additional funds will be successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
F-9
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the 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 of 2002, 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 shareholder 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.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with U.S. 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 revenues 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.
Financial Statement Reclassification
Prior year amounts for general and administrative have been reclassified to formation and operating costs for consistency with the current year presentation and had no effect on the Company’s balance sheet, net loss, stockholders’ deficit or cash flows.
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 did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had operating cash (i.e. cash held outside the Trust Account) of $618,891 and $961,893, respectively.
F-10
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Marketable Securities in the Trust Account
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had a total of $208,242,878 and $205,292,557 in the Trust Account held in cash and money market funds, respectively. The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account are comprised solely of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 180 days or less, classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in gain on marketable securities, dividends and interest held in the Trust Account in the accompanying statements of operations. The fair value for trading securities is determined using quoted market prices in active markets.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Company applies ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”), which establishes a framework for measuring fair value and clarifies the definition of fair value within that framework. ASC 820 defines fair value as an exit price, which is the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the Company’s principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy established in ASC 820 generally requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the entity’s own assumptions based on market data and the entity’s judgments about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are to be developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.
The carrying amounts reflected in the balance sheets for current assets and current liabilities approximate fair value due to their short-term nature.
GAAP specifies a three-level hierarchy that is used when measuring and disclosing fair value. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices available in active markets (i.e. observable inputs) and the lowest priority to data lacking transparency (i.e. unobservable inputs). An instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of significant inputs to its valuation. The following is a description of the three hierarchy levels.
Level 1 — Assets and liabilities with unadjusted, quoted prices listed on active market exchanges. Inputs to the fair value measurement are observable inputs, such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 — Inputs to the fair value measurement are determined using prices for recently traded assets and liabilities with similar underlying terms, as well as direct or indirect observable inputs, such as interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals.
Level 3 — Inputs to the fair value measurement are unobservable inputs, such as estimates, assumptions, and valuation techniques when little or no market data exists for the assets or liabilities.
See Note 9 for additional information on assets and liabilities measured at fair value.
Derivative Warrant Liabilities
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
F-11
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations. The Company issued 10,062,500 warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares to investors in the Company’s Initial Public Offering and simultaneously issued 10,150,000 Private Placement Warrants. All of the Company’s outstanding warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the statement of operations. The fair value of warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering were measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants.
Offering Costs
Offering costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering, the offering costs were allocated using the relative fair values of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares and its warrants. The costs allocated to warrants were recognized in other expenses and those related to the Company’s Class A ordinary shares were charged to temporary equity.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All of the 20,125,000 Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Therefore, all Class A ordinary shares have been classified outside of permanent equity.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit. The redemption value of the redeemable ordinary shares as of December 31, 2022 increased as the income earned on the Trust Account exceeds the Company’s expected dissolution expenses (up to $100,000). As such, the Company recorded an increase in the carrying amount of the redeemable ordinary shares of $2,867,878 for the year ended December 31, 2022.
As of December 31, 2022, the Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption reflected in the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | ||||
| Gross proceeds | $ | 201,250,000 | ||
| Less: | ||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants classified as equity | (8,009,750 | ) | ||
| Issuance costs allocated to Class A ordinary shares | (11,290,484 | ) | ||
| Plus: | ||||
| Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value | 23,325,234 | |||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption as of December 31, 2021 | 205,275,000 | |||
| Plus: | ||||
| Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value | 2,867,878 | |||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption as of December 31, 2022 | $ | 208,142,878 | ||
F-12
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Net Income Per Ordinary Share
Net income per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. The remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to redemption value is excluded from the earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value. Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture are not considered in the calculation of diluted income per share until the forfeiture contingency has lapsed. The Company has not considered the effect of the Public Warrants (as defined in Note 3) and Private Placement Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 20,212,500 shares in the calculation of diluted income per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income per ordinary share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the period from March 11, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share: | ||||||||||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 11,635,704 | $ | 3,878,568 | $ | 502,796 | $ | 1,131,071 | ||||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | 20,125,000 | 6,708,333 | 2,660,593 | 5,985,169 | ||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share | $ | 0.58 | $ | 0.58 | $ | 0.19 | $ | 0.19 | ||||||||
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position 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. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for 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 is considered an exempted Cayman Islands Company and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the periods presented.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution which, at times may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
F-13
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 20,125,000 Units, which includes the exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 2,625,000, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $201,250,000. Each Unit consisted of one share of Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (“Public Warrant” or together with the Private Placement Warrants, the “Warrants”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share (see Note 7).
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 10,150,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $10,150,000). Each warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share. Certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were 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 proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirement of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
In March 2021, one of the Company’s officers paid $25,000, to cover certain of the Company’s offering costs, in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Class B Ordinary Shares” or “Founder Shares”), which were temporarily issued to such officer. On April 7, 2021, the Founder Shares were transferred to the Company’s Sponsor.
In October 2021, the Company effected a share capitalization pursuant to which an additional 958,333 Founder Shares were issued for no consideration, using the existing share premium account, resulting in an aggregate of 6,708,333 of Founder Shares outstanding. Prior to the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor also transferred 25,000 of the Founder Shares to each of the Company’s three independent directors.
The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 875,000 shares that were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor. The underwriter’s over-allotment opinion was exercised and these shares are no longer subject to forfeiture. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by the Company’s Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the Company by the aggregate number of Founder Shares issued. Out of the 6,708,333 Founder Shares, 5,031,250 Founder Shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares after the initial Business Combination and 1,677,083 Founder Shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares only to the extent the Company’s share trades at or above $12.50 per share as described in the final prospectus.
Prior to the Initial Public Offering, three independent directors purchased 25,000 Founder Shares each from the Sponsor, at their original purchase price (approximately $0.004 per share) for a total of $280. If the director is removed from office as director, or voluntarily resigns his position with the Company before a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar Business Combination involving the Company, all of the director’s Class B ordinary shares shall be returned to the Sponsor. The fair value of the Founder Shares at the grant dates was determined using an internal model using the issuance price of the Units in the Initial Public Offering as a proxy adjusting for the value for the warrants included in the Units, for the probability the Company will consummate an initial Business Combination and for holding costs and no rights of redemption. Valuation of the 75,000 Founder Shares granted to the directors is estimated to be $342,201 or $4.56 per share. The Company will record the fair value of the transferred shares in excess of the amount paid of $341,921 as director compensation expense upon consummation of an initial Business Combination, in accordance with the guidance in ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation.
F-14
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The holders of the Founder Shares agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) 180 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (ii) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the completion of the initial Business Combination, at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate on an as-converted basis, 15% of the sum of (i) the total number of all Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering (including the over-allotment shares as a result of the underwriter exercising its over-allotment option), plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion of the Founder Shares plus (iii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities (as defined herein) or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding (x) any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination, and (y) any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, its affiliates or any member of the Company’s management team upon conversion of working capital loans. Prior to the initial Business Combination, only holders of Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors.
Promissory Note - Related Party
The Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $250,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Initial Public Offering. The loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and was due at the earlier of December 31, 2022 or the closing of the initial Business Combination. In January 2023, the loan was amended retroactively to December 31, 2022 to become due only upon a Business Combination. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had borrowed $149,008 and $162,569 under the promissory note, respectively.
Working Capital Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an initial 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, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes an initial Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. In the event that an initial Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of an initial Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,100,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post-initial Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. 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.
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans), are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement that was signed prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
F-15
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 2,625,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments at the Initial Public Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters fully exercised the option on November 23, 2021.
The underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of 2.0% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $4,025,000 in the aggregate, which was paid upon closing of the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the representative of the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred fee of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $7,043,750. The deferred fee will become payable to the representative of 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.
NOTE 7. WARRANTS
The Company accounted for the 20,212,500 Warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (the 10,062,500 of Public Warrants and the 10,150,000 of Private Placement Warrants) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40 Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. 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, the Company classifies 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 the Company’s statements of operations.
Additionally, certain adjustments to the settlement amount of the Private Placement Warrants are based on a variable that is not an input to the fair value of a “fixed-for-fixed” option as defined under ASC 815-40, and thus the Private Placement Warrants are not considered indexed to the Company’s own shares and not eligible for an exception from derivative accounting.
The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record a derivative liability upon issuance of the warrants at the closing of the Initial Public Offering. The Public Warrants will be allocated a portion of the proceeds from the issuance of the Units equal to its fair value determined with the assistance of a professional independent valuation firm.
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants were issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination provided that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under certain circumstances as a result of (i) the Company’s failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination or (ii) a notice of redemption described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00”). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of its initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the Company’s initial Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, the Company will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if the Company’s Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy 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 its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
F-16
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares (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 Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to 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 $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described under “Redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares” and “Redemption of warrants for cash” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants, except that, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.
If a tender offer, exchange or redemption offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the Class A ordinary shares and upon completion of such offer, the offeror owns beneficially more than 50% of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares the holder of the warrant shall be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant had been exercised, accepted such offer and all of the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to the offer. If less than 65% of the consideration receivable by the holders of the Class A ordinary shares in the applicable event is payable in the form of common equity in the successor entity that is listed on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, and if the holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following the public disclosure of the consummation of the applicable event by the Company, the warrant price shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference (but in no event less than zero) of (i) the warrant price in effect prior to such reduction minus (ii) (A) the Per Share Consideration (as defined in the warrant agreement) minus (B) the value of the warrant based on the Black-Scholes Warrant Value for a Capped American Call on Bloomberg Financial Markets.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement 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 reported sale price (the “closing price”) of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
F-17
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a cashless basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants”; |
| ● | if, and only if, the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
| ● | if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. |
In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. 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 8. SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preferred shares — The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preferred shares, 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 preferred shares issued or outstanding.
Class A ordinary shares — The Company is authorized to issue up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, excluding 20,125,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption.
Class B ordinary shares — The Company is authorized to issue up to 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were 6,708,333 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares shall have the right to vote on the election of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination.
F-18
CRESCERA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The following table presents information about the Company’s financial 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 inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Description | Amount at Fair Value | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | ||||||||||||
| December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account: | ||||||||||||||||
| Money Market investments | $ | 208,242,878 | $ | 208,242,878 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liability – Public Warrants | $ | 302,881 | $ | 302,881 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Warrant liability – Private Placement Warrants | $ | 321,469 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 321,469 | ||||||||
| December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account: | ||||||||||||||||
| Money Market investments | $ | 205,292,557 | $ | 205,292,557 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liability – Public Warrants | $ | 6,912,937 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 6,912,937 | ||||||||
| Warrant liability – Private Placement Warrants | $ | 7,013,650 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 7,013,650 | ||||||||
The Company utilized a Monte Carlo simulation model for the initial valuation of the Public Warrants. The subsequent measurement of the Public Warrants as of December 31, 2022 is classified as Level 1 due to the use of an observable market quote in an active market under the ticker CRECW. The quoted price of the Public Warrants was approximately $0.03 per warrant as of December 31, 2022.
The estimated fair value of the Private Placement Warrants, and the Public Warrants was initially determined using Level 3 inputs. Inherent in a Monte Carlo simulation are assumptions related to expected share-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The Company estimated the volatility of its Private Placement Warrants based on implied volatility from the Company’s traded warrants and from historical volatility of select peer company’s Class A ordinary shares 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. During the current reporting period with respect to the expected life assumption, the Company revised its methodology in estimating the term which has been accounted for on a prospective basis as a change in accounting estimate. As of December 31, 2022, the expected life of the warrants was estimated utilizing a probability-weighted approach based on the expected outcomes of both a successful and unsuccessful business combination. Prior to the change in estimate, the expected life of the warrants was 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.
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period. The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement on January 14, 2022, after the Public Warrants were separately listed and traded.
The following table provides the significant inputs used in the Monte Carlo simulation model to measure the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants:
| As of December 31, 2022 | As of December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Exercise Price | 11.50 | 11.50 | ||||||
| Underlying share price | $ | 10.22 | $ | 9.69 | ||||
| Volatility | 5.3 | % | 12.3 | % | ||||
| Weighted Term to Business Combination (years) | 1.07 | 6.25 | ||||||
| Risk-free rate | 4.71 | % | 1.37 | % | ||||
| Dividend yield | 0.00 | % | 0.00 | % | ||||
The following table provides a summary of the changes in the fair value of the Company’s Level 3 financial instruments that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2022:
| Fair value at March 11, 2021 (inception) | $ | — | ||
| Issuance of Public and Private Placement Warrants - Level 3 measurements | 16,129,750 | |||
| Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities with Level 3 inputs | (2,203,163 | ) | ||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2021 | 13,926,587 | |||
| Transfer of Public Warrants to Level 1 measurement | (6,912,938 | ) | ||
| Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities with Level 3 inputs | (6,692,181 | ) | ||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2022 | $ | 321,469 |
NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements, other than the change in the due date for the Promissory Note - Related Party in Note 5.
F-19