Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-272810
PROSPECTUS
$300,000,000
![[MISSING IMAGE: lg_nabors-4c.jpg]](https://capedge.com/proxy/424B4/0001104659-23-081642/lg_nabors-4c.jpg)
Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II
30,000,000 Units
Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II is a blank check company newly incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. 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. We intend to identify solutions, opportunities, companies or technologies that focus on advancing the energy transition; specifically, ones that facilitate, improve or complement the reduction of carbon or greenhouse gas emissions while satisfying growing energy consumption across markets globally.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. Subject to the terms and conditions described in this prospectus, we may redeem the warrants for cash once the warrants become exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price described herein, payable in cash, subject to the limitations described herein. We will have 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within the above time period, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price described herein, payable in cash, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
Our sponsor, Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company, is an affiliate of Nabors Industries Ltd. (“Nabors”; NYSE: NBR), which owns and operates one of the world’s largest land-based drilling rig fleets and provides offshore platform rigs and related services in the United States and several international markets. Nabors has a proven history of innovation and a track record of developing and deploying advanced technologies for the energy sector as it has evolved over the 100-plus year history of Nabors and its predecessor entities. The private warrantholders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,440,000 warrants (or 10,340,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,440,000 in the aggregate, or $10,340,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and will not expire except upon liquidation, as described in this prospectus. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us.
In addition, our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) has agreed to lend us $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as of the closing date of this offering at no interest, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as the overfunding loans. The overfunding loans will be repaid upon the closing of our initial business combination or converted into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant (or any combination thereof), at our sponsor’s discretion, which warrants will be identical to the private placement warrants. The overfunding loans are being extended in order to ensure that the amount in the trust account is $10.10 per public share. If we do
not complete an initial business combination, we will not repay the overfunding loans from amounts held in the trust account, and the trust account proceeds will be distributed to our public shareholders, subject to the limitations described herein; however, we may repay the overfunding loans if there are funds available outside the trust account to do so.
Our initial shareholders own 8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares (up to 1,125,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). We refer to these Class F ordinary shares as the founder shares throughout this prospectus. The Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, or earlier at the option of the holder, subject to adjustment and forfeiture as provided herein. Prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to elect our directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding Class F ordinary shares may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. On any vote to approve our initial business combination or on any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class A ordinary shares, holders of our Class B ordinary shares, if any, and holders of our Class F ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, with each ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote. Following our initial business combination and the automatic conversion of the Class F ordinary shares into Class B ordinary shares, holders of our Class A ordinary shares and holders of our Class B ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class on all matters presented for a shareholder vote, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, with each Class A ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote per share and each Class B ordinary share entitling the holder to ten votes per share. This high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies, in which the number of votes per share for founder shares and public shares remain the same after the initial business combination.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We have been authorized to list our units on The Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “NETDU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, the representative of the underwriters, inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “NETD” and “NETDW,” respectively. After completion of this offering, only holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination. As a result, Nasdaq considers us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s rules. As described in this prospectus, we will elect to utilize certain exemptions from Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements. Accordingly, investors may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements as long as we remain a “controlled company.” Our status as a controlled company could make our Class A ordinary shares less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our share price.
We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 43 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.
Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.
| | | Per Unit | | | Total | | ||||||
Price to the Public | | | | $ | 10.00 | | | | | $ | 300,000,000 | | |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)(2) | | | | $ | 0.55 | | | | | $ | 16,500,000 | | |
Proceeds, before expenses, to Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II | | | | $ | 9.45 | | | | | $ | 283,500,000 | | |
(1)
Includes $0.35 per unit, or $10,500,000 (or $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting discounts and commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon the completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters.
(2)
At our request, the underwriters have agreed to reserve up to 1,500,000 of the units offered by this prospectus for sale to certain members of our management team, employees of Nabors and its affiliates and other individuals associated with us
and members of their families, at the initial public offering price. We call this our “Directed Unit Program.” Reserved units purchased by members of our management team will be subject to a 180-day restricted period. Sales in the Directed Unit Program will be made at our direction by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. We do not know if individual investors will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved units, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of units available in the overall offering. Any reserved units not purchased in the Directed Unit Program will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other units.
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans described in this prospectus, $303.0 million, or $348.5 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.10 per unit in either case), will be placed into a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and held in cash or invested only in U.S. government treasury obligation 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 of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about July 18, 2023.
CitigroupWells Fargo Securities
Prospectus dated July 13, 2023.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in the prospectus, and neither we nor the underwriters take any responsibility, and can provide you no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information others give to you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
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SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
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“we,” “us,” “our,” “company” or “our company” are to Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II;
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“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that the company will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering;
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“Companies Law” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;
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“directors” are to our current directors and our director nominees named in this prospectus;
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“equity-linked securities” are to any securities of our company or any of our subsidiaries which are convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, equity securities of our company or such subsidiary, including any private placement of equity or debt;
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“founder shares” are to our Class F ordinary shares initially purchased by, and issued to, our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering, the Class B ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion thereof at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders, and the Class A ordinary shares issued upon the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, as described herein;
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“initial shareholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering;
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“management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors;
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“Nabors” are to Nabors Industries Ltd., a Bermuda exempted company and affiliate of our sponsor;
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“ordinary resolution” are to a resolution of the company adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy at a general meeting of the company and entitled to vote on such matter, and such resolution may not be effected by unanimous written resolution of the shareholders other than with respect to our Class F ordinary shares;
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“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares, our Class B ordinary shares and our Class F ordinary shares, collectively;
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“overfunding loans” are to the loan in the amount of $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) will make to us simultaneously with the closing of this offering;
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“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to the owners of our sponsor and our independent directors in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;
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“private warrantholders” are to the direct and indirect owners of our sponsor (including employees of Nabors) and our independent directors that will purchase private placement warrants simultaneously with the closing of this offering;
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“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders, board of directors and management team to the extent our initial shareholders, board of directors and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial shareholder’s, director’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” only exists with respect to such public shares;
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“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market), but specifically excludes all of our Class A ordinary shares that are issued upon conversion of our Class B ordinary shares;
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“public warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
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“special resolution” are to a resolution of the company adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a two-thirds (2/3) majority (or such higher approval threshold as specified in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) of the votes cast by the holders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy at a general meeting of the company and entitled to vote on such matter, or a resolution approved in writing by all of the holders of the issued shares entitled to vote on such matter;
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“specified future issuance” are to an issuance of a class equity or equity-linked securities to specified purchasers, which may include affiliates of Nabors, that we may determine to make in connection with financing our initial business combination;
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“sponsor” are to Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company and an affiliate of Nabors. Our sponsor is managed by Nabors Corporate Services, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nabors, and owned by Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l., a private limited liability company (société à responsabilité limitée) incorporated in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nabors, and Greens Road Energy II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company controlled by Anthony G. Petrello, our President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman and the Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer and director of Nabors. Greens Road Energy II LLC is owned by certain members of our management team, including Anthony G. Petrello, William J. Restrepo, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Nabors, and Guillermo Sierra, our Vice President—Energy Transition and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives—Energy Transition of Nabors, and Stephen M. Trauber, our independent director nominee; and
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“warrants” are to our public warrants and private placement warrants, as well as any warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans and overfunding loans upon or following the consummation of our initial business combination, collectively.
Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
All references in this prospectus to shares of the company being forfeited shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any conversion of Class F ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a redemption of Class F ordinary shares and an issuance of Class B ordinary shares, or as otherwise permitted by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any conversion of the Class B ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a compulsory redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares, or as otherwise permitted by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this prospectus will take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law (that is, an issuance of shares from share premium).
Registered trademarks referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and that no units are sold in the Directed Unit Program.
Our Company
We are a blank check company newly incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified 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.
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In cooperation with Nabors, we intend to identify solutions, opportunities, companies or technologies that facilitate, improve or complement the ongoing global energy sector’s shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption—including oil, natural gas and coal—to renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy or hydrogen, which support the transition towards a low- or no-carbon emitting future and reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions as energy consumption continues to rapidly grow, which is known as the “energy transition.” We intend to prioritize environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors advancing the energy transition.
Specific sectors on which we intend to focus include alternative energy, energy storage, emissions reduction and carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (“CCUS”), among others. We intend to leverage Nabors’ particular energy transition experience and its expertise developing and deploying discrete, mobile assets, advanced technologies and applications, such as digital controls and analytics, globally as well as the commercial, operational and financial expertise and industry relationships of our directors and executive officers to effectively identify and execute on investment opportunities.
The energy transition has gained traction across multiple markets. Nabors has developed a deep understanding of the transformation of the energy landscape, having successfully operated for more than a century through multiple significant transitions. These include the progressive evolution of drilling rigs from mechanical to the modern AC electric rig, the expansion of hydrocarbon exploration and development to offshore and remote domains, the digitization of field operations and, most recently, the adoption of automation across multiple phases of the drilling process. Nabors is also the recognized leader in driving robotics for land and offshore rigs. Historically, Nabors has also been active in geothermal energy development in several countries and retains technical leadership in developing and managing geothermal assets. More recently, Nabors has made significant non-controlling investments into several alternative energy technologies such as geothermal energy, alternative industrial and utility scale storage solutions as well as concentrated solar power technologies under the unifying theme of renewable, scalable, dispatchable energy technology with a direct tangency to Nabors’ existing business. Nabors’ and our management team’s combined experience includes a thorough understanding of market drivers and a track record of proactively anticipating significant market shifts.
We intend to focus on acquisition opportunities with meaningful and attractive growth prospects with a principal focus on advancing the energy transition. More specifically, we intend to focus on:
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alternative energy sources, including but not limited to geothermal energy;
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power management, energy storage and distributed energy systems, including but not limited to hydrogen, ammonia, and BESS (“Battery Energy Storage System”) technologies with a particular emphasis on non-lithium alternatives;
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CCUS;
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advanced combustion technologies targeting emissions reduction;
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autonomous and industrial mobility; and
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other industrial applications.
Our initial business combination strategy will target opportunities that would offer market leadership, and which would benefit from both the financial flexibility of access to public capital markets and the access to Nabors’ own market presence and operational and functional expertise.
Nabors Industries Ltd. and Our Sponsor
Our Sponsor
Our sponsor is Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC, which is (i) managed and co-owned by affiliates of Nabors, a public corporation with operations providing services and equipment for upstream oil and gas exploration and production (“E&P”), and (ii) co-owned by Greens Road Energy II LLC. Greens Road Energy II LLC is owned by certain members of our management team, including Anthony G. Petrello, William J. Restrepo, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Nabors, and
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Guillermo Sierra, our Vice President—Energy Transition and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives—Energy Transition of Nabors, and Stephen M. Trauber, our independent director nominee.
Nabors and its predecessor entities have been continuously operating in the energy sector for over 100 years. Since the late 1980s, Nabors has become one of the global drilling industry’s largest contractors through a combination of organic growth and many successful acquisitions.
As a strategic partner, Nabors brings several significant sources of value to the company. These include:
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opportunity to readily scale technology across global markets;
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established operational, safety, risk management, financial, accounting and reporting systems and best practices in place;
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worldwide footprint in markets accounting for 80% of hydrocarbon production;
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opportunity to design, commercialize, deploy and operate cutting-edge technology and assets on a global basis;
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low-cost manufacturing capacity in Nabors’ Canrig operation; and
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modular, automation, remote controlled and monitored system expertise.
Nabors’ capabilities have been proven across a multitude of demanding environments. It has operated successfully in surface conditions as varied as the Middle East desert, sub-zero temperatures in the Arctic, and difficult, dense and logistically challenged locations, as well as offshore in both shallow and deep water. Subsurface conditions, which are seen as particularly challenging in the industry yet ordinary course for Nabors, include high temperatures and pressures typically encountered by oil and gas wells at depth, as well as volatile or corrosive compounds in hydrocarbon bearing zones. Through its technology innovation, Nabors has proven to be a valued provider to many global leaders including Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, Ecopetrol, YPF and PEMEX, among others.
In particular, Nabors offers:
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market access that spans geographies, including strong relationships with the largest energy companies in the world;
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manufacturing proficiency and multijurisdictional functional expertise, with established management systems in place;
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development and commercialization of technologies with an organization comprised of hundreds of mechanical, industrial, electrical and software engineers; and
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access to potentially synergistic relationships with other energy transition technologies in which Nabors has invested.
Greens Road Energy II LLC will invest in our sponsor and will be funded exclusively by cash provided by its owners independently of Nabors, and its economic ownership of our sponsor is pari passu with the investment in our sponsor by an affiliate of Nabors. As a result, the interests of Greens Road Energy II LLC are substantially aligned with those of Nabors. The separate ownership of Greens Road Energy II LLC also offers the following advantages:
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assurance to our public shareholders that management is committed and focused on prioritizing our success;
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alignment of our interests with those of our management; and
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demonstration that owners of Greens Road Energy II LLC believe that it is a compelling investment opportunity.
Immediately prior to this offering, our sponsor owned 100% of our share capital, consisting of our Class F ordinary shares, which will automatically convert at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. Following our
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initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share entitles the holder to ten votes per share, which differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies. Assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits an aggregate of 1,125,000 founder shares, that there are 30,000,000 ordinary shares outstanding after this offering and that there are no additional equity securities issued in connection with our initial business combination, our sponsor is expected to own approximately 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and approximately 71% of the voting power of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the closing of our initial business combination. We anticipate that our sponsor’s voting power and equity ownership may be substantially diluted in connection with our initial business combination, either from the issuance of new ordinary shares in exchange for the capital stock or share capital of the target, the issuance of our ordinary shares to third-party investors providing additional funding to our company in connection with the initial business combination, or both.
In March 2021, affiliates of our sponsor formed Nabors Energy Transition Corp. (“NETC I”), a blank check company formed for substantially the same purpose as our company. Through its initial public offering in November 2021, NETC I raised approximately $276.0 million from the sale of approximately 27.6 million units to public investors, with each unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half warrant. NETC I’s units, Class A common stock and warrants trade on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbols “NETC.U,” “NETC” and “NETC.WS,” respectively. On February 14, 2023, NETC I announced its agreement to combine with Vast Solar Pty Ltd (“Vast”), a renewable energy company that has developed next generation concentrated solar power systems to generate, store and dispatch carbon free, utility-scale electricity and industrial heat, and to enable the production of green fuel. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarters of 2023. The transaction ascribes a fully diluted pre-money value of $239.7 million for Vast with existing Vast equity holders rolling 100% of their interests into the combined company. In addition, the combined company will receive approximately $103.7 million of cash held in NETC I’s trust account, assuming no redemptions by NETC I’s stockholders other than those redemptions in May 2023 in connection with NETC I’s amendment to its certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which NETC I had to consummate an initial business combination, and an aggregate of $30.0 million of cash from Vast’s owners and Nabors. Immediately following the closing, the existing equity holders of Vast are expected to own between 60% and 71% of the issued and outstanding shares of the combined company, depending on the amount of redemptions.
Nabors Energy Transition Portfolio
Nabors has a fast-growing portfolio of technologies designed to drive energy efficiency and emissions reductions for itself and its customers. Nabors’ portfolio of energy transition related technologies includes proprietary emissions reporting and analytics software, engine management controls, energy storage systems, hydrogen injection catalysts, carbon capture technology and fuel enhancing additives, as well as traditional high-line power and dual-fuel offerings.
In addition, Nabors has engaged in venture investment opportunities for exposure to several high growth potential segments in these burgeoning lower carbon markets. Nabors’ initial investments focus on alternative energy sources such as geothermal and hydrogen, energy storage and carbon capture, including utilization and sequestration technologies and emissions monitoring. Select investments are as follows:
Geothermal—Nabors is leveraging its global footprint, extensive knowledge of subsurface conditions and expertise in drilling and well construction to advance and accelerate geothermal technologies and projects globally. Nabors has partnered with four leading geothermal venture companies: (1) Quaise, Inc.: commercializes novel millimeter wave drilling systems to harness geothermal energy; (2) Sage Geosystems, Inc.: transformative geothermal development company working to optimize both geothermal wells and power plants to make geothermal energy accessible and affordable; (3) GeoX Energy, Inc.: development company working to commercialize technologies to install supercritical geothermal power stations at scale; (4) GA Drilling, a.s.: drilling company with patented subsurface technology working to provide geothermal energy in all types of environments and geographies; and (5) Hephae Energy Technology LLC: development company working to create an integrated drilling system with the ability to capture geothermal energy in the harshest environments.
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Energy Storage—Nabors invests in multiple systems to help manage energy storage: (1) CleanDesign Power System Hybrid Energy Management System (“hEMS”) uses battery energy storage and engine automation to reduce the number of required generators and increases fuel efficiency for a rig; (2) Canrig PowerFLOW™ combines supercapacitor energy storage with power management systems to provide peak energy shaving solutions, reducing the required number of generators and diesel engines; (3) Natron Energy, Inc., a global leader in the manufacturing of sodium-ion batteries, stores sodium ions in electrode materials based on Prussian blue materials, offering batteries with higher power density, longer service life, and unique safety characteristics over other battery technologies; and (4) UCAP Power, a global provider of ultracapacitor-based power solutions, provides ultracapacitor systems that use sustainable based products, offering a long-lasting source of reliable high-power energy storage that can help eliminate lead-acid and other hazardous materials in batteries.
Alternative Energy—Where highline power is available, Nabors’ Canrig PowerTAP™ system can be installed to accept grid power and interface with grid infrastructure, directly providing all electric power to a rig without the need to run combustion engines.
Engine Management—Nabors’ SmartPOWER™ software applies artificial intelligence to analyze live data from an electronic drilling recorder and a proprietary engine de-rating module to learn a rig’s power needs. SmartPOWER™ advises drillers on the optimum number of engines to be run in real-time, reducing fuel consumption and emissions and ensuring optimum load on engines.
Fuel Enhancers—Nabors utilizes technologies to enhance fuel efficiency for its operations: (1) nanO2® is a combustion catalyst diesel fuel additive that reduces emissions, improves fuel efficiency and increases engine performance while simultaneously reducing engine temperatures; and (2) Hydrogen Injection Catalyst systems optimize engine performance, increase fuel efficiency, and reduce emissions. This patented, low-pressure system injects hydrogen directly into an engine’s combustion chamber and generates the correct amount of hydrogen needed per engine load.
Emissions Reporting—Nabors’ RigCLOUD® software monitors engine performance and transmits the data back to a central server, calculating fuel usage and emissions data which is consolidated in an End of Well report. Nabors also invests in third-party air pollution and greenhouse gas tracking software. These investments translate billions of scientific measurements into environmental intelligence for governments, companies, and communities.
Experience and Competitive Strengths
Innovation—Nabors has a proven history of innovation in developing, commercializing and field-deploying advanced technology. Successful product rollouts include hardware, mainly for the energy industry, with a focus on performance enhancement and the automation of the drilling process. This includes the development of the hardware for the industry’s first robotic offshore comprehensive integrated drilling system for a customer in the North Sea.
Energy transition experience—Nabors has been an industry leader in developing and deploying new equipment to operate more than 50 drilling rigs in North America capable of running on natural gas or on dual fuel. This capability results in a meaningful reduction in GHG emissions. Nabors also operates rigs which are powered from the electrical grid or alternative sources of electricity, resulting in a dramatic improvement in each rig’s carbon footprint. In addition, Nabors has deployed its FuelToolTM software, hardware and data collection system, which optimizes rig-level fuel consumption thereby reducing the rig’s emissions. Historically, Nabors has also been active in geothermal energy development in several countries and retains technical leadership in developing geothermal assets.
Global operations—Nabors and its predecessor entities have a record of over 100 years operating in multiple major energy production markets in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Outside of its traditional strength in the North America market, this history extends to significant markets in Latin America, the Middle East, and Central and Southeast Asia.
Complexity of operations—Nabors routinely operates across a variety of demanding environments, including in challenging surface and sub-surface conditions. Its expertise navigating some of the world’s
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most complex operating conditions and difficult, dense and logistically challenged environments make Nabors a valued provider to the world’s largest energy companies.
Environmental sensitivity—Nabors has successfully conducted operations in areas of extreme environmental sensitivity with fit-for-purpose equipment that mitigates the risk of environmental incidents. Some of the better-known areas include the North Slope of Alaska, Papua New Guinea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia, among others. Recently, Nabors committed to the Science Based Targets initiative, committing to setting science-based GHG emissions targets.
Decentralized facilities—Nabors has specialized expertise operating discrete, mobile facilities with customer-specific requirements. Such facilities are often remote, and require a large degree of self-sufficiency as well as an advanced supply chain.
Customers—Nabors has a globally diversified customer base including major independent energy producers as well as national energy companies in the largest global markets. Nabors is currently partnering with Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest energy company, in a joint venture.
Acquisitions—Nabors has an established track record of identifying, closing, and integrating accretive acquisitions across multiple markets, including demonstrated expertise acquiring technology, ancillary services, and equipment portfolios.
HSE—Nabors has developed an agile, flexible health, safety and environment (“HSE”) Management System, which ensures clear expectations in terms of demonstrating management’s commitment, engaging employees and effectively managing risks and analysis of data. This system leads to a cycle of continuous improvement. Reflecting a strong safety culture, Nabors continues to lead its closest peers in recordable incident rate.
Our Management Team
Anthony G. Petrello is our President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman. Mr. Petrello has served as Nabors’ President and Chief Executive Officer since 2011 and as the Chairman of the Board of Nabors since 2012. Mr. Petrello has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman of NETC I since March 2021. Mr. Petrello serves as a director of Hilcorp Energy, one of the largest private E&P companies in the United States. In 2018, Mr. Petrello was the recipient of the Offshore Energy Center Pinnacle Award, recognizing outstanding individuals who have taken today’s leading-edge tools and technologies and applied them to real world challenges. Mr. Petrello is a coinventor on four patents for drilling rig substructures. Mr. Petrello brings an extensive and unique combination of strategic commercial, operational, technological and technical skills.
William J. Restrepo is our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Restrepo has served as Nabors’ Chief Financial Officer since March 2014. Mr. Restrepo has served as the Chief Financial Officer of NETC I since April 2021. Mr. Restrepo has extensive experience in the energy industry both domestically and internationally. This includes 20 years with Schlumberger in senior strategic, financial and operational management roles in Europe, the Middle East and South America. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Smith International and of Pacific Drilling. Mr. Restrepo brings a wealth of experience in capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and international operations in the energy industry.
Guillermo Sierra is our Vice President—Energy Transition. Mr. Sierra has served as Vice President, Strategic Initiatives—Energy Transition at Nabors since April 2021. Mr. Sierra has served as the Vice President—Energy Transition of NETC I since April 2021. Mr. Sierra has extensive experience in energy, infrastructure, venture investments, energy technology and climate technology, logistics, capital markets and M&A given his work on over 60 transactions with a combined value of over $200 billion over the last approximately 17 years through various advisory and corporate strategy roles. Most recently, Mr. Sierra was a Partner at Blackline Partners from August 2019 to December 2020, serving as Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy for Blackline Midstream from August 2019 to March 2020 and in the same position for Blackline Cold Storage from March 2020 to November 2020. Mr. Sierra was not employed from December 2020 to April 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Sierra served as Managing Director, Head of North America Midstream Advisory at Macquarie Capital from September 2016 to December 2018 before taking a sabbatical from December 2018 to August 2019. Mr. Sierra’s earlier experiences include positions at Credit Suisse
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(Director, Head of MLP/Midstream M&A), USD Group LLC & USD Partners (VP, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of M&A), Evercore Partners (Vice President — Energy M&A), and Barclays Capital (as a member of the Global Natural Resources Group). Mr. Sierra is currently a Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, and board observer on the board of directors, of Sage Geosystems Inc., and is also a board observer on the board of directors of Quaise, Inc., Hephae Energy Technology and UCAP Power, Inc.
We believe our management team’s operating, commercial, and transaction experience, experience managing another special purpose acquisition company and extensive relationships in the energy and energy transition industries will provide us access to a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, their relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and their experience in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Management” for a more complete description of our management team’s experience.
Our Directors
Colleen Calhoun will be appointed as a member of our board of directors in connection with the consummation of this offering. Ms. Calhoun has served as Operating Partner at The Engine, an investment firm focusing on climate change human health and advanced systems and infrastructure, since April 2023. Ms. Calhoun previously served as Vice President of Spruce Power (formerly known as XL Fleet) (NYSE: SPRU), a provider of fleet electrification solutions, and General Manager of XL Grid, a division of Spruce Power, from January 2021 to February 2023. Prior to this, Ms. Calhoun served as Founder and Principal Advisor at Helios Consulting, LLC from November 2019 to December 2020. Ms. Calhoun spent twenty-five years at GE across several roles at the company, including Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Business Development (August 2018 to October 2019) and Head of Business Development and Partnerships (January 2016 to August 2018) at GE Current, a leading provider of energy efficiency and digital productivity solutions for commercial buildings and cities, where she was instrumental in the divesture of the business from GE in 2019; Global Senior Director of Energy Ventures at GE Ventures (January 2013 to December 2015); Executive Director, Marketing, Strategy and Project Development at GE Power & Water (October 2010 to December 2012); and Managing Director, Global Growth Markets at GE Energy Financial Services (January 2006 to September 2010). Ms. Calhoun is presently a member of the board of directors at Nabors Energy Transition Corp. and Quaise, Inc. and served on the board of directors of Evergreen Climate Innovations (formerly known as Clean Energy Trust) until February 2023. She also previously served on the Advisory Board at NYSERDA REV Connect. Ms. Calhoun earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
We believe Ms. Calhoun’s extensive background in the energy industry and leadership and management experience brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors.
Stephen M. Trauber will be appointed as a member of our board of directors in connection with the consummation of this offering. Mr. Trauber served as the Vice Chairman & Global Head of Energy from January 2011 to March 2021 and subsequently Vice Chairman and Global Head of Natural Resources and Clean Energy Transition of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. from March 2021 until he retired in September 2022. Mr. Trauber served as Vice Chairman and Global Head of Energy at UBS Investment Bank from 2003 to 2010. Mr. Trauber has extensive experience serving as a strategic and financial advisor to companies transacting across all subsectors of the energy industry. He has worked on many of the most significant M&A transactions in these subsectors, with a transaction volume exceeding $500 billion. He was responsible for initiating and building the Global Clean Energy Transition Team at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. while serving as the Global Head of Natural Resources and Clean Energy Transition. He also played a key role in establishing Citigroup Global Markets Inc.’s plan for decarbonizing its financed emissions. In addition, Mr. Trauber has executed many significant financings across the energy sector. Mr. Trauber began his career with Credit Suisse First Boston (1988-1995) and subsequently managed Morgan Stanley’s Energy Group in Houston (1995-2003). Mr. Trauber has served on the Board of Directors of NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc. since April 2023. Mr. Trauber received his BA in Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice University in 1984. He was an Austin Scholar and earned his MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1988.
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We believe Mr. Trauber’s extensive background in strategic advisory, mergers and acquisitions, private and public capital markets finance and investing as well as advising clients with investor relations, environmental, social and corporate governance and risk management in the energy industry brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors.
Market Opportunity
The combination of population growth, increased standards of living, and the proliferation of technology have driven global energy consumption to unprecedented levels. This growth in demand is accompanied by the requirement for increased and modernized infrastructure capacity to produce, store and deliver energy as and when needed by a rapidly evolving and expanding consumer population. This growth in demand has also come with an awareness that future energy needs will be met increasingly by sustainable and environmentally benign energy sources and infrastructure.
To minimize the adverse effects of climate change, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) has concluded that limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperature levels will require a marked shift in investment patterns. According to McKinsey & Company, achieving this temperature threshold whilst also reaching the Net Zero by 2050 mandate put forth by global corporations and governments will require a cumulative capital spend of $270 trillion between 2021 and 2050 or $9.2 trillion per year—an annual increase of approximately $3.5 trillion from today’s energy-related capital spend. This capital outflow is estimated to be front-load heavy, accounting for 9% of global GDP between 2026-2030, decreasing to an average of 7% global GDP by 2050. To add, the movement in the energy transition will result in a gross 200 million increase of jobs globally, providing the opportunity for not only new energy workers but also fossil fuel energy workers to learn new skillsets and join the energy transition. With an estimated $2.1 trillion in old energy assets expected to be stranded in 2050 coupled with this new wave of businesses ushered in by the energy transition, opportunity is present to capitalize on whether that be in the transformation of new uses for old energy assets or the building of a new energy enterprise.
We believe a significant portion of such new investment will flow into the energy, infrastructure, industrial, transportation and building sectors. As such, the global energy transition presents a significant investment opportunity across many markets. Further, we expect the pace of investment to increase, as the pressure to decarbonize across the economy increases, and the breadth of sectors transitioning to sustainable energy sources expands.
We believe the following investment opportunities offer compelling high growth potential:
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Alternative energy—Technologies, solutions and services that facilitate the energy transition to renewable alternatives, as well as low- and no-carbon sources of energy and heat, including but not limited to:
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processes, technologies, software, automation and equipment supporting the growth and development of renewable energy;
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development of renewable energy sources with a focus on geothermal, hydrogen and renewable gas among others; and
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distributed and mobile power generation using alternative energy sources.
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Energy Storage—Technologies, equipment and systems that enhance energy storage capacity and efficiency with a targeted emphasis on solutions that address industry complications, including but not limited to, geopolitical and supply-chain risks, over-mining and environmental damage:
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energy storage technologies including battery-based and other energy storage systems;
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storage and transmission alternatives and infrastructure which enhance efficiency and efficacy;
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distributed and mobile energy storage and delivery solutions; and
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manufacturing, automation and related activities in support of energy storage technologies.
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Industrial Applications—Networks of technologies aimed at improving system efficiency while reducing carbon footprint, including but not limited to:
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emissions monitoring and reduction capabilities;
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energy efficiency and emissions intensity reduction solutions;
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reduced carbon intensity of energy exploration and other industrial processes;
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reduction, removal and recycling of carbon emissions into industrial, chemical and consumer end uses;
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technologies supporting a reduced global carbon footprint, including CCUS; and
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other technologies targeted at optimizing energy consumption and reducing emissions profiles.
Business Strategy
Our strategy is to identify and support a target company or companies driving the energy transition and/or improving the sustainability of the existing energy complex. We believe our relationship with Nabors and its long record of successfully navigating technology evolutions, as well as its global operational and manufacturing platform and its history of identifying and integrating accretive acquisitions, will enable deal flow and be attractive to potential acquisition targets.
Specific elements of our strategy include:
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capitalizing on emerging energy transition to decarbonization;
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participating in the development of renewable energy sources;
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identifying acquisition opportunities with sustainable competitive advantages;
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leveraging Nabors’ global operational, commercial and manufacturing platform and capabilities to develop and deploy technology;
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leveraging venture synergies; and
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providing strong sponsor support.
Acquisition Target Focus/Criteria
In line with our strategy, we have established general criteria which we plan to utilize to evaluate acquisition candidates, although we may ultimately acquire a target that does not meet these criteria, or that meets criteria which we may develop subsequent to this initial public offering. Our current intent is to focus on targets which meet one or more of the following criteria:
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actively driving the energy transition through one or more initiative areas;
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technology focused on providing clean, dispatchable and scalable power from multiple sources, to meet growing demand without compromise to decarbonization;
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platform for high growth, organically, through acquisitions, or from a combination of both;
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established or potential sustainable competitive advantages;
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identifiable target market for products and services, and potential for additional markets;
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maximizes value to a broad base of stakeholders, including investors, employees, and the wider community; and
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potential to generate returns on investment which are greater than the target’s cost of capital.
While the high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies, we expect to maintain this capital structure following our initial business combination. However, maintenance of this capital structure is not a condition for us to evaluate acquisition opportunities. Although we are not aware of and are unable to determine at this time the criteria on which we would base our decision regarding whether to engage in a business combination that would eliminate our Class B ordinary shares or their high vote feature, we may, in our sole discretion, seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to change this feature.
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Initial Business Combination
We will have up to 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination.
If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within such time period, we will redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. We expect the pro rata redemption price to be approximately $10.10 per share (regardless of whether or not the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option), without taking into account any interest earned on such funds. However, we cannot assure you that we will in fact be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
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 trust (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. Our board will make the determination as to the fair market value of a target business or businesses. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of a target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors and each of the non-independent directors nominated by our sponsor, to approve our initial business combination.
We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with our sponsor, or one or more affiliates, which we refer to as an “Affiliated Joint Acquisition.” Any such parties 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 issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. Any such issuance of equity or equity-linked securities would, on a fully diluted basis, reduce the percentage ownership of our then-existing shareholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our founder shares, issuances or deemed issuances of Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities would result in an adjustment to the ratio at which Class F ordinary shares shall convert into Class B ordinary shares, and the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares, such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the business combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan), unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding Class F ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to such issuance or deemed issuance at the time thereof. Our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation to make any such investment, and may compete with us for potential business combinations.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction 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-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons, including an Affiliated Joint Acquisition as described above. However, we will only complete a business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise is not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the
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target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our 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-transaction 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 seeking shareholder approval or for purposes of a tender offer, as applicable.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Nabors, members of our management team and our directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, 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. Further, each of 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.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Certain of the members of our board of directors are employed by, and/or are directors of, Nabors or affiliates of Nabors. Nabors and its affiliates are continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of our officers and directors 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. For example, each of our officers and certain of our directors currently serve in similar roles for Nabors, a Bermuda exempted company, the ordinary shares of which trade on the NYSE under the symbol “NBR,” and NETC I, a Delaware corporation, the Class A common stock of which trades on the NYSE under the symbol “NETC.” Each such officer and director owes certain duties to Nabors under applicable Bermuda laws and to NETC I under applicable Delaware law. 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 may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such other entity. 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 business combination. In addition, we may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an
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entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity 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 issuing to such entity a class of equity or equity-linked securities. While NETC I recently announced its intention to merge with a target, if the business combination does not occur, it may compete with us for the same potential targets. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
In addition, Nabors or its affiliates may sponsor other blank check companies similar to us during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination, and members of our management team and directors may participate in such blank check companies. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among the management teams. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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.
Conflicts of Interest
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
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none of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.
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in the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are then affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
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our officers and directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination.
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the low price of $25,000, or $0.003 per share, that the initial shareholders paid for 8,625,000 founder shares creates an incentive whereby the initial shareholders could potentially make a substantial profit even if the company selects an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors. Prior to the consummation of our offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original issue price.
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in the event the Company does not consummate a business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the founder shares and warrants will expire worthless which could create an incentive for the Company’s officers and directors to complete a transaction even if the Company selects an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors.
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our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us and will not be reimbursed for any loans extended, fees due or out-of-pocket expense if we do not complete an initial business combination, including the overfunding loan which may only be repaid if there are funds available outside the trust account if we do not complete an initial business combination.
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the Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, in each case subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, will be adjusted so that the number of Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, issuable upon conversion thereof will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of our ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus the number of Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan.
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our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to rights to liquidating distributions with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, after the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire without value to the holder. Furthermore, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, (i) the reported last sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30- trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The private warrantholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) until 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, other than pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” Since our sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, our sponsor, officers and directors 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.
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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.
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our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at 515 West Greens Road, Suite 1200, Houston, Texas 77067, and our telephone number is (281) 874-0035. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will
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be www.nabors-etcorp.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 prospectus. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
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 Law. As an exempted company, we have applied for and 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 30 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 dividends 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 this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), 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 is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, 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 shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
The following diagram illustrates our simplified ownership structure after giving effect to this offering (assuming that the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is not exercised).
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(1)
Interests are held indirectly by Nabors through its wholly owned subsidiary, Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l. Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l. will own 55% of our sponsor. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders.”
(2)
Greens Road Energy II LLC will own 45% of our sponsor. Greens Road Energy II LLC is owned by certain members of our management team, including Anthony G. Petrello, our Chief Executive Officer, President, Secretary and Chairman, William J. Restrepo, our Chief Financial Officer, and Guillermo Sierra, our Vice President—Energy Transition, and Stephen M. Trauber, our independent director nominee. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders.” The private placement warrants are owned directly by the owners of Greens Road Energy II LLC.
(3)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units and the forfeiture by our sponsor of 1,125,000 founder shares. Our sponsor will own 7,400,000 founder shares, which will constitute approximately 19.7% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
(4)
Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original issue price. Our independent director nominees will own 100,000 founder shares, which will constitute
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approximately 0.3% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Certain of our independent director nominees may also own private placement warrants.
(5)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units. Our public shareholders will own 30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, which will constitute 80.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
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The Offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
Securities offered
30,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of:
•
one Class A ordinary share; and
•
one-half of one warrant.
Listing symbols
We anticipate that the units, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants, once they begin separate trading, will be listed on Nasdaq under the following symbols:
Units: “NETDU”
Class A ordinary shares: “NETD”
Warrants: “NETDW”
Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, the representatives of the underwriters, inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
Separate trading of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the net proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
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Units:
Number outstanding before this offering
0
Number outstanding after this offering
30,000,000(1)
Ordinary Shares:
Number outstanding before this offering
8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares(2)
Number outstanding after this offering
30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 7,500,000 Class F ordinary shares(3)(4)
Warrants:
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering
9,440,000(1)
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement
24,440,000(1)
Exercisability
Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
Exercise price
$11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue 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 Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or its 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
(1)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(2)
Includes up to 1,125,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(3)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our sponsor of 1,125,000 founder shares.
(4)
The ordinary shares included in the units are Class A ordinary shares. Founder shares are classified as Class F ordinary shares, which shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share on a one-for-one basis, in each case subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.” No shares of Class B ordinary shares will be issued or outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering. We refer to our Class A ordinary shares, our Class B ordinary shares and our Class F ordinary shares collectively herein as our ordinary shares.
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proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “market value”) is below $9.20 per share, (i) 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 (ii) the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price.
Exercise period
The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided that we have 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 we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement).
While we have registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act as part of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we do not plan on keeping a prospectus current until required to pursuant to the warrant agreement. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a post-effective amendment to this registration statement or a new registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, 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 it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account.
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Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding public warrants for cash:
•
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, which we refer to as the “30-day redemption period,” to each warrantholder; and
•
if, and only if, the reported last sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after completion of our initial business combination and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrantholders.
We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a 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. 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.
If we call the warrants for redemption for cash as described above, we will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” we will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. To exercise warrants on a cashless basis, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants in exchange for a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the product of (A) the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants and (B) the difference between the “fair market value” and the exercise price of the warrants by (ii) such fair market value. The “fair market value” as used in this paragraph shall mean the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent. Please see “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information.
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us.
Appointment of directors; voting rights
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors.
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Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and holders of our Class B ordinary shares, if any, will not be entitled to vote on the appointment or removal of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, holders of our Class A ordinary shares, holders of our Class B ordinary shares, if any, and holders of our Class F ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Following our initial business combination and the automatic conversion of the Class F ordinary shares into Class B ordinary shares, holders of our Class A ordinary shares and holders of our Class B ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, on all matters presented for a shareholder vote with each Class A ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote per share and Class B ordinary share entitling the holder to ten votes per share (provided that such high vote feature applies only following the initial business combination, notwithstanding that Class B ordinary shares may be issued prior thereto). This high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies and will significantly dilute the voting power of the investors in this offering following our initial business combination and may make completing our initial business combination more difficult or costly.
In addition, to continue the company in a jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands, including the adoption of the organizational documents for such jurisdiction, our board of directors will be able to approve such continuation and organizational documents without the vote of any holders of our Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares or Class F ordinary shares. We are not required to obtain shareholder approval if we reincorporate to another jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands prior to signing our initial business combination and we anticipate that we will not be required to register such transaction under the Securities Act. If, however, we reincorporate to another jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands in connection with our initial business combination, and if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we anticipate that such transaction will be registered under the Securities Act.
Founder shares
On April 24, 2023, 5,750,000 founder shares were issued to our sponsor in exchange for the payment of $25,000 of expenses on our behalf, or approximately $0.004 per share. On June 16, 2023, we issued 2,875,000 additional founder shares to our sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares, for approximately $0.003 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares issued was determined
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based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares after this offering. As such, our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original issue price. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, with respect to our Class F ordinary shares, immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders prior to this offering at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 1,125,000 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor (or its permitted transferees) depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is not exercised so that the number of founder shares will remain equal to 20% of our ordinary shares after this offering.
The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that:
•
the founder shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and, prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, in each case subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein;
•
only holders of our Class F ordinary shares have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination;
•
the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below;
•
our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to (i) redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of the holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) 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
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within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers and directors and Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l. will enter into a letter agreement with us pursuant to which they will agree to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is not exercised) of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved; and
•
in the case of founder shares that are Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion of Class B ordinary shares, such shares are entitled to registration rights.
Transfer restrictions on founder shares
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, (i) the reported last sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares.
Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights
We have issued 8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share. The Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and, prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment for
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share subdivisions, share dividends, 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 excess of the amounts sold in this offering and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which the founder shares shall convert into Class B ordinary shares or Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding founder shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class B ordinary shares or Class A ordinary shares, as applicable, issuable upon conversion thereof will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the business combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan).
Voting
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to elect all of our directors. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of the Class A ordinary shares, holders of the Class B ordinary shares, if any, and holders of the Class F ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class, except as required by law or stock exchange rule. Each ordinary share will have one vote on all such matters.
Following our initial business combination and the automatic conversion of the Class F ordinary shares into Class B ordinary shares, holders of our Class A ordinary shares and holders of our Class B ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class on all matters presented for a shareholder vote, except as required by law or stock exchange rule, with each Class A ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote per share and each Class B ordinary share entitling the holder to ten votes per share (provided that such high vote feature applies only following the initial business combination, notwithstanding that Class B ordinary shares may be issued prior thereto).
Private placement warrants
The private warrantholders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,440,000 private placement warrants (or 10,340,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,440,000 in the aggregate or $10,340,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each whole private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering, in addition to the overfunding loan, to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing $303.0 million (or approximately $348.5 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be
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held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire without value to the holder. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable for cash or on a “cashless basis.”
Overfunding loan
Our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) has agreed to lend us $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as of the closing date of this offering at no interest. The proceeds of the overfunding loans will be added to the trust account such that at the time of closing of this offering $303,000,000 (or $348,450,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account, and be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) in accordance with the terms set forth in this prospectus. The overfunding loans will be repaid upon the closing of our initial business combination or converted into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant (or any combination thereof), at our sponsor’s discretion, which warrants will be identical to the private placement warrants. The overfunding loans are being extended in order to ensure that the amount in the trust account is $10.10 per public share. If we do not complete an initial business combination, we will not repay the overfunding loans from amounts held in the trust account, and the trust account proceeds will be distributed to our public shareholders, subject to the limitations described herein; however, we may repay the overfunding loans if there are funds available outside the trust account to do so.
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants
The private placement warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until the date that is 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described below under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
Cashless exercise of private placement warrants..
If holders of private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a “cashless basis,” each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants in exchange for a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of (A) the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants and (B) the excess of the 10-day VWAP, as of the date prior to the date on which notice of exercise is sent or given to the warrant agent, over the warrant price by (y) such 10-day VWAP. If the holders of private placement warrants are affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could sell the Class A ordinary shares
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issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a “cashless basis” is appropriate.
Proceeds to be held in trust account
Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans described in this prospectus, $303.0 million, or $10.10 per unit (or approximately $348.5 million, or $10.10 per unit, if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be placed into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and held in cash or 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, after deducting $9.4 million used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include approximately $10.5 million (or approximately $12.1 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, the proceeds from this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination (including the release of funds to pay any amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights in connection therewith), (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity, or (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
Anticipated expenses and funding sources
Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes or to redeem our public shares as described herein. The proceeds held in the trust account will be held in cash or invested only in U.S. government treasury
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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. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $13,635,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 4.5% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:
•
the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $2,500,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $940,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and
•
any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us, and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination.
Conditions to completing our initial business combination
There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. Nasdaq rules require that we complete one or more business combinations that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in trust (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination.
If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses or we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction 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-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons, including, an Affiliated Joint Acquisition as described above. However, we will only complete a business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise is not required to register as an investment
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company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary 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-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets. If provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets 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 seeking shareholder approval or for purposes of a tender offer, as applicable.
Permitted purchase of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates
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 any of 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. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective 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, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and 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 held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject
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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 be required to comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—Permitted Purchases of our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
Additionally, in the event our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders after the announcement of our initial business combination, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
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our registration statement/proxy statement filed or our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares, rights or warrants from public shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases;
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they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process;
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our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction;
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our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and
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we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items:
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the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates, along with the purchase price;
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the purpose of the purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates;
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the impact, if any, of the purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved;
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the identities of our security holders who sold to our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates; and
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the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer.
Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which shareholders to seek to acquire securities.
The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding and/or increase the likelihood of approval on any matters submitted to the public warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) 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. 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 securities 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. Please see “Risk Factors — If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may elect to enter into certain transactions, including purchasing public shares or warrants from public shareholders or public warrantholders, which may influence the outcome of a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.”
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to 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 the 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 warrantholders 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 our 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.
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There is no limit on the number of public shares and public warrants that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase pursuant to the transactions described above.
Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, all or a portion of their public shares (including any securities for which such shares are exchanged in any prior migration or other restructuring) 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 our 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 described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them or any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our business combination.
Limitations on redemptions
A minimum cash or maximum redemption requirement may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. 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, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of conducting redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, all or a portion of their public shares (including any securities for which such shares are exchanged in any prior migration or other restructuring) 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. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, the decision
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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 otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval, while direct mergers with our company, including 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. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.
If we hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will:
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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
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file proxy materials with the SEC.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law, or such higher approval threshold as may be required by law. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of the issued and outstanding shares of the company representing one-third (1/3) of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial shareholders will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the requisite majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and non-votes, while considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum, will not count as votes cast and therefore will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in respect of such ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder
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may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all.
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. 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 business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target business, we will promptly return any certificates delivered, or shares tendered electronically, by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
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conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and
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file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration.
Upon the public announcement of our business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public 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.
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Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares 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 sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination 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 to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our 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 all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our business combination.
Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our memorandum and articles of association
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their organizational documents which prohibits the amendment of certain organizational documents provisions. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination and amendments relating to the Company’s continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, which each such proposed amendment would require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting) related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering 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 holders of at least two thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote (in person or by proxy) in a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of
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the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least two thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote (in person or by proxy) in a general meeting. Our initial shareholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), 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. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares 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, subject to the limitations described above under “Limitations on redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, such an amendment would need to be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two thirds of all then- issued and outstanding ordinary shares who attend and vote (in person or by proxy) in a general meeting. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking shareholder approval of such proposal, and in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon shareholder approval of such amendment. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or director nominee, or any other person.
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination
On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, to repay the overfunding loans if not converted, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the
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consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other businesses or assets or for working capital.
Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we will have only 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire without value to the holder if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.
Our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period.
The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and subsequently liquidate 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 our public shares.
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Limited payments to insiders
There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by the company to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
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repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;
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reimbursement for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us by our sponsor or an affiliate thereof, in an amount equal to $15,000 per month;
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reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination;
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repayment of the overfunding loans, which are non-interest bearing and unsecured loans in the amount of $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) to be made to us by our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) simultaneously with the closing of this offering for the purpose of overfunding the trust account. The loan will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant or repaid in cash (or any combination thereof) upon the closing of our initial business combination at the option of our sponsor; and
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repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors to us to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
Audit Committee
We will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will be composed entirely of independent directors as and when required by Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. Among its responsibilities, the audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, and monitor compliance with the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Committees of the Board of Directors—Audit Committee.”
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Conflicts of Interest
Nabors and its affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If Nabors or its affiliates decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Nabors may be suitable for both us and Nabors and may be directed to Nabors rather than to us. Neither Nabors nor members of our board of directors or management team who are also directors, officers or employees of Nabors have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member solely in his or her capacity as an officer or director of the company. Nabors and/or certain members of our board of directors and management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of Nabors or in their other endeavors, may be required to present potential business combinations to Nabors, affiliates of Nabors or third parties before they present such opportunities to us.
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. 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 opportunity to such other entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under applicable law. 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 business combination. In addition, Nabors or its affiliates may sponsor other blank check companies similar to us during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination, and members of our management team and directors may participate in such blank check companies. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among the management teams. We believe that potential conflicts with Nabors are naturally mitigated by the differing nature of the investments Nabors would typically consider most suitable to its existing businesses and the types of transactions we expect to find most attractive based on target sector, transaction size, capital structure and other factors. Certain of our officers and directors presently serve as officer or directors of NETC I. While NETC I recently announced its intention to merge with a target, if the business combination does not occur, it may compete with us for the same potential targets.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with any such fund or other investment vehicle. Such entity 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 making a specified future issuance to any such fund or vehicle.
Indemnity
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent public accountants) for services rendered or products sold to us, or by a prospective target business with which we have entered into a letter of
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intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes.
This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
We have agreed to indemnify our sponsor and its members (present and former), managers and affiliates and their respective present and former officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law from any claims made by us or a third party in respect of any investment opportunities sourced by them or any liability arising with respect to their activities in connection with our affairs, to the extent that such indemnification, hold harmless and exoneration obligations with respect to such matters are not expressly covered by a separate written agreement between us and any such party. Such indemnity will provide that the indemnified parties cannot access the funds held in our trust account.
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Risks
We are a newly incorporated blank check company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues to date. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 40. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
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We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
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Past performance by our management team and Nabors may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
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Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, board of directors and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
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We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public 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 without value to the holder.
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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.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to enter into certain transactions, including purchasing public shares or public warrants from public shareholders or public
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warrantholders, which may influence the outcome of a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
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If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
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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.
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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.
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You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
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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.
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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public 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 without value to the holder.
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If the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
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An investment in our securities, and certain subsequent transactions with respect to our securities, may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences for an investor, including uncertainty with respect to the allocation of basis among the components of our units, the tax treatment of a cashless exercise of public warrants and the applicable holding period of our Class A ordinary shares.
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We may be treated as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
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Transactions in connection with or in anticipation of our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrantholders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain.
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If our initial business combination involves a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible a U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares after or in connection with such initial business combination.
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The other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. 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.
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly incorporated company established in the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our business combination. If we fail to complete our business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by our management team and Nabors may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team, Nabors and any related investment is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team, Nabors and any related investment is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team, Nabors or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance or of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, 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 requirements. Except 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. 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. Please see “Proposed Business—Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
Your only opportunity to affect the 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 such 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 approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public
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shareholders in which we describe our initial 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 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 per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, board of directors and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering. Our initial shareholders, board of directors 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 will provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, including the approval of the holders of the founder shares. As a result, in respect of such ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders, board of directors and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
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 prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public 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. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause us to not satisfy a closing condition, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
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 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 is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a 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
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discounts and commissions and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.
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 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 our redemption 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 timeframe may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our 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 within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
The global spread of the strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19 and its variants, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, resulted in government impositions of mandatory closures, quarantines and other restrictions on, or advisories with respect to, travel, business operations and public gatherings or interactions, which caused economic activity to tumble. Certain jurisdictions recently have begun re-opening only to return to restriction in the face of increases in new COVID-19 cases, while other jurisdictions are continuing to re-open or have nearly completed the re-opening process despite increases in COVID-19 case. The pandemic may significantly worsen during the upcoming months, which may cause governmental authorities to reconsider restrictions on business, travel and other activities. The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result, in a widespread health crisis that has adversely affected, in the case of COVID-19, and could adversely affect, in the case of future outbreaks of infectious diseases, 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. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 continues 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
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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 “Risk Factors” section.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public 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 without value to the holder.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, after the closing of this offering. 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. 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive $10.10 per share, or possibly less, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
We may not be able to complete an initial business combination because such initial business combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements, including foreign investment regulations and review by government entities such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), or may be ultimately prohibited.
Our initial business combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements by governmental entities, or ultimately prohibited. For example, CFIUS has authority to review direct or indirect foreign investments in U.S. companies. Among other things, CFIUS is empowered to require certain foreign investors to make mandatory filings, to charge filing fees related to such filings, and to self-initiate national security reviews of foreign direct and indirect investments in U.S. companies if the parties to that investment choose not to file voluntarily. In the case that CFIUS determines an investment to be a threat to national security, CFIUS has the power to unwind or place restrictions on the investment. Whether CFIUS has jurisdiction to review an acquisition or investment transaction depends on—among other factors—the nature and structure of the transaction, including the level of beneficial ownership interest and the nature of any information or governance rights involved. For example, investments that result in “control” of a U.S. business by a foreign person always are subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. CFIUS’s expanded jurisdiction under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 and implementing regulations that became effective on February 13, 2020 further includes investments that do not result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person but afford certain foreign investors certain information or
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governance rights in a U.S. business that has a nexus to “critical technologies,” “critical infrastructure” and/or “sensitive personal data.”
We may constitute a “foreign person” as defined in the CFIUS regulations. We, Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II, are a Cayman Islands exempted company, and our sponsor, Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC, is a Cayman Islands limited liability company. Our sponsor is managed by Nabors Corporate Services, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and owned by Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l., a private limited liability company (société à responsabilité limitée) incorporated in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Greens Road Energy II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company controlled by Anthony G. Petrello, a U.S. person. Additionally, it is possible that non-U.S. persons could be involved in our initial business combination (e.g., as existing shareholders of a target company or as PIPE investors), which may increase the risk that our initial business combination becomes subject to regulatory review, including review by CFIUS. As such, an initial business combination with a U.S. business or foreign business with U.S. subsidiaries that we may wish to pursue may be subject to CFIUS review.
If a particular proposed initial business combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may determine that we are required to make a mandatory filing or that we will submit to CFIUS review on a voluntary basis, or to proceed with the transaction without submitting to CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the transaction. CFIUS may decide to block or delay our proposed initial business combination, impose conditions with respect to such initial business combination or request the President of the United States to order us to divest all or a portion of the U.S. target business of our initial business combination that we acquired without first obtaining CFIUS approval, which may limit the attractiveness of, delay or prevent us from pursuing certain target companies that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us and our shareholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete an initial business combination may be limited and we may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have any foreign ownership issues. In addition, certain federally licensed businesses may be subject to rules or regulations that limit foreign ownership.
The process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we have only a limited time to complete our initial business combination, our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may require us to liquidate. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the applicable time period required under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including as a result of extended regulatory review of a potential initial business combination, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account and 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. In such event, our shareholders will miss the opportunity to benefit from an investment in a target company and the appreciation in value of such investment. Additionally, our warrants may be worthless.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination. In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations
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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.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may elect to enter into certain transactions, including purchasing public shares or warrants from public shareholders or public warrantholders, which may influence the outcome of a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or 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 or duty to do so.
Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement 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. In the event that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and 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. It is intended that, if Rule 10b-18 would apply to purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates, then such purchases will comply with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, to the extent that it applies, which provides a safe harbor for purchases made under certain conditions, including with respect to timing, pricing and volume of purchases.
Additionally, in the event our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders after the announcement of our initial business combination, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
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our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares, rights or warrants from public shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases;
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they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process;
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our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction;
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our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and
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we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items:
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the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates, along with the purchase price;
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the purpose of the purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates;
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the impact, if any, of the purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved;
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the identities of our security holders who sold to our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates; and
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the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer.
Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which shareholders to seek to acquire securities.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our 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 business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, 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 redeem or tender public shares. For example, we may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business—Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”
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 will 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 this offering 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 business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our 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 business combination. And 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.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public 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 without value to the holder.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to
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acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. Additionally, our high vote capital structure differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition company competitors and may make us less attractive to an acquisition target or make an acquisition more costly to complete. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, 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 businesses 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, 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 without value to the holder. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
If the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans not being held in the trust account are insufficient, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.10 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
If the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans, only approximately $2,500,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our
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working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $940,000, 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. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $940,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be affected as a result of such increase or decrease. 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 we may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The 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. 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 $10.10 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
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 our share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues in relation to 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 post-combination debt financing. 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.
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 and numerous complex tax laws. 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
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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.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules (“2022 Proposed Rules”) relating to, among other items, enhancing disclosures in business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; amending the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; effectively limiting the use of projections in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; increasing the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. These rules, if adopted, whether in the form proposed or in revised form, may materially adversely affect our ability to engage financial and capital market advisors, negotiate and complete our initial business combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, of the closing of this offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, before redemption from our trust account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, we will distribute 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders form the trust account shall 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 windup, or liquidate, the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our shareholders as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the initial 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds 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 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.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
Although we intend to focus our search for a target business that provides solutions in the emissions reduction, carbon capture, renewable energy and mobile assets and application sectors, we may complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our business combination solely 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 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 revenues 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
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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.
We may face risks related to emissions reduction, carbon capture, renewable energy and mobile assets and application companies.
Business combinations with companies in the emissions reduction, carbon capture, renewable energy and mobile assets and application sectors entail certain risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with any such target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:
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governmental or regulatory actions relating to emissions reduction, carbon capture, renewable energy and mobile assets and application, even if well intentioned;
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our inability to comply with governmental regulations and policies concerning renewable energy, such as energy development, electricity pricing and the process for interconnecting electricity generation, or to obtain governmental approval for our products and/or business operations;
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governmental or regulatory actions which, among other things, establish standards for the treatment, storage and disposal of solid and hazardous waste;
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changes to labor regulations, including changes concerning minimum wages and minimum and maximum work hours;
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price fluctuations resulting from recessions, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, political domestic and foreign trade, changes in supply and demand and other factors;
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difficulty in establishing and implementing a commercial and operational approach adequate to address the specific needs of the markets we are pursuing;
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legal claims arising with respect to any project having undisclosed or unknown environmental problems or as to which inadequate reserves have been established;
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need for substantial investments for infrastructure changes necessary for growth, such as additional rail and trucking capacity, additional storage facilities, advancement of technologies and updates to the electric grid;
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the viability and continued growth in demand for renewable energy may be impacted by many factors outside of our control, including competition, market acceptance of renewable energy systems, availability and amount of government subsidies and incentives and prices of traditional utility-provided energy sources;
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difficulty in competing against established companies who may have greater financial resources and/or a more effective or established localized business presence;
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the possibility of applying an ineffective commercial approach to targeted markets, including product offerings that may not meet market needs with respect to their environmental or non-environmental attributes;
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an inability to build strong brand identity, environmental credibility or reputation for exceptional customer satisfaction and service;
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difficulty in timely identifying, attracting, training and retaining qualified sales, technical and other personnel; and
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any significant disruption in our computer systems or those of third parties that we would utilize in our operations, including disruptions or failure of our networks, systems or technology as a result
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of computer viruses, “cyber attacks,” misappropriation of data or other malfeasance, as well as outages, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidental releases of information or similar events.
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will be focused on, but not be limited to, the emissions reduction, carbon capture, renewable energy and mobile assets and application sectors. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks will likely not affect us and we will be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, none of which can be presently ascertained.
We may seek acquisition opportunities outside of our target industries or sectors (which industries or sectors may or may not be outside of our management’s areas of expertise).
Although we intend to focus on identifying business combination candidates in the emissions reduction, carbon capture, renewable energy and mobile assets and application sectors, we will consider a business combination outside of our target industries or sectors if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in our target industries or sectors after having expended a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of our target industries or sectors, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding our target industries or sectors would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our 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.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have 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 legal 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 without value to the holder.
We may seek business combination opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues, cash flows or earnings, we may be
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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, cash flows or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA that the price we are paying is fair to our company 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 solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm. However, our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such opinion.
Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class B ordinary shares or Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, in each case subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, will be adjusted so that the number of Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, issuable upon conversion thereof will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of our ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus the number of Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan.
We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions). The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity and capital to the post-business combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time. Any such issuances of equity securities could dilute the interests of our existing shareholders.
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 without value to the holder.
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
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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 without value to the holder.
Transactions in connection with or in anticipation of our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrantholders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain.
Although we will attempt to structure transactions in connection with our initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in anticipation of or as a result of our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval, we may enter into one or more transactions that require shareholders and/or warrantholders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes or otherwise increase their tax burden without prior notice to or approval from our shareholders and warrantholders. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrantholders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a shareholder or a warrantholder may be required to satisfy any liability resulting from any such transactions with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of such holder’s shares or warrants.
Furthermore, we will likely effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the Cayman Islands and, possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions, and we may reincorporate in a different jurisdiction in connection therewith (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). For example, in anticipation of engaging in a business combination with certain target companies, we may unilaterally convert into a U.S. company without notice pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles, even if such a business combination ultimately is not achieved. If we effect any such transaction, including such a conversion, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in many jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition. In addition, shareholders and warrantholders may be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after any such transaction.
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 the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities (other than the overfunding loans), or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
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default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
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acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
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our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
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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;
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our inability to pay dividends on our 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 ordinary shares if declared, to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions and fund other general corporate purposes;
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limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
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increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;
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limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
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other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans, 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.
Of the net proceeds from this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans, up to $305.5 million (or up to $351.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be available to complete our business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes approximately $10.5 million, or up to approximately $12.1 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, for payment of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions). Of the up to $305.5 million (or up to $351.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), $2.5 million will be held outside the trust account for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisitions, directors and officers insurance liability, and continuing general and administrative expenses.
We may effectuate our 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 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. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or
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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 business combination.
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We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our business combination and may 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.
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.
In order to effectuate our initial business combination, we may seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or other governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination but that our shareholders or warrantholders may not support.
Amending certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants. In addition, our amended and restated 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) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, of the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
In order to effectuate a business combination, we may amend various provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and other governing instruments, including the warrant agreement, the underwriting agreement relating to this offering, the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors and Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l., and the registration rights agreement among us, our initial shareholders and the private warrantholders. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Except in relation to certain provisions of the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or other governing instruments or change our industry focus in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
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We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public 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 without value to the holder.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business, we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public 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 without value to the holder. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our business combination.
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 a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include target historical and/or 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 U.S. 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 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or 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 financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination and amendments relating to the company’s continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (which each such proposed amendment would require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting), 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 at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote (in person or by proxy) at a general meeting, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial
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business combination, and amendments relating to the company’s continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, which each such proposed amendment would require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting) related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering 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 holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote (in person or by proxy) in a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote (in person or by proxy) in a general meeting. Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), 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 blank check 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, directors and director nominees have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares 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. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees. Our public 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, directors or director nominees 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.
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.
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.
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If we pursue a target business with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face 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 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 special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
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higher costs and difficulties inherent in executing cross-border transactions, managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
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rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
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laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
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exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;
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tariffs and trade barriers;
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regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
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local or regional economic policies and market conditions;
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unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
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longer payment cycles;
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tax issues, including complex withholding or other tax regimes which may apply in connection with our business combination or to our structure following our business combination, variations in tax laws as compared to the United States, and potential changes in the applicable tax laws in the United States and/or relevant non-U.S. jurisdictions;
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currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
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rates of inflation;
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challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
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cultural and language differences;
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employment regulations;
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underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;
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corruption;
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protection of intellectual property;
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social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;
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regime changes and political upheaval;
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terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
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deterioration of political relations with the United States; and
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government appropriation of assets.
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 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 could 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 legal 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.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’s 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 non-U.S. regions fluctuates and is 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.
If we acquire a non-U.S. target, our results of operations may be negatively impacted because of the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations.
We may pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination. Managing a business, operations, personnel or assets in another country is challenging and costly. Any management that we may have (whether based abroad or in the U.S.) may be inexperienced in cross-border business practices and unaware of significant differences in accounting rules, legal regimes and labor practices. Even with a seasoned and experienced management team, the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, personnel and assets can be significant (and much higher than in a purely domestic business) and may negatively impact our financial and operational performance.
If social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval or policy changes or enactments occur in a country in which we may operate after we effect our initial business combination, it may result in a negative impact on our business.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, political events in another country may significantly affect our business, assets or operations. Social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, and policy changes or enactments could negatively impact our business in a particular country.
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Many countries have difficult and unpredictable legal systems and underdeveloped laws and regulations that are unclear and subject to corruption and inexperience, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, our ability to seek and enforce legal protections, including with respect to intellectual property and other property rights, or to defend ourselves with regard to legal actions taken against us in a given country, may be difficult or impossible, which could adversely impact our operations, assets or financial condition.
Rules and regulations in many countries are often ambiguous or open to differing interpretation by responsible individuals and agencies at the municipal, state, regional and federal levels. The attitudes and actions of such individuals and agencies are often difficult to predict and inconsistent.
Delay with respect to the enforcement of particular rules and regulations, including those relating to customs, tax, environmental and labor, could cause serious disruption to operations abroad and negatively impact our results.
Because foreign law could govern almost all of our material agreements, we may not be able to enforce our rights within such jurisdiction or elsewhere, which could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, foreign law could govern almost all of our material agreements. The target business may not be able to enforce any of its material agreements or enforce remedies for breaches of those agreements outside of such foreign jurisdiction’s legal system. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws and contracts in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. As a result, the inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business and business opportunities.
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.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors and each of the non-independent directors nominated by our sponsor, to approve our initial business combination, which may have the effect of delaying or preventing a business combination that our public shareholders would consider favorable.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors and each of the non-independent directors nominated by our sponsor, to approve our initial business combination. Accordingly, it is unlikely that we will be able to enter into an initial business combination unless our sponsor’s members find the target and the business combination attractive. This may make it more difficult for us to approve and enter into an initial business combination than other blank check companies and could result in us not pursuing an acquisition target or other board or corporate action that our public shareholders would find favorable.
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) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with our completion
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of an initial business combination (including the release of funds to pay any amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights in connection therewith), (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, 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 proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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.
We have been authorized to list our units on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in Nasdaq listing standards, 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 market value of listed securities ($50 million), a minimum number of publicly held shares (600,000), a minimum market value of publicly held securities ($40 million), a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public shareholders and 100 warrantholders) and have at least four registered and active market makers.
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. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list such securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
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a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
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reduced liquidity for our securities;
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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;
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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
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a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
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 we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be covered securities. 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
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states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Since only holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination, Nasdaq considers us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s rules and, as a result, we qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that would otherwise provide protection to shareholders of other companies.
After completion of this offering, only holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination. As a result, Nasdaq considers us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s rules. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, a group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
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we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under Nasdaq rules;
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we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
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we have independent director oversight of our director nominations.
We do not intend to have a compensation committee after completion of this offering and prior to consummation of our initial business combination. Following this offering, we may elect to utilize certain other exemptions, including the exemption for a board of directors composed of a majority of independent directors. In addition, the phase-in rules of the SEC and Nasdaq with respect to the audit committee permit us to have an audit committee that has a majority of members that are independent within 90 days of the completion of this offering and all members that are independent within one year of the completion of this offering. After completion of this offering, we intend to have an audit committee comprised of two independent members. We intend to identify one additional independent director to serve on the audit committee within one year of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements as long as we remain a “controlled company.” Our status as a controlled company could make our ordinary shares less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans 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 our Class A ordinary shares have been approved for listing on a national securities exchange, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.10 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public
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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, 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 an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our 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 $10.10 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent public accountants) 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) $10.10 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that 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 this offering 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 $10.10 per public share. 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.
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 proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.10 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to
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satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment, and subject where relevant to their fiduciary duties, may choose not to do so in any particular instance. 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 $10.10 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers or our sponsor and its members (present and former), managers and affiliates and their respective present and former officers and directors.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors, and our sponsor and its members (present and former), managers and affiliates and their respective present and future officers and directors, to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers, directors and sponsor have agreed, and any persons who may become officers or directors prior to the initial business combination will agree, 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 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 pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding up petition or a winding up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a liquidator 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 potentially exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding up petition or a 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 insolvency laws as a “voidable preference.” As a result, a liquidator could seek to challenge the transaction and 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 proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding up petition or a 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 proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding up petition or a winding up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our liquidation estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any liquidation 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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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 business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
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restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
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restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
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registration as an investment company;
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adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
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reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading 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-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
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. This offering 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: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. 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 or may result in our liquidation. 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 without value to the holder.
However, if (i) the 2022 Proposed Rules are adopted by the SEC, (ii) our shareholders vote to extend the time to complete our initial business combination, and (iii) we do not (x) file a report on Form 8-K with
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the SEC announcing that we have entered into an agreement with the target company (or companies) to engage in an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the registration statement for this offering, and (y) consummate our initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of the registration statement for this offering, there is a risk that we would be deemed to be an investment company and subject to the Investment Company Act. Further, if we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act.
The 2022 Proposed Rules would provide a safe harbor for SPACs from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, provided that they satisfy certain conditions that limit a SPAC’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities. The duration component of the proposed safe harbor rule would require a SPAC to file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC announcing that it has entered into an agreement with the target company (or companies) to engage in an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the SPAC’s registration statement for its initial public offering. The SPAC would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of its registration statement for its initial public offering. Although the 2022 Proposed Rules, including the proposed safe harbor rule, have not yet been adopted, the SEC has indicated that there are serious questions concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC that does not complete its initial business combination within the proposed time frame set forth in the proposed safe harbor rule. 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 have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless.
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.
In certain circumstances, including if we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be challenged if it were proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we insolvent, or otherwise that the distribution was made to defraud creditors. As a result, a creditor or 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 while we were insolvent would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine and to imprisonment in the Cayman Islands or both. 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.
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 not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or 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 elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term.
The voting structure of our ordinary shares will have the effect of concentrating voting power with our sponsor, which will limit an investor’s ability to influence our policies and the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control, and may have an anti-takeover effect.
Following our initial business combination, our authorized share capital will consist of Class A ordinary shares, entitling the holder to one vote per share, and Class B ordinary shares entitling the holder
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to ten votes per share. Following our initial business combination, the holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class on matters presented for a shareholder vote, except as required by Cayman Islands law or stock exchange rule. In connection with our initial business combination (or earlier at our sponsor’s election), the outstanding Class F ordinary shares held by our sponsor will be converted on a one-for-one basis into Class B ordinary shares. The high-vote nature of our Class B ordinary shares differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies and will significantly dilute the voting power of the investors in this offering following our initial business combination. Assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option and as a result, our sponsor forfeits 1,125,000 founder shares and that there are 30,000,000 shares of our ordinary shares outstanding after this offering, our sponsor is expected to hold approximately 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our ordinary shares representing approximately 71% of the outstanding voting power of our ordinary shares immediately following the closing of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor and Nabors would have the ability to exercise control over our affairs, policies and operations, such as the appointment of management, future issuances of our ordinary shares or other securities, the payment of dividends on our ordinary shares, the incurrence of debt by us and matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any change of control of our company. The high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares will significantly dilute the voting power of investors holding Class A ordinary shares and may make it more difficult to acquire a controlling interest in the company, 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. For further discussion, please see the risk factor “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 sponsor may have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests.
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the issuance of the underlying Class A ordinary shares or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon the exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and appliable state securities laws, warrantholders will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless.
While we have registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act as part of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we do not plan on keeping a prospectus current until required to pursuant to the warrant agreement. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a post-effective amendment to this registration statement or a new registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, 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. Notwithstanding the above, 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 it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. To exercise warrants on a cashless basis, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants in exchange for a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the product of (A) the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants and (B) the difference between the “fair market value” and the
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exercise price of the warrants by (ii) such fair market value. Solely for purposes of the preceding sentence, “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities 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, and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire without value to the holder. 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. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and private warrantholders 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.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, we have agreed with our initial shareholders and the private warrantholders to register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, any Class A ordinary shares held upon the completion of this offering or acquired prior to or in connection with our initial business combination and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the overfunding loans or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. Assuming the founder shares convert on a one for one basis, no warrants are issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the overfunding loans and our initial shareholders do not hold any Class A ordinary shares at the completion of this offering or acquire any shares prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, an aggregate of up to 7,500,000 Class A ordinary shares and up to 9,440,000 warrants (or up to 8,625,000 Class A ordinary shares and up to 10,340,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) are subject to registration under these agreements.
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 securities owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees are registered.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold. As a result, we may be able to complete our 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 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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The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than in some other blank check company offerings, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire without value to the holder.
The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than in some other blank check companies. For example, historically, the exercise price of a warrant was often a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price of our public warrants is $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as provided herein. As a result, the warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire without value to the holder.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the warrant could be converted into cash or shares (at a ratio different than initially provided), the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our 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 holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants.
Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or shares (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants without value to the holder.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing at least 150 days after completion of our initial business combination and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us.
If you exercise your warrants on a “cashless” basis, you may receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
There are circumstances in which the exercise of the warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. 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 our Class A ordinary shares satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify
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the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. To exercise warrants on a cashless basis, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants in exchange for a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the product of (A) the number of our Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants and (B) the difference between the “fair market value” and the exercise price of the warrants by (ii) such fair market value. Solely for purposes of the preceding sentence, “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
In addition, if a registration statement covering our Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be required to permit holders to, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will 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 is available.
If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, which we may do at our sole discretion, or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of shares of our Class A ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise may be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised such warrant for cash.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 15,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 17,250,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 9,440,000 (or up to 10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. Our initial shareholders currently own an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares.
The Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis. The issuance of these Class B ordinary shares and the voting rights related to our Class B ordinary shares could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business or make an acquisition more costly or difficult to complete. Prior to and following our initial business combination, the Class B ordinary shares will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, in each case, subject to adjustment for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and subject to further adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,500,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance 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 combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination 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 blank check 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 warrants will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include Class A ordinary shares and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be
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exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike some blank check companies, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial business combination at a newly issued price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share, (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 our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the market value is below $9.20 per share, then (i) the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price, (ii) the $18.00 redemption trigger prices described below under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00 per share” 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 (iii) the $12.00 per share trigger price described below under “Description of Securities—Founder Shares” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 120% of 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 warrant agreement will designate 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 warrantholders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement will provide 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. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. With respect to any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, we note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
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. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. 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 the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and
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(y) having service of process made upon such warrantholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrantholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrantholder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrantholder’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.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:
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the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
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prior offerings of those companies;
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our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;
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a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
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our capital structure;
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an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;
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general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and
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other factors as were deemed relevant.
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
An investment in our securities, and certain subsequent transactions with respect to our securities, may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences for an investor.
An investment in our securities, and certain subsequent transactions with respect to our securities, may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences for an investor. For instance, because there is no authority that directly addresses the U.S. federal income tax implications of instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes of the purchase price of a unit
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between the Class A ordinary share and the partial public warrant to purchase Class A ordinary shares included in each unit could be challenged by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) or the courts. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of public warrants is unclear under current law. Additionally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our Class A ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s (as defined in section titled “Certain Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holder and Non-U.S. Holder Defined” below) holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be eligible for favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment. See “Certain Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” below for a summary of the principal U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. Each prospective investor is urged to consult with and rely solely upon its own tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
Whether a redemption of Class A ordinary shares will be treated as a sale of such Class A ordinary shares for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on a shareholder’s specific facts.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a redemption of Class A ordinary shares will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of such Class A ordinary shares under Section 302(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), which will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the shareholder electing to redeem Class A ordinary shares (including any shares constructively owned by the holder as a result of owning private placement warrants or public warrants or otherwise) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. If such redemption is not treated as a sale of Class A ordinary shares for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the redemption will instead be treated as a corporate distribution of cash from us. For more information about the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the redemption of Class A ordinary shares, see the sections entitled “—Certain Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Redemption or Repurchase of Class A Ordinary Shares for Cash” or “—Certain Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Redemption or Repurchase of Class A Ordinary Shares for Cash,” as applicable.
We may be treated as a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”), which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year in which a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Certain Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holder and Non-U.S. Holder Defined”) holds our Class A ordinary shares or warrants (regardless of whether we remain a PFIC for subsequent taxable years), such U.S. Holder may be subject to certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on, among other things, whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception, the timing of our business combination, the amount of our passive income and assets in the year of the business combination, whether we combine with a U.S. or non-U.S. target company, and the amount of passive income and assets of the acquired business. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of our start-up year, possibly not until after the close of the second taxable year following our start-up year). We cannot assure you that we will not be a PFIC in our current taxable year or in any future taxable year.
If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request by a U.S. Holder, we will endeavor to provide to such U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable such U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” (“QEF”) election with respect to its Class A ordinary shares, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. Furthermore, a U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our Class A ordinary shares. The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF election are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described in this prospectus. Accordingly, U.S. investors are strongly urged to consult with and rely solely upon their own tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to them in their particular circumstances.
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For a more detailed discussion of the PFIC rules and the related tax considerations for U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Certain Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
We may, without prior notice or shareholder approval, change our jurisdiction of incorporation prior to signing our initial business combination, which may result in adverse legal, tax or other consequences to us, our shareholders and/or warrantholders.
We may, without prior notice or shareholder approval, change our jurisdiction of incorporation prior to signing our initial business combination for any reason. We might change our jurisdiction of incorporation in anticipation of executing an agreement to consummate an initial business combination or the closing of an initial business combination, however, we are not limited from doing so at any other time or for any other reason. We may change our jurisdiction of incorporation in order to facilitate an initial business combination or our post-business combination holding structure. For example, if we anticipate signing an agreement to consummate an initial business combination with a target that is organized in the United States, we may change our jurisdiction of incorporation to Delaware prior to the execution of such agreement and without prior notice to or approval of our shareholders.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association permits us to change our jurisdiction of incorporation after approval by our board of directors. We are not required to notify our shareholders prior to such change or to seek the approval of our shareholders if we change our jurisdiction of incorporation prior to signing our initial business combination, and we anticipate that we will not be required to register such transaction under the Securities Act. If, however, we reincorporate to another jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands in connection with our initial business combination, and if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we anticipate that such transaction will be registered under the Securities Act. To effect the change in our jurisdiction of incorporation, we would deregister as an exempted company in the Cayman Islands and continue and domesticate as a corporation incorporated under the laws of another jurisdiction. In connection therewith, our Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class F ordinary shares would be exchanged for an equal number of corresponding Class A, Class B or Class F ordinary shares or common shares, as applicable, of our successor entity, and our warrants would become exercisable for Class A common or ordinary shares of our successor entity. We expect that the Class A, Class B and Class F ordinary shares or common shares in our successor entity would have rights substantially similar to those of our Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class F ordinary shares. However, the system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws of the new jurisdiction of our incorporation may not be as favorable to you as a shareholder as the laws of the Cayman Islands.
Although we will attempt to structure any change in our jurisdiction of incorporation in a tax-efficient manner (including, if possible, in a manner that is tax-deferred for U.S. federal income tax purposes), tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law may be uncertain and may change, we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations, and we may prioritize company-level tax considerations over the tax considerations of our shareholders and warrantholders. As a result, the change in our jurisdiction of incorporation may have adverse tax consequences to us or to our shareholders and warrantholders, including the recognition of substantial gain for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and because you may not have prior notice of our change in jurisdiction, you may not be able to avoid such consequences. For example, under certain circumstances, including if we are treated as a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain or a deemed dividend upon the exchange of our ordinary shares or warrants for our successor’s shares or warrants, and such taxes may be substantial. For a more detailed discussion of the PFIC rules and the related tax considerations for U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Certain Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
In addition to the immediate consequences of a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation, holding our successor’s shares or warrants following a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation could have different, potentially adverse, consequences as compared to those of holding our shares or warrants prior to any such change. For example, if we were to change our jurisdiction of incorporation from the Cayman Islands to Delaware, this could have a number of adverse consequences to Non-U.S. Holders who own our
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successor’s shares or warrants by exposing them to U.S. taxation and reporting obligations, such as the taxation of dividends from our successor or the taxation of dispositions of our successor’s shares or warrants. Because such persons may not have prior notice of our change in jurisdiction, they may not be able to change the manner in which they hold our shares or warrants or dispose of our shares or warrants prior to any such change in our jurisdiction of incorporation, and therefore such persons may not be able to avoid any adverse consequences of holding our successor’s shares or warrants after such change.
Further, it is possible that we would change our jurisdiction of incorporation in anticipation of consummating a specific business combination but not complete that business combination for any number of reasons. If we are unable to consummate a business combination with a specific business combination target following such a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation, our new jurisdiction of incorporation could have disadvantages to us or our shareholders and/or warrantholders, particularly if we subsequently pursue a business combination with a target that is incorporated in a different jurisdiction. In such circumstances, we may not be competitive with other special purpose acquisition companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands when pursuing certain target companies, the consummation of our initial business combination could be more complex, or it may be more difficult to structure such an initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner. For example, we may change our jurisdiction of incorporation to the United States in anticipation of a business combination with a U.S. target company but ultimately effect our initial business combination with a non-U.S. target company. In such a case, we may be unable to structure our initial business combination in a tax-deferred manner, and our shareholders and/or warrantholders may be required to pay substantial U.S. federal income or other taxes in connection with the consummation of the initial business combination. In addition, the initial business combination may result in tax inefficiencies for the post-business combination company, including that, if the post-business combination company is organized outside of the United States, it may nevertheless be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which treatment may result in substantial tax inefficiencies for both the post-business combination company and for our shareholders and/or warrantholders.
We cannot assure you when or whether we will change our jurisdiction of incorporation or, if we do change our jurisdiction of incorporation, the jurisdiction in which we will ultimately be incorporated. Accordingly, there is significant uncertainty as to the legal, tax and other considerations that may be applicable to us or to our shareholders and warrantholders, and we cannot provide you with specific or comprehensive examples of such potential consequences. The rules governing a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation and the transactions that may occur in connection with our initial business combination are complex, and the consequences arising from such rules or transactions will depend on a holder’s particular circumstances and on the circumstances surrounding our change in jurisdiction and initial business combination. All investors considering a purchase of units in this offering are urged to consult with and rely solely upon their own legal and tax advisors regarding the potential consequences to them of any change in our jurisdiction of incorporation.
If our initial business combination involves a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible a U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares after or in connection with such initial business combination.
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new 1% U.S. federal excise tax on certain repurchases (including redemptions) of stock by publicly traded U.S. corporations (and certain non-U.S. corporations treated as “surrogate foreign corporations”) after December 31, 2022. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of any positive difference between the fair market value of any stock repurchased by the repurchasing corporation during a taxable year and the fair market value of certain new stock issuances by the repurchasing corporation during the same taxable year. In addition, a number of exceptions apply to this excise tax. The Biden administration has proposed increasing the amount of the excise tax from 1% to 4% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. It is unclear whether such a change in the amount of the excise tax will be enacted and, if enacted, how soon any such changes could take effect. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury Department”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of, this excise tax; however, only limited guidance has been issued to date.
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As an entity incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, this excise tax is not expected to apply to redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares (absent any regulations or other additional guidance that may be issued in the future with retroactive effect).
However, in connection with an initial business combination involving a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible that we domesticate and continue as a Delaware corporation prior to certain redemptions, and because we expect our securities to trade on the Nasdaq, it is possible that in such case we would be subject to the excise tax with respect to any subsequent redemptions (including redemptions in connection with the initial business combination) that are treated as repurchases for this purpose. In all cases, whether and to what extent we would be subject to the excise tax will depend on a number of factors, including (i) the structure of the initial business combination, (ii) the fair market value of the shares redeemed, (iii) the extent such redemptions could be treated as dividends and not repurchases and (iv) the content of any subsequent regulations, clarifications or other additional guidance from the Treasury Department that may be issued and applicable to the redemptions. Issuances of stock by a repurchasing corporation in a year in which such corporation repurchases stock may reduce the amount of excise tax imposed with respect to such repurchase. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not the stockholders from which stock is repurchased, and the imposition of the excise tax on us as a result of redemptions in connection with the initial business combination could reduce the amount of cash available to pay redemptions or reduce the cash contribution to the target business in connection with our initial business combination, which could result in the shareholders of the combined company (including any of our shareholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with the initial business combination) to economically bear the impact of such excise tax.
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 will 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, the high vote nature of our Class B ordinary shares and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares. Following our initial business combination and the automatic conversion of the Class F ordinary shares into Class B ordinary shares, holders of our Class A ordinary shares and holders of our Class B ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, on all matters presented for a shareholder vote with each Class A ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote per share and each Class B ordinary share entitling the holder to ten votes per share. This high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares provides the holders of Class B ordinary shares the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring shareholder vote even if such holders own significantly less than a majority of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares and will significantly dilute the voting power of investors holding Class A ordinary shares and may make it more difficult to acquire a controlling interest in the company. These provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team
We are dependent upon our officers and directors, 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 officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors 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 directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our 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 business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business could 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.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure 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. 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 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 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.
Our current officers may not remain in their positions following our business combination. We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target 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 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.
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Our officers and directors may allocate their time to other businesses, including Nabors and NETC I, 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 other businesses, including Nabors and NETC I. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In addition, certain of our officers and directors are directors, officers or employees of Nabors and NETC I, which may make investments in or have other interests in or relating to companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or 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 “Management—Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses or entities. Certain of our directors and officers are, and our officers and directors may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business, including another blank check company that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. For example, certain of our officers and directors currently serve in similar roles for Nabors and NETC I.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
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 “Management—Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
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 or officers, although we do not intend to do so, or we may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of our sponsor. While NETC I recently announced its intention to merge with a target, if the business combination does not occur, it may compete with us for the same potential targets. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in
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business activities of the types conducted by us, including the formation of, or participation in, one or more other blank check companies. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
In particular, Nabors is also focused on investments in the energy industry. Although we intend to focus on investments relating to the energy transition and related sectors rather than the types of oilfield services investments typically considered by Nabors as part of its existing business, there may nevertheless be overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for Nabors. 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 best interests. If this were the case and the directors fail to act in accordance with their fiduciary duties owed to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law, we may have a claim against such individuals. See the section titled “Description of Securities—Certain Differences in Corporate Law—Shareholders’ Suits” 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.
Moreover, certain of our directors and officers continue to own shares and options to purchase shares in Nabors. These ownership interests and/or such disparity could create, or appear to create, potential conflicts of interest when the applicable individuals are faced with decisions that could have different implications for our company and Nabors. Furthermore, we may enter into transactions with Nabors. While any potential conflict that qualifies as a “related party transaction” (as defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act) is subject to review by an independent committee of Nabors’ board of directors in accordance with its corporate governance guidelines, there can be no assurance that the terms of any such transactions will be as favorable to us as would be the case where there is no overlapping officer or director.
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 or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement or potential involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses or entities affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders, including Nabors. Our officers and directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” They may also have investments in target businesses. 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 business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary 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 “Proposed Business—Selection 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. Despite our obligation to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm 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 or directors, 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.
Moreover, we may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with one or more affiliates of our sponsor. Any such parties 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 business combination by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On April 24, 2023, our sponsor acquired 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for the payment of $25,000 of expenses on our behalf, or approximately $0.004 per share. On June 16, 2023, we issued 2,875,000 additional founder shares to our sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares, for approximately $0.003 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 34,500,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares after this offering. Our sponsor will forfeit up to 1,125,000 founder shares depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares, and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. The founder shares will be without value to the holder if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, the private warrantholders have committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 9,440,000 (or 10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in private placement warrants, each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $9,440,000 (or $10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be without value to the holder if we do not complete a business combination. The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that only holders of our Class F ordinary shares (which automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis or earlier at the option of the holder) have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination. Prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights. However, the holders of the founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, if we do not consummate our initial business combination, we will not repay the overfunding loans from the trust account, and we would likely not have other available funds to repay the overfunding loans. We may obtain additional loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director, and if we do not consummate an initial business combination, such parties may realize a loss on such loans if we do not have sufficient funds left outside of the trust account to repay any such loans. We currently believe we will not have sufficient funds left outside of the trust account to pay back such loans if our initial business combination is not completed. 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 our initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the date that is 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, after the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
Since our sponsor paid only approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares, our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we acquire a target business that subsequently declines in value.
On April 24, 2023, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. On June 16, 2023, we issued 2,875,000 additional founder shares to our sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares, for approximately $0.003 per share. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. Certain of our officers and directors have a significant economic interest in our sponsor. As a result, the low acquisition cost of the founder shares creates an economic incentive whereby our officers and directors
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could potentially make a substantial profit even if we acquire a target business that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors.
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 a business combination so that the post-transaction 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-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise is not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our 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 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. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding 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.
Our initial shareholders will control the appointment and removal of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint and remove all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote and board approval, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, the Class F ordinary shares, all of which are held by our initial shareholders, will entitle the holders to appoint and remove all of our directors prior to our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our initial shareholders 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 and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. 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 prospectus. 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 elected by our initial shareholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our 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. Furthermore, to continue the Company in a jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands, including the adoption of the organizational documents for such jurisdiction, our board of directors will be able to approve such continuation and organizational documents without the vote of any holders of our Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class F ordinary shares. As a result, you will not have any influence over our
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continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.
Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares to the benefit of our sponsor and certain of our directors and officers.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 114.60% (or $11.46 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering of $(1.46) and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares. Moreover, although we are of the view that our sponsor, directors and officers paid fair value for the founder shares, there is no assurance that a taxing authority would agree with us, and if a taxing authority were to successfully assert otherwise, we may be subject to material withholding and other tax liabilities that could adversely affect our financial condition.
For example, the following table shows the public shareholders’ and sponsor’s investment per share and how that compares to the implied value of one of our shares upon the consummation of our initial business combination if at that time we were valued at $303,000,000, which is the amount we would have for our initial business combination in the trust account assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised, no interest is earned on the funds held in the trust account, and no public shares are redeemed in connection with our initial business combination, and without taking into account any other potential impacts on our valuation at such time, such as the trading price of our public shares, the business combination transaction costs (including payment of $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting commissions), any equity issued or cash paid to the target’s sellers or other third parties, or the target’s business itself, including its assets, liabilities, management and prospects, as well as the value of our public and private warrants. At such valuation, each of our Class A ordinary shares would have an implied value of $8.08 per share, which represents a 19.2% decrease in the initial implied value of the public shares of $10.00.
| Public shares | | | | | 30,000,000 | | |
| Founder shares(1) | | | | | 7,500,000 | | |
| Total shares(1) | | | | | 37,500,000 | | |
| Total funds in trust available for initial business combination(2) | | | | $ | 303,000,000 | | |
| Implied value per share | | | | $ | 8.08 | | |
| Public shareholders’ investment per share | | | | $ | 10.00 | | |
| Sponsor investment per share(1)(3) | | | | $ | 0.003 | | |
(1)
Assumes the full forfeiture of 1,125,000 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(2)
Does not take into account other potential impacts on our valuation at the time of the business combination, such as the trading price of our public shares, the business combination transaction costs (including payment of $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting commissions), any equity issued or cash paid to the target’s sellers or other third parties, or the target’s business itself, including its assets, liabilities, management and prospects, as well as the value of our public and private warrants.
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(3)
Does not include the $9,440,000 investment in the private placement warrants by the private warrantholders (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised).
While the implied value of our public shares may be diluted, the implied value of $8.08 per share would represent a significant implied profit for our sponsor and its owners relative to the initial purchase price of the founder shares. Our sponsor and the private warrantholders have committed to invest an aggregate of $12,465,000 in us in connection with this offering, comprised of the $3,000,000 of the overfunding loan, the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $9,440,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). At an implied value of $8.08 per share, the 7,500,000 founder shares (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units and the corresponding forfeiture of an additional 1,125,000 founder shares) would have an aggregate implied value of $60.6 million. As a result, even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares significantly declines, the owners of our sponsor will stand to make significant profit on their investment in us. In addition, the owners of our sponsor could potentially recoup their entire investment in us even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares is less than $1.66 per share and even if the private placement warrants are worthless (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units and the corresponding forfeiture of an additional 1,125,000 founder shares). As a result, our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us even if we select and consummate an initial business combination that causes the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares to decline, while our public shareholders who purchased their units in this offering could lose significant value in their public shares. Our sponsor may therefore be economically incentivized to consummate an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if our sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public shareholders paid for their public shares.
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 executive 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 Law 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 (Cayman) LLP, 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
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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.
General Risk Factors
We may issue additional 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 the 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 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 will 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, 50,000,000 Class F ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 470,000,000, 50,000,000 and 42,500,000 (assuming, in each case, that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class F ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account Class A ordinary shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of Class B ordinary shares or Class F ordinary shares. Our Class F ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, at a one-for-one ratio, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination. Immediately after the consummation of this offering, there will be no Class B ordinary shares or preferred shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional 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 contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated 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 shares or preferred shares:
•
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;
•
may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;
•
could cause a change in control if a substantial number of 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;
•
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and
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•
may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of the warrants.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and 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 the prior June 30th, 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.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our business combination, require substantial financial and management resources and increase the time and costs of completing our 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, 2024. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer 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 for us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our 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 acquisition.
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
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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.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this prospectus 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. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:
•
our being a company with no operating history and no revenues;
•
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;
•
actual and potential conflicts of interest relating to Nabors, NETC I, our sponsor and other parties in which members of our directors or management team are involved;
•
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 ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or other significant outbreaks of infectious diseases);
•
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities;
•
the voting structure of our ordinary shares, including any potential adverse effect on our ability to complete an initial business combination and, following our initial business combination, the ability of Nabors and our sponsor to exercise control over our policies and operations, each as a result of the high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares;
•
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
•
the lack of a market for our securities;
•
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;
•
our financial performance following this offering;
•
risks and uncertainties related to the emissions reduction, carbon capture, renewable energy and mobile assets and application sectors;
•
the potential tax consequences of investing in our securities; or
•
the other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus 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
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may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We are offering 30,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans will be used as set forth in the following table.
| | | Without Over- Allotment Option | | | Over-Allotment Option Fully Exercised | | ||||||
Gross proceeds | | | | ||||||||||
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | | | | $ | 300,000,000 | | | | | $ | 345,000,000 | | |
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | | | | | 9,440,000 | | | | | | 10,340,000 | | |
Total gross proceeds | | | | $ | 309,440,000 | | | | | $ | 355,340,000 | | |
Offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discounts and commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3) | | | | $ | 6,000,000 | | | | | $ | 6,900,000 | | |
Legal fees and expenses | | | | | 600,000 | | | | | | 600,000 | | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | | | 35,000 | | | | | | 35,000 | | |
Accounting and bookkeeping fees and expenses | | | | | 50,000 | | | | | | 50,000 | | |
SEC/FINRA expenses | | | | | 105,000 | | | | | | 105,000 | | |
Travel and roadshow expenses | | | | | 25,000 | | | | | | 25,000 | | |
Nasdaq listing and filing fees | | | | | 85,000 | | | | | | 85,000 | | |
Miscellaneous | | | | | 40,000 | | | | | | 40,000 | | |
Total offering expenses (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions) | | | | $ | 940,000 | | | | | $ | 940,000 | | |
Proceeds after offering expenses | | | | $ | 302,500,000 | | | | | $ | 347,500,000 | | |
Proceeds from overfunding loans(4) | | | | | 3,000,000 | | | | | | 3,450,000 | | |
Held in trust account(1)(3) | | | | $ | 303,000,000 | | | | | $ | 348,450,000 | | |
% of public offering size | | | | | 101% | | | | | | 101% | | |
Not held in trust account | | | | $ | 2,500,000 | | | | | $ | 2,500,000 | | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $2,500,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account(5).
| | | Amount | | | % of total | | ||||||
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination(6) | | | | $ | 1,000,000 | | | | | | 40.0% | | |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | | | | 120,000 | | | | | | 4.8% | | |
Director and officer liability insurance premiums | | | | | 500,000 | | | | | | 20.0% | | |
Reimbursement for office space, utilities and administrative support ($15,000 per month for up to 24 months) | | | | | 360,000 | | | | | | 14.4% | | |
Listing annual fees | | | | | 85,000 | | | | | | 3.4% | | |
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (including taxes net of anticipated interest income) | | | | | 435,000 | | | | | | 17.4% | | |
Total | | | | $ | 2,500,000 | | | | | | 100.0% | | |
(1)
Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.
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(2)
A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of loans from an affiliate of our sponsor of up to $450,000 as described in this prospectus. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering as part of the estimated $940,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) and amounts not to be held in the trust account. These expenses are estimates only. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account.
(3)
The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting discounts and commissions equal to 3.50% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $10,500,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred underwriting discounts and commissions (or $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other businesses or assets or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.
At our request, the underwriters have agreed to reserve up to 1,500,000 of the units offered by this prospectus for sale to certain members of our management team, employees of Nabors, and its affiliates and other individuals associated with us and members of their families, at the initial public offering price. We do not know if individual investors will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved units, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of units available in the overall offering.
(4)
Simultaneously with the closing of this offering, our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) will make a non-interest bearing and unsecured loan to us in the amount of $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) which shall be deposited in the trust account along with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants for the benefit of our shareholders whom elect to redeem their shares for cash. The loan will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant or repaid in cash (or any combination thereof) upon the closing of our initial business combination at the option of our sponsor.
(5)
These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account will be held in cash or 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. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $13,635,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 4.5% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount.
(6)
Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.
Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the private placement be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private
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placement warrants and the overfunding loans, $303,000,000 (or $348,450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $10,500,000 (or $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, will be placed into a U.S. based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and held in cash or 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, after deducting $9,440,000 (or $10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds held in the trust account will be held in cash or 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. We estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $13,635,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 4.5% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, the proceeds from this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our initial business combination (including the release of funds to pay any amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights in connection therewith), (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity or (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that the interest earned on the trust account, will be sufficient to pay our income taxes.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other businesses or assets or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination that are payable is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
We will reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the closing of this offering, an affiliate of our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and
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are due at the earlier of (x) October 21, 2023 and (y) the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering as part of the estimated $940,000 of offering expenses.
In addition, 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 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 would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. 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.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our sponsor, 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. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
We may be required to not redeem our public shares in order that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy this requirement or any closing condition, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public shareholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with our completion of an initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to rights to liquidating distributions from
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the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, 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 prescribed time frame.
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DIVIDEND POLICY
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 our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial 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. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any other share dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a share dividend or a share surrender or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in an amount necessary to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
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DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
At April 25, 2023, our net tangible book value was a deficit of $282,412 or approximately $(0.03) per ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 34,500,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants, the overfunding loans and the deduction of underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at April 25, 2023 would have been a deficit of $10,982,427, or approximately $(1.46) per share (or $(13,007,427), or $(1.51) per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash, or 34,500,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $(1.43) per share (or $(1.48) if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus. Total dilution to public shareholders from this offering will be $11.46 per share (or $11.51 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
| | | Without Over-Allotment | | | With Over-Allotment | | ||||||||||||||||||
Public offering price | | | | | | | | | | $ | 10.00 | | | | | | | | | | | $ | 10.00 | | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | | | | (0.03) | | | | | | | | | | | | (0.03) | | | | | | | | |
Decrease attributable to public shareholders | | | | | (1.43) | | | | | | | | | | | | (1.48) | | | | | | | | |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | | | | | | | | | | | (1.46) | | | | | | | | | | | | (1.51) | | |
Dilution to public shareholders | | | | | | | | | | $ | 11.46 | | | | | | | | | | | $ | 11.51 | | |
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders | | | | | | | | | | | 114.60% | | | | | | | | | | | | 115.10% | | |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $303,000,000 because holders of up to approximately 100% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two business days prior to the commencement of our shareholders’ meeting or tender offer, 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 Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.
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The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:
| | | Shares Purchased | | | Total Consideration | | | Average Price Per Share | | |||||||||||||||||||||
| | | Number | | | Percentage | | | Amount | | | Percentage | | ||||||||||||||||||
Initial Shareholders(1) | | | | | 7,500,000 | | | | | | 20.00% | | | | | $ | 25,000 | | | | | | 0.01% | | | | | $ | 0.003 | | |
Public Shareholders | | | 30, 000, 000 | | | | | 80.00% | | | | | $ | 300,000,000 | | | | | | 99.99% | | | | | $ | 10.00 | | | |||
| | | | | 37,500,000 | | | | | | 100.00% | | | | | $ | 300,025,000 | | | | | | 100% | | | | | | | | |
(1)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 1,125,000 Class F ordinary shares held by our sponsor.
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:
| | | Without Over- Allotment | | | With Over- Allotment | | ||||||
Numerator: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | | | $ | (282,412) | | | | | $ | (282,412) | | |
Net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants(1) | | | | | 305,500,000 | | | | | | 350,950,000 | | |
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value | | | | | 299,985 | | | | | | 299,985 | | |
Less: Deferred underwriters’ commission | | | | | (10,500,000) | | | | | | (12,075,000) | | |
Less: Overfunding loan | | | | | (3,000,000) | | | | | | (3,450,000) | | |
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption(2) | | | | | (303,000,000) | | | | | | (348,450,000) | | |
Total | | | | $ | (10,982,427) | | | | | $ | (13,007,427) | | |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Class F ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering | | | | | 8,625,000 | | | | | | 8,625,000 | | |
Class F ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised | | | | | (1,125,000) | | | | | | — | | |
Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered | | | | | 30,000,000 | | | | | | 34,500,000 | | |
Less: Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption | | | | | (30,000,000) | | | | | | (34,500,000) | | |
Total | | | | | 7,500,000 | | | | | | 8,625,000 | | |
(1)
Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $940,000 and underwriting discounts and commissions of $6,000,000 (or $6,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions). See “Use of Proceeds.”
(2)
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 initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business—Permitted Purchases of our Securities.”
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at April 25, 2023, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the sale of our units in this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option:
| | | April 25, 2023 | | |||||||||
| | | Actual | | | As Adjusted | | ||||||
Note payable to related party(1) | | | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | |
Overfunding loans(2) | | | | | — | | | | | | 3,000,000 | | |
Deferred underwriting commissions | | | | | — | | | | | | 10,500,000 | | |
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized; zero and 30,000,000 shares are subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively(3) | | | | | — | | | | | | 303,000,000 | | |
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value per share, 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
Class F ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 share authorized; and 8,625,000 and 7,500,000 issued shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively(4) | | | | | 863 | | | | | | 750 | | |
Additional paid-in capital(5) | | | | | 24,137 | | | | | | — | | |
Accumulated deficit | | | | | (7,427) | | | | | | (10,983,177) | | |
Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) | | | | $ | 17,573 | | | | | $ | (10,982,427) | | |
Total capitalization | | | | $ | 17,573 | | | | | $ | 305,517,573 | | |
(1)
An affiliate of our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of April 25, 2023, we have no borrowings under the note. The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the repayment of any loans made under this note out of the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants.
(2)
We will receive a non-interest bearing and unsecured loan from the sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) in the amount $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) which shall be deposited in the trust account along with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants for the benefit of our shareholders whom elect to redeem their shares for cash. The loan will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant or repaid in cash (or any combination thereof) upon the closing of our initial business combination at the option of our sponsor.
(3)
All of the 30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in the offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with our liquidation, if there is a shareholders’ vote or tender offer in connection with the business combination and in connection with certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In accordance with SEC guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the 30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in the offering will be issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., public warrants), the initial carrying value of Class A ordinary shares classified as temporary equity will be the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20. Our Class A ordinary shares are subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, we have the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will
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become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. We have elected to recognize the changes immediately.
(4)
Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares and as adjusted share amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(5)
The ‘as adjusted’ additional paid-in capital includes the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants over their estimated fair value at issuance as a deemed capital contribution from our sponsor, less the immediate accretion of the carry value of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to redemption value to reduce additional paid-in capital to zero.
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on April 12, 2023 for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. We have not selected any specific 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. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans, our shares, debt or a combination of the foregoing.
The issuance of additional ordinary or preferred shares in connection with a business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
•
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the founder shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion thereof;
•
may subordinate the rights of holders of our ordinary shares if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;
•
could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our 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;
•
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 Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to a bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:
•
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 is payable on demand;
•
our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
•
our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;
•
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 ordinary shares if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions and fund other general corporate purposes;
•
limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
•
increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;
•
limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
•
other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
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As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at April 25, 2023, we had no cash and deferred offering costs of approximately $299,985. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as expenses as we conduct due diligence on prospective business combination candidates. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to completion of this offering through the payment of $25,000 of expenses on our behalf by our sponsor in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares and loans to us of up to $300,000 by an affiliate of our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. As of April 25, 2023, we had no borrowings under the note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $940,000, underwriting discounts and commissions of $6,000,000 ($6,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $10,500,000 (or $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)), (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $9,440,000 (or $10,340,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) and (iii) the overfunding loans of $3,000,000 (or $3,450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $305,500,000 (or $350,950,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $303,000,000 (or $348,450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes $10,500,000 (or $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. The proceeds held in the trust account will be held in cash or 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. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. The remaining approximately $2,500,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $940,000, 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. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $940,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
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 discounts and commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. Based on current interest rates, we expect that the interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our shares 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.
After the closing of this offering, we will have available to us the approximately $2,500,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or
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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.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination. 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 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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. 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.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $1,000,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with any business combinations; $120,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $500,000 for director and officers liability; $360,000 for office space, utilities and administrative support; $85,000 for listing annual fees; and $435,000 for general working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (including taxes net of anticipated interest income).
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision 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 an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging
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growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of our internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
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staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;
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reconciliation of accounts;
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proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;
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evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;
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documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and
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documentation of accounting policies and procedures.
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans held in the trust account will be held in cash or 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.
Related Party Transactions
On April 24, 2023, our sponsor acquired 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for the payment of $25,000 of expenses on our behalf, or approximately $0.004 per share. On June 16, 2023, we issued 2,875,000 additional founder shares to our sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares, for approximately $0.003 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares, and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original purchase price.
Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we have agreed to reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and
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secretarial and administrative support made available to us. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
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. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the consummation of this offering, an affiliate of our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of April 25, 2023, we had no borrowings under the note. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of (x) October 21, 2023 and (y) the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering as part of the estimated $940,000 of offering proceeds that have been allocated for the payment of offering expenses.
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 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 would repay such loaned amounts. 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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Except as described above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
The private warrantholders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,440,000 private placement warrants (or 10,340,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,440,000 in the aggregate, or $10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each whole private placement warrant is exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The private warrantholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of any such warrants) until 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except that, the private warrantholders will be permitted to transfer the private placement warrants held by them to certain permitted transferees, including our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to it, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as our sponsor. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable. The private placement warrants may also be exercised for cash or on a “cashless basis.” Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with our initial shareholders and the private warrantholders on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we offer securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to certain underwritten offerings we may conduct. We will bear the costs and expenses of registering these securities.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of April 25, 2023, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have not conducted any operations to date.
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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 independent registered public accounting firm’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis), and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
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PROPOSED BUSINESS
Overview
We are a blank check company newly incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified 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.
In cooperation with Nabors, we intend to identify solutions, opportunities, companies or technologies that facilitate, improve or complement the ongoing global energy sector’s shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption—including oil, natural gas and coal—to renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy or hydrogen, which support the transition towards a low- or no-carbon emitting future and reduce GHG emissions as energy consumption continues to rapidly grow, which is known as the “energy transition.” We intend to prioritize ESG factors advancing the energy transition.
Specific sectors on which we intend to focus include alternative energy, energy storage, emissions reduction and CCUS, among others. We intend to leverage Nabors’ particular energy transition experience and its expertise developing and deploying discrete, mobile assets, advanced technologies and applications, such as digital controls and analytics, globally as well as the commercial, operational and financial expertise and industry relationships of our directors and executive officers to effectively identify and execute on investment opportunities.
The energy transition has gained traction across multiple markets. Nabors has developed a deep understanding of the transformation of the energy landscape, having successfully operated for more than a century through multiple significant transitions. These include the progressive evolution of drilling rigs from mechanical to the modern AC electric rig, the expansion of hydrocarbon exploration and development to offshore and remote domains, the digitization of field operations and, most recently, the adoption of automation across multiple phases of the drilling process. Nabors is also the recognized leader in driving robotics for land and offshore rigs. Historically, Nabors has also been active in geothermal energy development in several countries and retains technical leadership in developing and managing geothermal assets. More recently, Nabors has made significant non-controlling investments into several alternative energy technologies such as geothermal energy, alternative industrial and utility scale storage solutions as well as concentrated solar power technologies under the unifying theme of renewable, scalable, dispatchable energy technology with a direct tangency to Nabors’ existing business. Nabors’ and our management team’s combined experience includes a thorough understanding of market drivers and a track record of proactively anticipating significant market shifts.
We intend to focus on acquisition opportunities with meaningful and attractive growth prospects with a principal focus on advancing the energy transition. More specifically, we intend to focus on:
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alternative energy sources, including but not limited to geothermal energy;
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power management, energy storage and distributed energy systems, including but not limited to hydrogen, ammonia, and BESS technologies with a particular emphasis on non-lithium alternatives;
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CCUS;
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advanced combustion technologies targeting emissions reduction;
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autonomous and industrial mobility; and
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other industrial applications.
Our initial business combination strategy will target opportunities that would offer market leadership, and which would benefit from both the financial flexibility of access to public capital markets and the access to Nabors’ own market presence and operational and functional expertise.
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Nabors Industries Ltd. and Our Sponsor
Our Sponsor
Our sponsor is Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC, which is (i) managed and co-owned by affiliates of Nabors, a public corporation with operations providing services and equipment for upstream oil and gas E&P, and (ii) co-owned by Greens Road Energy II LLC. Greens Road Energy II LLC is owned by certain members of our management team, including Anthony G. Petrello, William J. Restrepo, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Nabors, and Guillermo Sierra, our Vice President—Energy Transition and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives—Energy Transition of Nabors, and Stephen M. Trauber, our independent director nominee.
Nabors and its predecessor entities have been continuously operating in the energy sector for over 100 years. Since the late 1980s, Nabors has become one of the global drilling industry’s largest contractors through a combination of organic growth and many successful acquisitions.
As a strategic partner, Nabors brings several significant sources of value to the company. These include:
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opportunity to readily scale technology across global markets;
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established operational, safety, risk management, financial, accounting and reporting systems and best practices in place;
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worldwide footprint in markets accounting for 80% of hydrocarbon production;
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opportunity to design, commercialize, deploy and operate cutting-edge technology and assets on a global basis;
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low-cost manufacturing capacity in Nabors’ Canrig operation; and
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modular, automation, remote controlled and monitored system expertise.
Nabors’ capabilities have been proven across a multitude of demanding environments. It has operated successfully in surface conditions as varied as the Middle East desert, sub-zero temperatures in the Arctic, and difficult, dense and logistically challenged locations, as well as offshore in both shallow and deep water. Subsurface conditions, which are seen as particularly challenging in the industry yet ordinary course for Nabors, include high temperatures and pressures typically encountered by oil and gas wells at depth, as well as volatile or corrosive compounds in hydrocarbon bearing zones. Through its technology innovation, Nabors has proven to be a valued provider to many global leaders including Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, Ecopetrol, YPF and PEMEX, among others.
In particular, Nabors offers:
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market access that spans geographies, including strong relationships with the largest energy companies in the world;
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manufacturing proficiency and multijurisdictional functional expertise, with established management systems in place;
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development and commercialization of technologies with an organization comprised of hundreds of mechanical, industrial, electrical and software engineers; and
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access to potentially synergistic relationships with other energy transition technologies in which Nabors has invested.
Greens Road Energy II LLC will invest in our sponsor and will be funded exclusively by cash provided by its owners independently of Nabors, and its economic ownership of our sponsor is pari passu with the investment in our sponsor by an affiliate of Nabors. As a result, the interests of Greens Road Energy II LLC are substantially aligned with those of Nabors. The separate ownership of Greens Road Energy II LLC also offers the following advantages:
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assurance to our public shareholders that management is committed and focused on prioritizing our success;
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alignment of our interests with those of our management; and
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demonstration that owners of Greens Road Energy II LLC believe that it is a compelling investment opportunity.
Immediately prior to this offering, our sponsor owned 100% of our share capital, consisting of our Class F ordinary shares, which will automatically convert at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. Following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share entitles the holder to ten votes per share, which differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies. Assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits an aggregate of 1,125,000 founder shares, that there are 30,000,000 ordinary shares outstanding after this offering and that there are no additional equity securities issued in connection with our initial business combination, our sponsor is expected to own approximately 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and approximately 71% of the voting power of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the closing of our initial business combination. We anticipate that our sponsor’s voting power and equity ownership may be substantially diluted in connection with our initial business combination, either from the issuance of new ordinary shares in exchange for the capital stock or share capital of the target, the issuance of our ordinary shares to third-party investors providing additional funding to our company in connection with the initial business combination, or both.
In March 2021, affiliates of our sponsor formed NETC I, a blank check company formed for substantially the same purpose as our company. Through its initial public offering in November 2021, NETC I raised approximately $276.0 million from the sale of approximately 27.6 million units to public investors, with each unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half warrant. NETC I’s units, Class A common stock and warrants trade on the NYSE under the symbols “NETC.U,” “NETC” and “NETC.WS,” respectively. On February 14, 2023, NETC I announced its agreement to combine with Vast, a renewable energy company that has developed next generation concentrated solar power systems to generate, store and dispatch carbon free, utility-scale electricity and industrial heat, and to enable the production of green fuel. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarters of 2023. The transaction ascribes a fully diluted pre-money value of $239.7 million for Vast with existing Vast equity holders rolling 100% of their interests into the combined company. In addition, the combined company will receive approximately $103.7 million of cash held in NETC I’s trust account, assuming no redemptions by NETC I’s stockholders other than those redemptions in May 2023 in connection with NETC I’s amendment to its certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which NETC I had to consummate an initial business combination, and an aggregate of $30.0 million of cash from Vast’s owners and Nabors. Immediately following the closing, the existing equity holders of Vast are expected to own between 60% and 71% of the issued and outstanding shares of the combined company, depending on the amount of redemptions.
Nabors Energy Transition Portfolio
Nabors has a fast-growing portfolio of technologies designed to drive energy efficiency and emissions reductions for itself and its customers. Nabors’ portfolio of energy transition related technologies includes proprietary emissions reporting and analytics software, engine management controls, energy storage systems, hydrogen injection catalysts, carbon capture technology and fuel enhancing additives, as well as traditional high-line power and dual-fuel offerings.
In addition, Nabors has engaged in venture investment opportunities for exposure to several high growth potential segments in these burgeoning lower carbon markets. Nabors’ initial investments focus on alternative energy sources such as geothermal and hydrogen, energy storage and carbon capture, including utilization and sequestration technologies and emissions monitoring. Select investments are as follows:
Geothermal—Nabors is leveraging its global footprint, extensive knowledge of subsurface conditions and expertise in drilling and well construction to advance and accelerate geothermal technologies and projects globally. Nabors has partnered with four leading geothermal venture companies: (1) Quaise, Inc.: commercializes novel millimeter wave drilling systems to harness geothermal energy; (2) Sage Geosystems, Inc.: transformative geothermal development company working to optimize both geothermal wells and power
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plants to make geothermal energy accessible and affordable; (3) GeoX Energy, Inc.: development company working to commercialize technologies to install supercritical geothermal power stations at scale; (4) GA Drilling, a.s.: drilling company with patented subsurface technology working to provide geothermal energy in all types of environments and geographies; and (5) Hephae Energy Technology LLC: development company working to create an integrated drilling system with the ability to capture geothermal energy in the harshest environments.
Energy Storage—Nabors invests in multiple systems to help manage energy storage: (1) CleanDesign Power System hEMS uses battery energy storage and engine automation to reduce the number of required generators and increases fuel efficiency for a rig: (2) Canrig PowerFLOW™ combines supercapacitor energy storage with power management systems to provide peak energy shaving solutions, reducing the required number of generators and diesel engines; (3) Natron Energy, Inc., a global leader in the manufacturing of sodium-ion batteries, stores sodium ions in electrode materials based on Prussian blue materials, offering batteries with higher power density, longer service life, and unique safety characteristics over other battery technologies; and (4) UCAP Power, a global provider of ultracapacitor-based power solutions, provides ultracapacitor systems that use sustainable based products, offering a long-lasting source of reliable high-power energy storage that can help eliminate lead-acid and other hazardous materials in batteries.
Alternative Energy—Where highline power is available, Nabors’ Canrig PowerTAP™ system can be installed to accept grid power and interface with grid infrastructure, directly providing all electric power to a rig without the need to run combustion engines.
Engine Management—Nabors’ SmartPOWER™ software applies artificial intelligence to analyze live data from an electronic drilling recorder and a proprietary engine de-rating module to learn a rig’s power needs. SmartPOWER™ advises drillers on the optimum number of engines to be run in real-time, reducing fuel consumption and emissions and ensuring optimum load on engines.
Fuel Enhancers—Nabors utilizes technologies to enhance fuel efficiency for its operations: (1) nanO2® is a combustion catalyst diesel fuel additive that reduces emissions, improves fuel efficiency and increases engine performance while simultaneously reducing engine temperatures; and (2) Hydrogen Injection Catalyst systems optimize engine performance, increase fuel efficiency, and reduce emissions. This patented, low-pressure system injects hydrogen directly into an engine’s combustion chamber and generates the correct amount of hydrogen needed per engine load.
Emissions Reporting—Nabors’ RigCLOUD® software monitors engine performance and transmits the data back to a central server, calculating fuel usage and emissions data which is consolidated in an End of Well report. Nabors also invests in third-party air pollution and greenhouse gas tracking software. These investments translate billions of scientific measurements into environmental intelligence for governments, companies, and communities.
Experience and Competitive Strengths
Innovation—Nabors has a proven history of innovation in developing, commercializing and field-deploying advanced technology. Successful product rollouts include hardware, mainly for the energy industry, with a focus on performance enhancement and the automation of the drilling process. This includes the development of the hardware for the industry’s first robotic offshore comprehensive integrated drilling system for a customer in the North Sea.
Energy transition experience—Nabors has been an industry leader in developing and deploying new equipment to operate more than 50 drilling rigs in North America capable of running on natural gas or on dual fuel. This capability results in a meaningful reduction in GHG emissions. Nabors also operates rigs which are powered from the electrical grid or alternative sources of electricity, resulting in a dramatic improvement in each rig’s carbon footprint. In addition, Nabors has deployed its FuelToolTM software, hardware and data collection system, which optimizes rig-level fuel consumption thereby reducing the rig’s emissions. Historically, Nabors has also been active in geothermal energy development in several countries and retains technical leadership in developing geothermal assets.
Global operations—Nabors and its predecessor entities have a record of over 100 years operating in multiple major energy production markets in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Outside of its
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traditional strength in the North America market, this history extends to significant markets in Latin America, the Middle East, and Central and Southeast Asia.
Complexity of operations—Nabors routinely operates across a variety of demanding environments, including in challenging surface and sub-surface conditions. Its expertise navigating some of the world’s most complex operating conditions and difficult, dense and logistically challenged environments make Nabors a valued provider to the world’s largest energy companies.
Environmental sensitivity—Nabors has successfully conducted operations in areas of extreme environmental sensitivity with fit-for-purpose equipment that mitigates the risk of environmental incidents. Some of the better-known areas include the North Slope of Alaska, Papua New Guinea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia, among others. Recently, Nabors committed to the Science Based Targets initiative, committing to setting science-based GHG emissions targets.
Decentralized facilities—Nabors has specialized expertise operating discrete, mobile facilities with customer-specific requirements. Such facilities are often remote, and require a large degree of self-sufficiency as well as an advanced supply chain.
Customers—Nabors has a globally diversified customer base including major independent energy producers as well as national energy companies in the largest global markets. Nabors is currently partnering with Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest energy company, in a joint venture.
Acquisitions—Nabors has an established track record of identifying, closing, and integrating accretive acquisitions across multiple markets, including demonstrated expertise acquiring technology, ancillary services, and equipment portfolios.
HSE—Nabors has developed an agile, flexible HSE Management System, which ensures clear expectations in terms of demonstrating management’s commitment, engaging employees and effectively managing risks and analysis of data. This system leads to a cycle of continuous improvement. Reflecting a strong safety culture, Nabors continues to lead its closest peers in recordable incident rate.
Our Management Team
Anthony G. Petrello is our President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman. Mr. Petrello has served as Nabors’ President and Chief Executive Officer since 2011 and as the Chairman of the Board of Nabors since 2012. Mr. Petrello has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman of NETC I since March 2021. Mr. Petrello serves as a director of Hilcorp Energy, one of the largest private E&P companies in the United States. In 2018, Mr. Petrello was the recipient of the Offshore Energy Center Pinnacle Award, recognizing outstanding individuals who have taken today’s leading-edge tools and technologies and applied them to real world challenges. Mr. Petrello is a coinventor on four patents for drilling rig substructures. Mr. Petrello brings an extensive and unique combination of strategic commercial, operational, technological and technical skills.
William J. Restrepo is our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Restrepo has served as Nabors’ Chief Financial Officer since March 2014. Mr. Restrepo has served as the Chief Financial Officer of NETC I since April 2021. Mr. Restrepo has extensive experience in the energy industry both domestically and internationally. This includes 20 years with Schlumberger in senior strategic, financial and operational management roles in Europe, the Middle East and South America. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Smith International and of Pacific Drilling. Mr. Restrepo brings a wealth of experience in capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and international operations in the energy industry.
Guillermo Sierra is our Vice President—Energy Transition. Mr. Sierra has served as Vice President, Strategic Initiatives—Energy Transition at Nabors since April 2021. Mr. Sierra has served as the Vice President—Energy Transition of NETC I since April 2021. Mr. Sierra has extensive experience in energy, infrastructure, venture investments, energy technology and climate technology, logistics, capital markets and M&A given his work on over 60 transactions with a combined value of over $200 billion over the last approximately 17 years through various advisory and corporate strategy roles. Most recently, Mr. Sierra was a Partner at Blackline Partners from August 2019 to December 2020, serving as Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy for Blackline Midstream from August 2019 to March 2020 and in the same position for
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Blackline Cold Storage from March 2020 to November 2020. Mr. Sierra was not employed from December 2020 to April 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Sierra served as Managing Director, Head of North America Midstream Advisory at Macquarie Capital from September 2016 to December 2018 before taking a sabbatical from December 2018 to August 2019. Mr. Sierra’s earlier experiences include positions at Credit Suisse (Director, Head of MLP/Midstream M&A), USD Group LLC & USD Partners (VP, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of M&A), Evercore Partners (Vice President—Energy M&A), and Barclays Capital (as a member of the Global Natural Resources Group). Mr. Sierra is currently a Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, and board observer on the board of directors, of Sage Geosystems Inc., and is also a board observer on the board of directors of Quaise, Inc. Hephae Energy Technology and UCAP Power, Inc.
We believe our management team’s operating, commercial, and transaction experience, experience managing another special purpose acquisition company and extensive relationships in the energy and energy transition industries will provide us access to a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, their relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and their experience in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Management” for a more complete description of our management team’s experience.
Our Directors
Colleen Calhoun will be appointed as a member of our board of directors in connection with the consummation of this offering. Ms. Calhoun has served as Operating Partner at The Engine, an investment firm focusing on climate change human health and advanced systems and infrastructure, since April 2023. Ms. Calhoun previously served as Vice President of Spruce Power (formerly known as XL Fleet) (NYSE: SPRU), a provider of fleet electrification solutions, and General Manager of XL Grid, a division of Spruce Power, from January 2021 to February 2023. Prior to this, Ms. Calhoun served as Founder and Principal Advisor at Helios Consulting, LLC from November 2019 to December 2020. Ms. Calhoun spent twenty-five years at GE across several roles at the company, including Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Business Development (August 2018 to October 2019) and Head of Business Development and Partnerships (January 2016 to August 2018) at GE Current, a leading provider of energy efficiency and digital productivity solutions for commercial buildings and cities, where she was instrumental in the divesture of the business from GE in 2019; Global Senior Director of Energy Ventures at GE Ventures (January 2013 to December 2015); Executive Director, Marketing, Strategy and Project Development at GE Power & Water (October 2010 to December 2012); and Managing Director, Global Growth Markets at GE Energy Financial Services (January 2006 to September 2010). Ms. Calhoun is presently a member of the board of directors at Nabors Energy Transition Corp. and Quaise, Inc. and served on the board of directors of Evergreen Climate Innovations (formerly known as Clean Energy Trust) until February 2023. She also previously served on the Advisory Board at NYSERDA REV Connect. Ms. Calhoun earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
We believe Ms. Calhoun’s extensive background in the energy industry and leadership and management experience brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors.
Stephen M. Trauber will be appointed as a member of our board of directors in connection with the consummation of this offering. Mr. Trauber served as the Vice Chairman & Global Head of Energy from January 2011 to March 2021 and subsequently Vice Chairman and Global Head of Natural Resources and Clean Energy Transition of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. from March 2021 until he retired in September 2022. Mr. Trauber served as Vice Chairman and Global Head of Energy at UBS Investment Bank from 2003 to 2010. Mr. Trauber has extensive experience serving as a strategic and financial advisor to companies transacting across all subsectors of the energy industry. He has worked on many of the most significant M&A transactions in these subsectors, with a transaction volume exceeding $500 billion. He was responsible for initiating and building the Global Clean Energy Transition Team at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. while serving as the Global Head of Natural Resources and Clean Energy Transition. He also played a key role in establishing Citigroup Global Markets Inc.’s plan for decarbonizing its financed emissions. In addition, Mr. Trauber has executed many significant financings across the energy sector. Mr. Trauber
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began his career with Credit Suisse First Boston (1988-1995) and subsequently managed Morgan Stanley’s Energy Group in Houston (1995-2003). Mr. Trauber has served on the Board of Directors of NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc. since April 2023. Mr. Trauber received his BA in Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice University in 1984. He was an Austin Scholar and earned his MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1988.
We believe Mr. Trauber’s extensive background in strategic advisory, mergers and acquisitions, private and public capital markets finance and investing as well as advising clients with investor relations, environmental, social and corporate governance and risk management in the energy industry brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors.
Market Opportunity
The combination of population growth, increased standards of living, and the proliferation of technology have driven global energy consumption to unprecedented levels. This growth in demand is accompanied by the requirement for increased and modernized infrastructure capacity to produce, store and deliver energy as and when needed by a rapidly evolving and expanding consumer population. This growth in demand has also come with an awareness that future energy needs will be met increasingly by sustainable and environmentally benign energy sources and infrastructure.
To minimize the adverse effects of climate change, the United Nations’ IPCC has concluded that limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperature levels will require a marked shift in investment patterns. According to McKinsey & Company, achieving this temperature threshold whilst also reaching the Net Zero by 2050 mandate put forth by global corporations and governments will require a cumulative capital spend of $270 trillion between 2021 and 2050 or $9.2 trillion per year—an annual increase of approximately $3.5 trillion from today’s energy-related capital spend. This capital outflow is estimated to be front-load heavy, accounting for 9% of global GDP between 2026-2030, decreasing to an average of 7% global GDP by 2050. To add, the movement in the energy transition will result in a gross 200 million increase of jobs globally, providing the opportunity for not only new energy workers but also fossil fuel energy workers to learn new skillsets and join the energy transition. With an estimated $2.1 trillion in old energy assets expected to be stranded in 2050 coupled with this new wave of businesses ushered in by the energy transition, opportunity is present to capitalize on whether that be in the transformation of new uses for old energy assets or the building of a new energy enterprise.
We believe a significant portion of such new investment will flow into the energy, infrastructure, industrial, transportation and building sectors. As such, the global energy transition presents a significant investment opportunity across many markets. Further, we expect the pace of investment to increase, as the pressure to decarbonize across the economy increases, and the breadth of sectors transitioning to sustainable energy sources expands.
We believe the following investment opportunities offer compelling high growth potential:
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Alternative energy—Technologies, solutions and services that facilitate the energy transition to renewable alternatives, as well as low- and no-carbon sources of energy and heat, including but not limited to:
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processes, technologies, software, automation and equipment supporting the growth and development of renewable energy;
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development of renewable energy sources with a focus on geothermal, hydrogen and renewable gas among others; and
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distributed and mobile power generation using alternative energy sources.
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Energy Storage—Technologies, equipment and systems that enhance energy storage capacity and efficiency with a targeted emphasis on solutions that address industry complications, including but not limited to, geopolitical and supply-chain risks, over-mining and environmental damage:
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energy storage technologies including battery-based and other energy storage systems;
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storage and transmission alternatives and infrastructure which enhance efficiency and efficacy;
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distributed and mobile energy storage and delivery solutions; and
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manufacturing, automation and related activities in support of energy storage technologies.
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Industrial Applications—Networks of technologies aimed at improving system efficiency while reducing carbon footprint, including but not limited to:
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emissions monitoring and reduction capabilities;
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energy efficiency and emissions intensity reduction solutions;
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reduced carbon intensity of energy exploration and other industrial processes;
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reduction, removal and recycling of carbon emissions into industrial, chemical and consumer end uses;
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technologies supporting a reduced global carbon footprint, including CCUS; and
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other technologies targeted at optimizing energy consumption and reducing emissions profiles.
Business Strategy
Our strategy is to identify and support a target company or companies driving the energy transition and/or improving the sustainability of the existing energy complex. We believe our relationship with Nabors and its long record of successfully navigating technology evolutions, as well as its global operational and manufacturing platform and its history of identifying and integrating accretive acquisitions, will enable deal flow and be attractive to potential acquisition targets.
Specific elements of our strategy include:
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capitalizing on emerging energy transition to decarbonization;
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participating in the development of renewable energy sources;
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identifying acquisition opportunities with sustainable competitive advantages;
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leveraging Nabors’ global operational, commercial and manufacturing platform and capabilities to develop and deploy technology;
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leveraging venture synergies; and
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providing strong sponsor support.
Acquisition Target Focus/Criteria
In line with our strategy, we have established general criteria which we plan to utilize to evaluate acquisition candidates, although we may ultimately acquire a target that does not meet these criteria, or that meets criteria which we may develop subsequent to this initial public offering. Our current intent is to focus on targets which meet one or more of the following criteria:
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actively driving the energy transition through one or more initiative areas;
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technology focused on providing clean, dispatchable and scalable power from multiple sources, to meet growing demand without compromise to decarbonization;
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platform for high growth, organically, through acquisitions, or from a combination of both;
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established or potential sustainable competitive advantages;
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identifiable target market for products and services, and potential for additional markets;
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maximizes value to a broad base of stakeholders, including investors, employees, and the wider community; and
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potential to generate returns on investment which are greater than the target’s cost of capital.
While the high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies, we expect to maintain this capital structure following
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our initial business combination. However, maintenance of this capital structure is not a condition for us to evaluate acquisition opportunities. Although we are not aware of and are unable to determine at this time the criteria on which we would base our decision regarding whether to engage in a business combination that would eliminate our Class B ordinary shares or their high vote feature, we may, in our sole discretion, seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to change this feature.
Initial Business Combination
We will have up to 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination.
If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within such time period, we will redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. We expect the pro rata redemption price to be approximately $10.10 per share (regardless of whether or not the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option), without taking into account any interest earned on such funds. However, we cannot assure you that we will in fact be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
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 trust (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. Our board will make the determination as to the fair market value of a target business or businesses. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of a target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors and each of the non-independent directors nominated by our sponsor, to approve our initial business combination.
We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with our sponsor, or one or more affiliates, which we refer to as an “Affiliated Joint Acquisition.” Any such parties 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 issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. Any such issuance of equity or equity-linked securities would, on a fully diluted basis, reduce the percentage ownership of our then-existing shareholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our founder shares, issuances or deemed issuances of Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities would result in an adjustment to the ratio at which Class F ordinary shares shall convert into Class B ordinary shares, and the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares, such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the business combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan), unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding Class F ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to such issuance or deemed issuance at the time thereof. Our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation to make any such investment, and may compete with us for potential business combinations.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction 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-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in
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order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons, including an Affiliated Joint Acquisition as described above. However, we will only complete a business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise is not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our 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-transaction 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 seeking shareholder approval or for purposes of a tender offer, as applicable.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Nabors, members of our management team and our directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, 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. Further, each of 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.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Certain of the members of our board of directors are employed by, and/or are directors of, Nabors or affiliates of Nabors. Nabors and its affiliates are continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of our officers and directors 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. For example, each of our officers and certain of our directors currently serve in similar roles for Nabors, a Bermuda exempted company, the ordinary shares of which trade on the NYSE under the symbol “NBR,” and NETC I, a Delaware corporation, the Class A common stock of which trades on the NYSE under the symbol “NETC.” Each such officer and director owes certain duties to Nabors under applicable Bermuda laws and to NETC I under applicable Delaware law. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a
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business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such other entity. 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 business combination. In addition, we may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director, has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity 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 issuing to such entity a class of equity or equity-linked securities. While NETC I recently announced its intention to merge with a target, if the business combination does not occur, it may compete with us for the same potential targets. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
In addition, Nabors or its affiliates may sponsor other blank check companies similar to us during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination, and members of our management team and directors may participate in such blank check companies. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among the management teams. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of 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.
Our Management Team
Members of our management team 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 that any members of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its equity as currency for acquisitions. Being a public
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company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by 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, 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 this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), 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 is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, 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 shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of 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.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of up to $292,500,000 after payment of $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions (or up to $336,375,000 after payment of $12,075,000 of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans, our shares, debt or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a
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company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other businesses or assets or for working capital.
We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions with any business combination target. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business, other than our officers and directors. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. 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 need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by applicable law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources 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 prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. 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 as well as the proved track record and global presence of Nabors. 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,
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the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). We have agreed to reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. We may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity 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 issuing to such entity a class of equity or equity-linked securities. See “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq listing rules 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 trust (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discounts held in trust) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or if the post-transaction company is otherwise not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be valued for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our business combination.
While the high vote feature of our Class B ordinary shares differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies, we expect to maintain this capital structure following our initial business combination. However, maintenance of this capital structure is not a condition for us to evaluate acquisition opportunities. Although we are not aware of and are unable to determine at this time
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the criteria on which we would base our decision regarding whether to engage in a business combination that would eliminate our Class B ordinary shares or its high vote feature, we may, in our sole discretion, seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to change this feature.
To the extent we effect our business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors. In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough 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 that 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 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. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
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subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory development, 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
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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 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 business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following 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
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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:
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we issue Class A ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our Class A ordinary shares then outstanding (other than in a public offering);
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any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and if the number of ordinary shares to be issued, or if the number of ordinary shares into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of ordinary or 1% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors or officers or (b) 5% of the number of ordinary shares or 5% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial security holders; or
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the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.
Permitted Purchases of our Securities
In the event we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our 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 or duty to do so. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement 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.
In the event that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and 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. It is intended that, if Rule 10b-18 would apply to purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates, then such purchases will comply with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, to the extent it applies, which provides a safe harbor for purchases made under certain conditions, including with respect to timing, pricing and volume of purchases.
Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities law (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may enter into transaction 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. 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 public shares or public warrants in such transactions.
The purpose of any such transactions could be to (1) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding and/or increase the likelihood of approval on any matters submitted to the public warrantholders for approval in connection
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with our initial business combination or (3) 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 the business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchase of our securities may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities 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 initial shareholders, sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our initial shareholders, sponsor, 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 class 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 the 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 ordinary 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. Additionally, in the event our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders after the announcement of our initial business combination, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
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our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases;
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they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process;
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our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction;
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our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and
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we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items:
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the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates, along with the purchase price;
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the purpose of the purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates;
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the impact, if any, of the purchases by our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved;
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the identities of our security holders who sold to our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates; and
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the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer.
Please see “Risk Factors—If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to enter into certain transactions, including purchasing public shares or public warrants from public shareholders or public warrantholders, which may influence the outcome of a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.”
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, 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 described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them or any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination.
We may be subject to a minimum cash requirement or a maximum redemption requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. 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, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares (including any securities for which such shares are exchanged in any prior migration or other restructuring) upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial 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 require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company, including 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. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target business in a manner that requires shareholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a shareholder vote to approve the proposed business combination. We currently intend to conduct
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redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.
If we hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
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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
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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 obtain the approval at an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law (or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association). A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the company representing one-third (1/3) of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial shareholders will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the requisite majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and non-votes, while considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum, will not count as votes cast and therefore will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in respect of such ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
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conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and
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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. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration.
Upon the public announcement of our business combination, 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 if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
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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.
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 business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 redeeming its shares with respect to the Excess Shares. 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 sold in this offering 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 this offering 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 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 business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials (as applicable) mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their share certificate(s) (and any other redemption forms) to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials (as applicable) that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker 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 tender their shares. The need to deliver share certificate(s) (and any other redemption forms) is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating
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such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, unless otherwise agreed to by us.
Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its share certificate(s) (and any other redemption forms) 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 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 until 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we will have only 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our business combination within such timeframe 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 (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire without value to the holder if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted timeframe.
Our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after this offering, 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.
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Our sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the right of holders of our Class A ordinary shares 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. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, such an amendment would need to be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of all then-issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
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 approximately $2,500,000 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 previously released to pay our taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay dissolution expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans, 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 $10.10. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.10. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses 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 perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent public accountants) 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 (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case, net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, except as to any claims by a third party that executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) and
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except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering 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 $10.10 per public share. 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.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.10 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business 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 this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $2,500,000 from the proceeds of this offering 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 $940,000, 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 $940,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a winding up petition or a winding up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and a liquidator may determine that such funds should be included in our insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third-party creditors 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 $10.10 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a winding up petition or a winding up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be subject to challenge under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a “voidable preference.” As a result, a liquidator 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.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24
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months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the 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 such shareholder 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.
Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with our Initial Business Combination and if We Fail to Complete our Initial Business Combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering.
| | | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination | |
Calculation of redemption price | | | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held | | | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. | | | If we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding | |
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| | | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination | |
| | | in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares. | | | | | | public shares. | |
Impact to remaining shareholders | | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay our taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account). | | | If the permitted purchases described above are made there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | | | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions. | |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting discounts and commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| | | Terms of Our Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |
Escrow of offering proceeds | | | Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the private placement be deposited in a U.S.-based trust account. $303,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans will be placed into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and held in cash or invested only in U.S. government treasury obligation with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the | | | Approximately $255,150,000 of the offering proceeds would be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. | |
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| | | Terms of Our Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |
| | | Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. | | | | |
Investment of net proceeds | | | $303,000,000 of the net offering proceeds, the sale of the private placement warrants and the overfunding loans held in trust will be held in cash or 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. | | | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. | |
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | | | Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (i) any taxes paid or payable, and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | | Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. | |
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | | | Nasdaq rules require that we complete one or more business combinations that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in trust (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. | | | The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. | |
Trading of securities issued | | | The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC inform us of their decision to allow earlier | | | No trading of the units or the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. | |
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| | | Terms of Our Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |
| | | separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. | | | | |
Exercise of the warrants | | | The warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. | | | The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. | |
Election to remain an investor | | | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated | | | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are | |
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| | | Terms of Our Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |
| | | memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. | | | automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. | |
| | | If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the tender offer rules. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least ten days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (or such higher approval threshold as required by Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association). Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. | | | | |
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| | | Terms of Our Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |
| | | A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the company representing one-third (1/3) of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. | | | | |
Business combination deadline | | | If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, 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 (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem 100% of 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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. | | | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. | |
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| | | Terms of Our Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |
Release of funds | | | Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, the proceeds from this offering held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination (including the release of funds to pay any amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights in connection therewith), (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. | | | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | |
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote | | | 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 will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or | | | Most blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination. | |
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| | | Terms of Our Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |
| | | 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 redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering). Our public shareholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. | | | | |
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | | | We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. | | | In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. | |
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. In addition, our high vote capital structure differs from the capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition company competitors and may make us less attractive to an acquisition target or may make an acquisition more costly to complete. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
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Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 515 West Greens Road, Suite 1200, Houston, Texas 77067, and our telephone number is (281) 874-0035. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $15,000 per month fee we will pay to reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate thereof for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three officers. 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 that 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.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials (as applicable) sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with GAAP, or reconciled to, GAAP, 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 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. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that any applicable requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition. Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of 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.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by 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, 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.
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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 (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), 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 is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
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MANAGEMENT
Officers, Directors and Director Nominees
Our officers, directors and director nominees are as follows:
Name | | | Age | | | Position | |
Anthony G. Petrello | | | 68 | | | President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman | |
William J. Restrepo | | | 64 | | | Chief Financial Officer | |
Guillermo Sierra | | | 39 | | | Vice President—Energy Transition | |
Colleen Calhoun | | | 57 | | | Director Nominee | |
Stephen M. Trauber | | | 61 | | | Director Nominee | |
Anthony G. Petrello has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Director since April 24, 2023 and will serve as our Chairman of the board of directors following the completion of this offering. Mr. Petrello has served as the Chairman of the Board of Nabors since 2012 and director since 1991; Deputy Chairman of Nabors 2003—2012; President and CEO of Nabors and Nabors Industries, Inc. since 2011; President and Chief Operating Officer of Nabors and Nabors Industries, Inc. from 1991—2011. Mr. Petrello has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman of NETC I since March 2021. Mr. Petrello holds a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics from Yale University. Mr. Petrello also serves as a director of Hilcorp Energy Company. In 2018, Mr. Petrello was the recipient of the Offshore Energy Center Pinnacle Award, recognizing outstanding individuals who have taken today’s leading-edge tools and technologies and applied them to real world challenges.
Mr. Petrello brings an extensive and unique combination of strategic, commercial, operational and technical skills to our Board.
William J. Restrepo has served as our Chief Financial Officer since April 24, 2023. He has served as Chief Financial Officer of Nabors since March 2014. Mr. Restrepo has served as the Chief Financial Officer of NETC I since April 2021. Mr. Restrepo previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Pacific Drilling S.A. from February 2011 to February 2014. He also previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Seitel from 2005 to 2009, and at Smith from 2009 to 2010 until its merger with Schlumberger Limited. Prior to that, from 1985 to 2005, Mr. Restrepo served in various senior strategic, financial and operational positions for Schlumberger Limited, including operational responsibility for all product lines in the Continental Europe and Arabian Gulf markets, as well as senior financial executive roles in Corporate Treasury and worldwide controller positions with international posts in Europe, South America and Asia. Mr. Restrepo currently serves on the board of Reelwell As, a Norwegian-based provider of advanced drilling technology. He previously served on the board of directors of Saudi Aramco Nabors Drilling (Nabors’ joint venture with Saudi Aramco) and previously served on the boards of directors of C&J Energy Services Ltd. from 2015 to 2017, Probe Technology Services from 2008 to 2016, and Platinum Energy Solutions, Inc. from 2012 to 2013. Mr. Restrepo holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A, both from Cornell University, as well as a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Miami.
Guillermo Sierra is our Vice President—Energy Transition. Mr. Sierra has served as Vice President, Strategic Initiatives—Energy Transition at Nabors since April 24, 2021. Mr. Sierra has served as the Vice President—Energy Transition of NETC I since April 2021. Mr. Sierra has extensive experience in energy infrastructure, venture investments, energy technology and climate technology, logistics, capital markets and M&A given his work on over 60 transactions with a combined value of over $200 billion over the last approximately 17 years through various advisory and corporate strategy roles. Mr. Sierra was a Partner at Blackline Partners from August 2019 to December 2020, serving as Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy for Blackline Midstream from August 2019 to March 2020 and in the same position for Blackline Cold Storage from March 2020 to November 2020. Mr. Sierra was not employed from December 2020 to April 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Sierra served as Managing Director, Head of North America Midstream Advisory at Macquarie Capital from September 2016 to December 2018 before taking a sabbatical from December 2018 to August 2019. Prior to Macquarie Capital, Mr. Sierra served as Senior Director, Head of MLP/Midstream M&A at Credit Suisse from July 2015 to September 2016. Mr. Sierra’s earlier experiences include positions at USD Group LLC & USD Partners (VP, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of M&A),
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Evercore Partners (Vice President—Energy M&A), and Barclays Capital (as a member of the Global Natural Resources Group). Mr. Sierra is currently a Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, and board observer on the board of directors, of Sage Geosystems Inc., and is also a board observer on the board of directors of Quaise, Inc., Hephae Energy Technology and UCAP Power, Inc. Mr. Sierra graduated Cum Laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Operations & Information Management.
Colleen Calhoun will be appointed as a member of our board of directors in connection with the consummation of this offering. Ms. Calhoun has served as Operating Partner at The Engine, an investment firm focusing on climate change human health and advanced systems and infrastructure, since April 2023. Ms. Calhoun previously served as Vice President of Spruce Power (formerly known as XL Fleet) (NYSE: SPRU), a provider of fleet electrification solutions, and General Manager of XL Grid, a division of Spruce Power, from January 2021 to February 2023. Prior to this, Ms. Calhoun served as Founder and Principal Advisor at Helios Consulting, LLC from November 2019 to December 2020. Ms. Calhoun spent twenty-five years at GE across several roles at the company, including Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Business Development (August 2018 to October 2019) and Head of Business Development and Partnerships (January 2016 to August 2018) at GE Current, a leading provider of energy efficiency and digital productivity solutions for commercial buildings and cities, where she was instrumental in the divesture of the business from GE in 2019; Global Senior Director of Energy Ventures at GE Ventures (January 2013 to December 2015); Executive Director, Marketing, Strategy and Project Development at GE Power & Water (October 2010 to December 2012); and Managing Director, Global Growth Markets at GE Energy Financial Services (January 2006 to September 2010). Ms. Calhoun is presently a member of the board of directors at Nabors Energy Transition Corp. and Quaise, Inc. and served on the board of directors of Evergreen Climate Innovations (formerly known as Clean Energy Trust) until February 2023. She also previously served on the Advisory Board at NYSERDA REV Connect. Ms. Calhoun earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
We believe Ms. Calhoun’s extensive background in the energy industry and leadership and management experience brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors.
Stephen M. Trauber will be appointed as a member of our board of directors in connection with the consummation of this offering. Mr. Trauber served as the Vice Chairman & Global Head of Energy from January 2011 to March 2021 and subsequently Vice Chairman and Global Head of Natural Resources and Clean Energy Transition of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. from March 2021 until he retired in September 2022. Mr. Trauber served as Vice Chairman and Global Head of Energy at UBS Investment Bank from 2003 to 2010. Mr. Trauber has extensive experience serving as a strategic and financial advisor to companies transacting across all subsectors of the energy industry. He has worked on many of the most significant M&A transactions in these subsectors, with a transaction volume exceeding $500 billion. He was responsible for initiating and building the Global Clean Energy Transition Team at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. while serving as the Global Head of Natural Resources and Clean Energy Transition. He also played a key role in establishing Citigroup Global Markets Inc.’s plan for decarbonizing its financed emissions. In addition, Mr. Trauber has executed many significant financings across the energy sector. Mr. Trauber began his career with Credit Suisse First Boston (1988-1995) and subsequently managed Morgan Stanley’s Energy Group in Houston (1995-2003). Mr. Trauber has served on the Board of Directors of NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc. since April 2023. Mr. Trauber received his BA in Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice University in 1984. He was an Austin Scholar and earned his MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1988.
We believe Mr. Trauber’s extensive background in strategic advisory, mergers and acquisitions, private and public capital markets finance and investing as well as advising clients with investor relations, environmental, social and corporate governance and risk management in the energy industry brings important and valuable skills to our board of directors.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We intend to have three directors upon completion of this offering. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. The term
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of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Colleen Calhoun, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Stephen M. Trauber, will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Anthony G. Petrello, will expire at the third annual general meeting. We may not hold an annual general meeting until after we consummate our initial business combination.
Holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to appoint and remove all of our directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended if approved by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting.
Approval of our initial business combination will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors and each of the non-independent directors nominated by our sponsor.
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 persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Status as a Controlled Company
We have been authorized to list our Class A ordinary shares on Nasdaq. As affiliates of Nabors will continue to control more than 50% of the combined voting power of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the completion of this offering, we will be considered a “controlled company” for purposes of that exchange’s rules and corporate governance standards. As a result, although the members of our audit committee are required to be independent (subject to a permitted “phase-in” period), we are not required to have a majority of our board of directors be independent, nor are we required to have a compensation committee with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities or an independent nominating function through a nominating and corporate governance committee or through our independent directors under Nasdaq rules. Accordingly, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders or shareholders of companies that are subject to all of these corporate governance requirements. In the event that we cease to be a “controlled company” and our shares continue to be listed on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with these provisions within the applicable transition periods.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. However, as a “controlled company” we are not obligated to comply with this listing requirement and we may elect not to comply with this requirement as of the closing of this offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Our board of directors has determined that Colleen Calhoun and Stephen M. Trauber 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.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we have agreed to reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us. In addition, our sponsor, executive 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
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business combinations. Any payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or to our or their affiliates prior to an initial business combination will be made using 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 or tender offer materials (as applicable) furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed 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 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 one standing committee: an audit committee. Because we will be a “controlled company” under the applicable Nasdaq rules, we are not required to have a compensation committee composed of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. The charter of the audit committee will be available on our website.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Colleen Calhoun and Stephen M. Trauber will serve as members of our audit committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent, subject to the exception described below. Each of Colleen Calhoun and Stephen M. Trauber are independent. Because we expect to list our securities on Nasdaq in connection with our initial public offering, we have one year from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part to have our audit committee be comprised solely of independent members. We intend to identify one additional independent director to serve on the audit committee within one year of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We expect such additional director to enter into a letter agreement substantially similar to the letter agreement signed by our sponsor, officers and directors included as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Stephen M. Trauber will serve as chair of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Stephen M. Trauber qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
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We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
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the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
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pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by any independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
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reviewing and discussing with our independent registered public accounting firm all relationships our auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
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setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of our independent registered public accounting firm;
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setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
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obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from our independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;
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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
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reviewing with management, our 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.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
Our independent directors will recommend to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual general meeting of the shareholders. The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual general meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
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, our 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 board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. You will be able to review this document on our website. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Our board of directors has adopted corporate governance guidelines in accordance with the corporate governance rules of Nasdaq that serve as a flexible framework within which our board of directors and its committees operate. These guidelines will cover a number of areas including board membership criteria and director qualifications, director responsibilities, board agenda, roles of the chairman of the board, chief executive officer and presiding director, meetings of independent directors, committee responsibilities and assignments, board member access to management and independent advisors, director communications with third parties, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, evaluation of senior management and management succession planning. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines will be posted on our website.
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
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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;
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duty to not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;
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duty to exercise authority for the purpose for which it is conferred;
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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
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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 at the expense of the company. 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Nabors and its affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities or companies decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Nabors may be suitable for both us and for Nabors and may be directed to Nabors rather than to us. Neither Nabors nor members of our board of directors or management team who are also directors, officers or employees of Nabors have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Nabors and/or our board of directors and management, in their capacities as officers or directors of Nabors or in their other
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endeavors, may be required to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future affiliates of Nabors, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with any such fund or other investment vehicle. Such entity 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 making a specified future issuance to any such fund or vehicle.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of our officers and directors 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. For example, certain of our officers and directors currently serve in similar roles for Nabors, a Bermuda exempted company the ordinary shares of which trade on the NYSE under the symbol “NBR.” Each such officer and director owes certain duties to Nabors under applicable Bermuda laws. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such other entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under applicable law. 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 business combination. In addition, Nabors or its affiliates may sponsor other blank check companies similar to us during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination, and members of our management team and directors may participate in such blank check companies. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among the management teams. We believe that potential conflicts with Nabors are naturally mitigated by the differing nature of the investments Nabors would typically consider most suitable to its existing businesses and the types of transactions we expect to find most attractive based on target sector, transaction size, capital structure and other factors. Certain of our officers and directors presently serve as officers or directors of NETC I. While NETC I recently announced its intention to merge with a target, if the business combination does not occur, it may compete with us for the same potential targets.
We may also pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which Nabors, an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity 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 business combination by making a specified future issuance of equity or equity-linked securities to any such entity. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer will 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 of our directors or officers on the one hand, and us, on the other hand. See “Risk Factors—Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
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none of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.
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in the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are then affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
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our officers and directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination.
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the low price of $25,000, or $0.003 per share, that the initial shareholders paid for 8,625,000 founder shares creates an incentive whereby the initial shareholders could potentially make a substantial profit even if the company selects an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors. Prior to the consummation of our offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original issue price.
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in the event the Company does not consummate a business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the founder shares and warrants will expire worthless which could create an incentive for the Company’s officers and directors to complete a transaction even if the Company selects an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors.
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our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us and will not be reimbursed for any loans extended, fees due or out-of-pocket expense if we do not complete an initial business combination, including the overfunding loan which may only be repaid if there are funds available outside the trust account if we do not complete an initial business combination.
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the Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, in each case subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, will be adjusted so that the number of Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, issuable upon conversion thereof will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of our ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus the number of Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan.
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our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to rights to liquidating distributions with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, after the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire without value to the holder. Furthermore, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, (i) the reported last sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The private warrantholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) until 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, other than pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” Since our sponsor and officers and directors
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may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, our sponsor, officers and directors 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.
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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.
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our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may present a conflict of interest:
Name of Individual | | | Entity Name | | | Entity’s Business | | | Affiliation | |
Anthony G. Petrello | | | Nabors Industries Ltd. | | | Oilfield Services | | | Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director | |
| | | Nabors Energy Transition Corp. | | | Energy Transition | | | President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman | |
| | | Greens Road Energy LLC | | | Energy Services | | | Sole Managing Member | |
| | | Greens Road Energy II LLC | | | Energy Services | | | Sole Managing Member | |
| | | Hilcorp Energy Company | | | Energy | | | Director | |
William J. Restrepo | | | Nabors Industries Ltd. | | | Oilfield Services | | | Chief Financial Officer | |
| | | Nabors Energy Transition Corp. | | | Energy Transition | | | Chief Financial Officer | |
Guillermo Sierra | | | Nabors Industries Ltd. | | | Oilfield Services | | | Vice President—Strategic Initiatives, Energy Transition | |
| | | Nabors Energy Transition Corp. | | | Energy Transition | | | Vice President—Energy Transition | |
Colleen Calhoun | | | The Engine | | | Investments | | | Operating Partner | |
| | | Nabors Energy | | | Energy Transition | | | Director | |
| | | Transition Corp. | | | | | | | |
| | | Quaise, Inc. | | | Geothermal Energy | | | Director | |
Stephen M. Trauber | | | NEXT Renewable | | | Biofuels | | | Director | |
| | | Fuels, Inc. | | | | | | | |
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors,
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we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. 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. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we will reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us.
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, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law. Our initial shareholders have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination and our officers and directors have also agreed to vote any public 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 civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended, 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.
Our officers and directors have agreed, and any persons who may become officers or directors prior to the initial business combination will agree, to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and 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.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
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PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
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each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares;
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each of our named executive officers, directors and director nominees that beneficially owns ordinary shares upon completion of this offering; and
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all of our executive officers, directors and director nominees 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 the date of this prospectus.
On April 24, 2023, our sponsor acquired 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for the payment of $25,000 of expenses on our behalf, or approximately $0.004 per share. On June 16, 2023, we issued 2,875,000 additional founder shares to our sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares, for approximately $0.003 per share. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares, and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. The following table presents the number of shares and percentage of our ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders before and after this offering. The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 1,125,000 founder shares, and that there are 30,000,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.
| | | Before Offering | | | After Offering | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | | | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Share | | | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Share | | | | ||||||||||||||||
Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC (our sponsor)(3) | | | | | 8,625,000 | | | | | | 100% | | | | | | 7,400,000 | | | | | | 19.7% | | | | | ||||
Anthony G. Petrello(3) | | | | | 8,625,000 | | | | | | 100% | | | | | | 7,400,000 | | | | | | 19.7% | | | | | ||||
William J. Restrepo(3) | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | ||||
Guillermo Sierra(3) | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | ||||
Colleen Calhoun(4) | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | | 50,000 | | | | | | * | | | | | ||||
Stephen M. Trauber(3)(4) | | | | | ― | | | | | | ― | | | | | | 50,000 | | | | | | * | | | | | ||||
All directors, director nominees and executive officers as a group (5 Individuals) | | | | | 8,625,000 | | | | | | 100% | | | | | | 7,500,000 | | | | | | 20.0% | | | | |
*
Less than one percent.
(1)
Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is 515 West Greens Road, Suite 1200, Houston, Texas 77067.
(2)
Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class F ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, or earlier at the option of the holder, subject to forfeiture. Prior to and following our initial business combination, each share of Class B ordinary shares will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one share of our Class A ordinary shares, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.”
(3)
Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC is a Cayman Islands limited liability company and affiliate of Nabors.
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Our sponsor is managed by Nabors Corporate Services, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nabors, and owned by Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l. and Greens Road Energy II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. Greens Road Energy II LLC is controlled by Anthony G. Petrello, our President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chairman and the Chairman, President Chief Executive Officer and director of Nabors. Greens Road Energy II LLC is owned primarily by certain members of our management team, including Anthony G. Petrello, William J. Restrepo, our Chief Financial Officer, and Guillermo Sierra, our Vice President—Energy Transition, and Stephen M. Trauber, our independent director nominee. Each of Anthony G. Petrello, William J. Restrepo, Guillermo Sierra and Stephen M. Trauber disclaim any beneficial ownership of securities held by Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly.
(4)
In connection with this offering, our sponsor will forfeit a total of 100,000 founder shares, and 50,000 founder shares will then be issued to each of our independent directors, Colleen Calhoun and Stephen M. Trauber, at their original purchase price.
Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20% of the then-issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend or a share surrender, or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class F ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amounts to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the appointment and removal of directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our initial business combination. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, holders of our Class F ordinary shares have the exclusive right to elect, remove and replace any director prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. This provision may only be amended if approved by holders of 90% of our ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon.
The holders of the founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
The private warrantholders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,440,000 private placement warrants (or 10,340,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,440,000 in the aggregate or $10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, the private placement warrants will expire without value to the holder. The private placement warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants) are subject to the transfer restrictions described below. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us. The private placement warrants may be exercised for cash or on a “cashless basis.” Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering.
Our sponsor, its affiliates 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 a letter agreement to be entered into by our sponsor, directors and officers, Nabors Lux 2 S.a.r.l. and us. This letter agreement will provide that the founder shares may not be transferred, assigned or sold until the earlier of (x) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the
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reported last sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The private warrantholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of any such warrants) until 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except, among other limited exceptions, as described below, to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.
Additionally, in the event of (i) our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, the lock-up period shall terminate. However, in the case of clauses (a) through (f) below, such securities may be transferred during the lock-up period to certain permitted transferees, provided that they enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions. Permitted transfers include: (a) transfers to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor or their affiliates, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, transfers by gift to members of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of one of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, transfers by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, transfers pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) transfers by virtue of applicable laws or our sponsor’s operating agreement upon dissolution of our sponsor; and (f) transfers by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased.
Permitted transferees would be subject to the same written agreements as our sponsor, directors and officers with respect to (i) voting any founder shares held by them in favor of the initial business combination, (ii) agreeing to not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) waiving their redemption rights and rights to liquidating distributions.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On April 24, 2023, our sponsor acquired 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for the payment of $25,000 of expenses on our behalf, or approximately $0.004 per share. On June 16, 2023, we issued 2,875,000 additional founder shares to our sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares, for approximately $0.003 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor will forfeit 100,000 founder shares, and an aggregate of 100,000 founder shares will be issued to our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend or a share surrender or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class F ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 1,125,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The founder shares (including the Class B ordinary shares and Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
The private warrantholders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,440,000 (or 10,340,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. As such, the private warrantholders’ interest in this transaction is valued at between $9,440,000 and $10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, depending on the number of private placement warrants purchased. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. 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 until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable for cash or on a “cashless basis.” The private placement warrants will not expire except upon liquidation.
In addition, our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) has agreed to lend us $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) as of the closing date of this offering at no interest, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as the overfunding loans. The overfunding loans will be repaid upon the closing of our initial business combination or converted into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant (or any combination thereof), at our sponsor’s discretion, which warrants will be identical to the private placement warrants. The overfunding loans are being extended in order to ensure that the amount in the trust account is $10.10 per public share. If we do not complete an initial business combination, we will not repay the overfunding loans from amounts held in the trust account, and the trust account proceeds will be distributed to our public shareholders, subject to the limitations described herein; however, we may repay the overfunding loans if there are funds available outside the trust account to do so.
As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. We may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity 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 issuing to such entity a class of equity or equity-linked securities.
Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we will reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
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Other than these monthly fees, 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. However, 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. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the closing of this offering, an affiliate of our sponsor may loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans would be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of (x) October 21, 2023 and (y) the closing of this offering. The loan would be repaid upon the closing of this offering as part of the estimated $940,000 of offering expenses. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that 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 $1,500,000 of such loans 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, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans by our officers and directors, 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.
We have until the date that is 24 months from the closing of this offering or until such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, to consummate our initial business combination. If we anticipate that we may be unable to consummate our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we may seek shareholder approval to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial business combination. If we seek shareholder approval for an extension, holders of Class A ordinary shares will be offered an opportunity to redeem their 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares, subject to applicable law.
We have agreed to indemnify our sponsor and its members (present and former), managers and affiliates and their respective present and former officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law from any claims made by us or a third party in respect of any investment opportunities sourced by them or any liability arising with respect to their activities in connection with our affairs, to the extent that such indemnification, hold harmless and exoneration obligations with respect to such matters are not expressly covered by a separate written agreement between us and any such party. Such indemnity will provide that the indemnified parties cannot access the funds held in our 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 tender offer or proxy solicitation 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 will enter into a registration rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of the overfunding loans and working capital loans (if any) and the
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Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, which is described under the heading “Description of Securities—Registration Rights.”
At our request, the underwriters have agreed to reserve up to 1,500,000 of the units offered by this prospectus for sale to certain members of our management team, employees of Nabors, and its affiliates and other individuals associated with us and members of their families, at the initial public offering price. We call this our Directed Unit Program. Reserved units purchased by members of our management team will be subject to a 180-day restricted period. Sales in the Directed Unit Program will be made at our direction by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. We do not know if individual investors will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved units, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of units available in the overall offering. Any reserved units not purchased in the Directed Unit Program will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other units.
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interest, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. We also require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.
These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, we will not consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
•
repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by an affiliate of our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;
•
reimbursement to our sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support made available to us;
•
reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination;
•
repayment of the overfunding loans, which are non-interest bearing and unsecured loans in the amount of $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) to be made to us by our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) simultaneously with the closing of this offering for the purpose of overfunding the trust account. The loans will be
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convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant or repaid in cash (or any combination thereof) upon the closing of our initial business combination at the option of our sponsor; and
•
repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender.
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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law and the common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our authorized share capital consists of 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 Class F ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, and 5,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes certain terms of our share capital as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one whole Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrantholder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrantholder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K that includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the net proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K that includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
Ordinary Shares
Upon the closing of this offering, 37,500,000 ordinary shares will be issued and outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 1,125,000 founder shares by our sponsor), consisting of:
•
30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in this offering; and
•
7,500,000 Class F ordinary shares held by our sponsor and independent directors.
If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share dividend or share surrender or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of founder shares by our initial shareholders prior to this offering at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.
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Prior to our initial business combination, shareholders of record of any class of our ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders and vote together as a single class, except as required by law or the applicable stock exchange rules then in effect; provided that holders of our Class F ordinary shares will have the right to elect and remove all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and holders of our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on the election or removal of directors during such time. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class F ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class, except as required by law or stock exchange rule. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended if approved by holders of 90% of our ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Law or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders (other than the election or removal of directors). Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. In addition, to continue the Company in a jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands, including the adoption of the organizational documents for such jurisdiction, our board of directors will be able to approve such continuation and organizational documents without the vote of any holders of our Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class F ordinary shares. We are not required to obtain shareholder approval if we reincorporate to another jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands prior to signing our initial business combination and we anticipate that we will not be required to register such transaction under the Securities Act. If, however, we reincorporate to another jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands in connection with our initial business combination, and if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we anticipate that such transaction will be registered under the Securities Act.
Following our initial business combination and the automatic conversion of the Class F ordinary shares into Class B ordinary shares, holders of our Class A ordinary shares and holders of our Class B ordinary shares will generally vote together, as a single class on matters presented for a shareholder vote, except as required by law or stock exchange rule, with each Class A ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote per share and each Class B ordinary share entitling the holder to ten votes per share following our initial business combination.
While our Class B ordinary shares with their high vote feature differs from the typical capital structure of many other special purpose acquisition companies, we expect to maintain this capital structure following our initial business combination. Any change to these voting features would require an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination.
Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or general meetings or appoint directors. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the election or removal of directors prior to completion of our initial business
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combination. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, all or a portion of their public shares (including any securities for which such shares are exchanged in any prior migration or other restructuring) 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 our 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 described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination. Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (or such higher approval threshold as required under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association). A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the company representing one-third (1/3) of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and non-votes, while considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum, will not count as votes cast and therefore will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 redeeming its shares with respect to 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 business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that
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number of shares exceeding 20% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in respect of such ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction (subject to the limitation described in the preceding paragraph).
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, we 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 subject to lawfully available funds therefor, 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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 sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed timeframe.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of 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, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares, except as described below, are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of Class F ordinary shares shall have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding Class F ordinary shares may remove members of our board of directors for any reason, (ii) following our initial business combination and the automatic conversion of the Class F ordinary shares into Class B ordinary shares, holders of the Class B ordinary shares and holders of the Class A ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, with each Class B ordinary share having ten votes per share and each Class A ordinary share having one vote per
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share, (iii) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (iv) our sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to (A) redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination, (B) redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (a) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (b) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity, or (C) rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our business combination within such time period and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the trust account, (v) the Class F ordinary shares that are included in the founder shares will automatically convert, on a one-for-one basis, into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, in which case, such Class B ordinary shares issued upon conversion of Class F ordinary shares prior to the initial business combination will be entitled to one vote per share until the closing of the initial business combination, (vi) prior to and following our initial business combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein, and (vii) in the case of founder shares that are Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion of Class B ordinary shares, such shares shall be entitled to registration rights. If we submit our business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law. Our initial shareholders have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and, prior to and following the initial business combination, the Class B ordinary shares will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into Class A ordinary shares, on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), and, in each case, 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 excess of the amounts sold in this offering and related to the closing of the business combination, the ratio at which the founder shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding founder shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, issuable upon conversion thereof will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the business combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan). Except for the foregoing conversion rights of the Class B ordinary shares and provisions applicable equally to both Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, there are no provisions which otherwise limit the lifespan of the Class B ordinary shares or would require conversion to Class A ordinary shares.
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, (i) the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) the date 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.
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Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:
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the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member and the voting rights of shares of each member;
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whether voting rights are attached to the share in issue;
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the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and
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the date on which any person ceased to be a member.
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preferred Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 5,000,000 preferred shares and will provide that preferred shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preferred shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preferred shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preferred shares are being issued or registered in this offering.
Warrants
Public Shareholders’ Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed herein, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided in each case that we have 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 (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis” under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) 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. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrantholder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrantholder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
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In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or its 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 our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “market value”) is below $9.20 per share, (i) 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 (ii) the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price.
We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire without value to the holder. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
While we have registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act as part of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we do not plan on keeping a prospectus current until required to pursuant to the warrant agreement. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a post-effective amendment to this registration statement or a new registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, 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 it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. To exercise warrants on a cashless basis, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants in exchange for a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the product of (A) the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants and (B) the difference between the “fair market value” and the exercise price of the warrants by (ii) such fair market value. Solely for the purposes of the preceding sentence, “fair market value” shall mean the 10-day average trading price as of the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
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Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding public warrants for cash:
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in whole and not in part;
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at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
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upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”); and
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if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing at least 150 days after completion of our initial business combination and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrantholders. We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a 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 or we have elected to require exercise of the warrants on a cashless basis.
If and when the public 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.
If we call the warrants for redemption for cash as described above, we will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” we will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. To exercise warrants on a cashless basis, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants in exchange for a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the product of (A) the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants and (B) the difference between the “fair market value” and the exercise price of the warrants by (ii) such fair market value. Solely for purposes of the preceding sentence, “fair market value” shall mean the 10-day average trading price as of the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrantholder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption Procedures
A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-Dilution Adjustments
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a share dividend payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a subdivision of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share dividend, subdivision or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding Class A ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of Class A ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase
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Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the 10-day VWAP as of the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights. No Class A ordinary shares will be issued at less than their par value.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other shares into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our Class A ordinary shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another entity in which any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Section 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) acquires more than 50% of the voting power of the securities, or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of our Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the
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warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes warrant value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants. The warrant exercise price will not be adjusted for other events.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make generally any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants.
In addition, if (x) we issue 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 Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or its 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 our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “market value”) is below $9.20 per share, (i) 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, (ii) the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “—Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00 per share” 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 (iii) the $12.00 per share trigger price described above under “—Founder Shares” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 120% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a “cashless basis,” if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrantholders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A ordinary shares or any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one (1) vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. 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 of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrantholder.
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, 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 we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See “Risk Factors—Our warrant agreement will designate 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 warrantholders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.” We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and
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federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. 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. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us. The private placement warrants may be exercised for cash or on a “cashless basis.” The private placement warrants will not expire except upon liquidation. Otherwise, except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a “cashless basis,” they would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants in exchange for a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants and the excess of the 10-day VWAP, as of the date prior to the date on which notice of exercise is sent or given to the warrant agent, over the warrant price by (y) the 10-day VWAP. If the holders of private placement warrants are affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could sell the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market to fund their cash exercise price, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a “cashless basis” is appropriate. The “10-day VWAP” means, as of any date, the volume weighted average price of the ordinary shares during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to such date.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or 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 would 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
The private warrantholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of any such warrants) until 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except that, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants” made to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.
Neither the private placement warrants nor the public warrants contain any provisions that are dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant.
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 conditions subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the
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foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company has agreed that it has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account, and has irrevocably waived any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account that it may have now or in the future. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied, or a claim will only be able to be pursued, solely against us and our assets outside the trust account and not against any monies in the trust account or interest earned thereon.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Law. The Companies Law is modeled on English law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Law applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Law allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each company; and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that holds issued shares that together represent 90% of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company, provided the parent company is the surviving entity and a copy of the plan of merger (including the memorandum and articles of association of Company) is given to every member of each subsidiary company to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Law (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that where the surviving or consolidated company is a Cayman Islands exempted company, the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is required to be satisfied in respect of any constituent overseas company: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdiction; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted; (v) that the foreign company is able to
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pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidation is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (vi) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; and (vii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction and (viii) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation. The requirements set out in sections (i) to (viii) above shall be met by a director of the Cayman Islands exempted company making a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements have been met.
The Companies Law provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of their shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation in certain circumstances if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, where such rights apply, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for their shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of their shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase their shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree on a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date, where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
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we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with;
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the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;
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the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably consider; and
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the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Law or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer is made within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands courts can be expected to follow and apply common law principles that permit a minority shareholder to commence a class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge actions where:
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a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or ultra vires;
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the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or
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those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. We are a public limited company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares will be governed by Cayman Law and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. The rights of shareholders under Cayman Law may differ from the rights of shareholders of companies incorporated in other jurisdictions. Certain of our assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to enforce in the United States judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP, 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
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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, and 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.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Law. The Companies Law distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
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annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Law;
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an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection and can be kept outside of the Cayman Islands;
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an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;
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an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance); and
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an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstance in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting) cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders attending and entitled to vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Other than as described above, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of the shares voted at a general meeting of the company (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that:
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If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering, 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 subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of 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 (net of any taxes payable by us and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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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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 on any initial business combination;
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If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;
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Nasdaq rules 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 trust (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination;
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If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon such approval 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; and
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We will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
The Companies Law permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution under Cayman Islands law. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
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Anti-Money Laundering, Counter Terrorist Financing, Prevention of Proliferation Financing and Financial Sanctions Compliance—Cayman Islands
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects, or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that another person is engaged in criminal conduct, is involved with terrorism or terrorist property or proliferation financing or is the business combination partner of a financial sanction and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct, money laundering or proliferation financing or is the business combination partner of a financial sanction; or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report will not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise. We reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, prevention of proliferation financing and financial sanctions or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
Data Protection—Cayman Islands
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “DPA”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
Privacy Notice
Introduction
This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPA (“personal data”). In the following discussion, the “company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
Investor Data
We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPA, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the DPA or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.
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Who this Affects
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation to your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.
How the Company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data
The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
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where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements;
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where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing, prevention of proliferation financing, financial sanctions and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or
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where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms.
Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.
Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data
In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.
We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the United States, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.
The Data Protection Measures We Take
Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA.
We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.
Rights of Individual Data Subjects
Individual data subjects have certain data protection rights, including the right to:
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be informed about the purposes for which your personal data are processed;
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access your personal data;
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stop direct marketing;
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restrict the processing of your personal data;
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have incomplete or inaccurate personal data corrected;
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ask us to stop processing your personal data;
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be informed of a personal data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial to you);
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complain to the Data Protection Ombudsman; and
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require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual general meetings.
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preferred shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preferred shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Extraordinary General Meetings
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that extraordinary general meetings may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Chief Executive Officer or by our Chairman.
Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that shareholders seeking to bring business before our annual general meeting, or to nominate candidates for appointment as directors at our annual general meeting must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a shareholder’s notice will need to be received by the company secretary at our principal executive offices not less than 120 calendar days before the date of the Company’s proxy statement released to shareholders in connection with the previous year’s annual general meeting or, if the Company did not hold an annual general meeting the previous year, or if the date of the current year’s annual general meeting has been changed by more than 30 days from the date of the previous year’s annual general meeting, then the deadline shall be set by the board of directors with such deadline being a reasonable time before the Company begins to print and send its related proxy materials. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a shareholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our shareholders from bringing matters before our annual general meeting or from making nominations for directors at our annual general meeting. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the shareholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of us.
Classified Board of Directors
Our board of directors will initially be divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three year terms. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors. Subject to the terms of any preferred shares, (i) prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, any and all of the directors may be removed from office with or without cause and (ii) following the consummation of our initial business combination, any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of all then issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote generally in the appointment of directors, voting together as a single class. Prior to our initial business combination, any
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vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by a vote of a majority of our Class F ordinary shares, or for vacancies not resulting from removal, by the remaining directors then in office or by the sole remaining director. Following the consummation of our initial business combination, any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors then in office (even though less than a quorum) or by the sole remaining director.
Class B Ordinary Shares and Class F Ordinary Shares Consent Right
For so long as any Class B ordinary shares or Class F ordinary shares remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the Class B ordinary shares or Class F ordinary shares then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any of provision our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal of would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B ordinary shares or Class F ordinary shares. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of Class B ordinary shares and/or Class F ordinary shares, as applicable ,may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares and/or Class F ordinary shares, as applicable, having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all Class B ordinary shares and/or Class F ordinary shares, as applicable, were present and voted.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after the consummation of this offering, we will have 37,500,000 (or 43,125,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares outstanding. Of these shares, the 30,000,000 shares (or 34,500,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining 7,500,000 (or 8,625,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) founder shares and all 9,440,000 (or 10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and the founder shares and private placement warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants) are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus. These restricted securities will be subject to registration rights as more fully described below under “—Registration Rights.”
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
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1% of the total number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 375,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 431,250 if the underwriters exercises its over-allotment option in full); or
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the average weekly reported trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
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Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
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the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;
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the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;
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the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and materials required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and
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at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the overfunding loans (and any 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 and the overfunding loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) and any Class A ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders at the completion of this offering or acquired prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities, having a value of at least $25 million in the aggregate, are entitled to make up to three demands that we offer such securities in an underwritten offering. These holders also have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to certain underwritten offerings we may conduct. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with registering these securities.
Listing of Securities
We have been authorized to list our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants on Nasdaq under the symbols “NETDU,” “NETD” and “NETDW,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date our Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on Nasdaq. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
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CERTAIN INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following is a discussion of the material Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations with respect to an investment in our units, Class A ordinary shares and public warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. This discussion is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This discussion does not address all possible tax considerations with respect to an investment in our securities, such as the tax considerations under state, local and other tax laws.
Prospective investors should consult with and rely solely upon their own tax advisors regarding the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our ordinary shares will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the warrants, the units or the Class A ordinary shares. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant, a unit or a Class A ordinary share is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has obtained an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:
THE TAX CONCESSIONS ACT UNDERTAKING AS TO TAX CONCESSIONS In accordance with the provision of Section 6 of The Tax Concessions Act (As Revised), the Financial Secretary undertakes with the Company:
1.
That no Law which is hereafter enacted in the Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and
2.
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 shall be payable:
2.1
on or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or
2.2
by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Law.
These concessions shall be for a period of TWENTY years 17th day of April 2023
U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
General
The following is a discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations related to the acquisition, ownership and disposition by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below) of our units, Class A ordinary shares and public warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. Although not entirely clear, we intend to treat, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the holder of a unit as the owner of two separate securities (i.e., the one Class A ordinary share and the fraction of
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one public warrant that are the components of the unit). See “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit” below. This disclosure assumes this treatment is appropriate, in which case the discussion below with respect to actual holders of our Class A ordinary shares and public warrants should also apply to holders of units. This discussion applies only to our securities that are held as a capital asset for U.S. federal income tax purposes (generally property held for investment) and is applicable only to holders who purchased units in this offering. Further, this discussion assumes any distributions on Class A ordinary shares and public warrants will be paid in U.S. dollars.
This discussion is based on the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), U.S. Treasury regulations, administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as in effect on the date hereof, and all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly with retroactive effect. We cannot assure you that a change in law will not significantly alter the tax considerations that we describe in this summary. We have not sought any ruling from the IRS or formal written opinion from our tax advisors with respect to the statements made and the positions or conclusions described in the following summary. Such statements, positions and conclusions are not free from doubt, and there can be no assurance that your tax advisor, the IRS or a court will agree with such statements and conclusions.
This summary does not address the Medicare tax on certain investment income, U.S. federal estate or gift tax laws, any state, local or non-U.S. tax laws, any tax treaties or any other tax law other than U.S. federal income tax law. Furthermore, this discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax considerations that may be relevant to a particular holder in light of the holder’s circumstances or that may be relevant to certain categories of investors that may be subject to special rules, such as:
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our sponsor, officers, directors and other holders of our Class F ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares or private placement warrants;
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banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions;
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tax-exempt or governmental organizations;
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“qualified foreign pension funds” as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code (or any entities all of the interests of which are held by a qualified foreign pension fund);
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dealers in securities or foreign currencies;
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U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;
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traders in securities that use the mark-to-market method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
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“controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;
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entities or arrangements treated as partnerships or pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes or holders of interests therein;
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persons deemed to sell our securities under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;
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persons that acquired our securities through the exercise of employee share options or otherwise as compensation or through a tax-qualified retirement plan;
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persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more (by vote or value) of any class of our shares;
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persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, appreciated financial position, synthetic security, hedge, conversion transaction or other integrated investment or risk reduction transaction; and
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certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States.
PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONSULT WITH AND RELY SOLELY UPON THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS (INCLUDING ANY POTENTIAL FUTURE CHANGES THERETO) TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATION, AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE PURCHASE,
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OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES ARISING UNDER ANY OTHER TAX LAWS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS OR UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL, NON-U.S. OR OTHER TAXING JURISDICTION OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of our units or instruments similar to our units for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. We intend to treat, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the acquisition of a unit as the acquisition of the one Class A ordinary share and the fraction of one public warrant that are the components of the unit and, by purchasing a unit, you will agree to adopt such treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
As a result, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one Class A ordinary share and the fraction of one public warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make its own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, each investor is strongly urged to consult with and rely solely upon its own tax advisor regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The purchase price allocated to each share of our Class A ordinary shares and the fraction of one public warrant should be the holder’s tax basis in such share or fraction of one public warrant, as the case may be. In addition, any disposition of a unit should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as a disposition of the Class A ordinary share and the fraction of one public warrant that make up the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A ordinary share and the fraction of one public warrant based on their relative fair market values at the time of disposition. The separation of Class A ordinary shares and public warrants constituting units should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of our Class A ordinary shares and public warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts, and because there is no authority that directly addresses the U.S. federal income tax implications of instruments that are similar to the units, there can be no assurance that your tax advisor, the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult with and rely solely upon its own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including any potential alternative characterizations of a unit).
U.S. Holder and Non-U.S. Holder Defined
A “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is:
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an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
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a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;
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an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or
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a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and which has one or more “United States persons” (within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code) who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has made a valid election under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.
A “Non-U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, an individual, corporation, estate or trust, in each case that is not a U.S. Holder, but such term generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of a disposition of our units, Class A ordinary shares or public
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warrants. If you are such an individual, you should consult with and rely solely upon your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable to your particular situation.
If a partnership (including an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds our units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants, the tax treatment of a partner in such partnership might depend upon the status of the partner or the partnership, upon the activities of the partnership and upon certain determinations made at the partnership or partner level. Accordingly, we urge partners in partnerships (including entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes) considering the purchase of our securities to consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income and other tax considerations of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities by such partnership.
Considerations for U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a U.S. Holder.
Tax Characterization of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares
If we pay distributions of cash or other property to U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares, such distributions generally will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, and will be treated as described under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Distributions Treated as Dividends.” Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares. Any remaining portion of the distribution will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of our Class A ordinary shares and will be treated as described under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants” below.
Possible Constructive Distributions with Respect to Public Warrants
The terms of the public warrants provide for an adjustment to the number of our Class A ordinary shares for which public warrants may be exercised or to the exercise price of the public warrants in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment that has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. U.S. Holders of public warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrantholders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of Class A ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the public warrant) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our ordinary shares. Any such constructive distribution would be treated in the same manner as if U.S. Holders of public warrants received a cash distribution from us generally equal to the fair market value of the increased interest and would be taxed in a manner similar to distributions to holders of our Class A ordinary shares described herein. See “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Tax Characterization of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares” above. For certain information reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any such constructive distributions. Proposed U.S. Treasury regulations, which we may rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.
Distributions Treated as Dividends
Any portion of a distribution that is treated as a dividend paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. Any portion of a distribution that is treated as a dividend paid to a non-corporate U.S. Holder generally will constitute a “qualified dividend” that will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate only if our Class A ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and certain holding period and other requirements are met, including that we are not
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classified as a PFIC during the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or a preceding taxable year. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares described in this prospectus may be deemed to be a limitation of a shareholder’s risk of loss and suspend the running of the applicable holding period of such shares for this purpose during the period in which the U.S. Holder has redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares (i.e., the period prior to the consummation of our initial business combination). If the applicable holding period requirements are not satisfied, a non-corporate U.S. Holder may be subject to tax on the dividend at regular ordinary income tax rates instead of the preferential income tax rate that applies to qualified dividend income. U.S. Holders should consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower preferential income tax rate for qualified dividend income for any dividends paid with respect to our Class A ordinary shares.
Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants (which in general would include a redemption of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants that is treated as a sale of such securities as described below, including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period), a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis with respect to its Class A ordinary shares or public warrants. Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder will be an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A ordinary shares or public warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A ordinary shares or the public warrants based upon the then-fair market values of the Class A ordinary shares and the public warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the relevant Class A ordinary shares or public warrants. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or public warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of our Class A ordinary shares or fraction of one public warrant or, as discussed below, the U.S. Holder’s initial basis for our Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of public warrants) less, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, any prior distributions treated as a return of capital, as discussed above.
Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or public warrants, as applicable, so disposed of exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares described in this prospectus may be deemed to be a limitation of a shareholder’s risk of loss and suspend the running of the applicable holding period of such shares for this purpose during the period in which the U.S. Holder has redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares (i.e., the period prior to the consummation of our initial business combination). If the one-year holding period is not satisfied, any gain on a sale or other taxable disposition of the Class A ordinary shares or public warrants, as applicable, would be subject to short-term capital gain treatment and would be taxed at regular ordinary income tax rates. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders may be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Redemption or Repurchase of Class A Ordinary Shares for Cash
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under the section entitled “Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares” or if we repurchase a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction (generally referred to herein as a “redemption”), the treatment of the redemption for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether it qualifies as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated
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as receiving a distribution from us with the tax consequences described above under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Tax Characterization of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares.”
Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning public warrants or otherwise) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of our Class A ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of Class A ordinary shares (rather than as a distribution from us) if the redemption satisfies one of the following tests (which we refer to as the “redemption sale tests”): (i) it is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) it results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us, or (iii) it is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. In determining whether any of the redemption sale tests is satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also shares that are “constructively” owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own (i) shares owned by certain related individuals or entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder and (ii) any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include the Class A ordinary shares that could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the public warrants.
In order to meet the “substantially disproportionate” test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of our Class A ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the Class A ordinary shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a “complete termination” of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares both actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed, the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules the constructive attribution of shares owned by certain family members, and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other of our shares (including as a result of owning public warrants). The redemption of our Class A ordinary shares will not be “essentially equivalent to a dividend” if a U.S. Holder’s redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances, but the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.”
If none of the redemption sale tests is satisfied, the redemption will be treated as a distribution from us and the tax considerations will be as described under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Tax Characterization of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its public warrants or possibly in other shares in us constructively owned by it.
Cash Exercise of a Public Warrant
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss on the acquisition of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a public warrant for cash. The U.S. Holder’s tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of the public warrant generally will be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the public warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the public warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such public warrant. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of the public warrant will commence on the date of exercise of the public warrant or the immediately following date. In either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the public warrant.
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Cashless Exercise of a Public Warrant
The tax characterization of a cashless exercise of a public warrant is not clear under current tax law. Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax characterizations and resultant tax consequences would be adopted by the IRS or upheld by a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a cashless exercise could potentially be characterized as any of the following for U.S. federal income tax purposes: (i) not a realization event and thus tax-deferred, (ii) a realization event that qualifies as a tax-deferred “recapitalization,” or (iii) a taxable realization event. While not free from doubt, we intend to treat any cashless exercise of a public warrant as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” as if we redeemed such public warrant for shares in a cashless exchange qualifying as a tax-deferred recapitalization. However, there is some uncertainty regarding our intended tax treatment, and it is possible that a cashless exercise could be characterized differently. Accordingly, the tax consequences of all three characterizations are generally described below. U.S. Holders should consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
If a cashless exercise were characterized as either not a realization event or as a realization event that qualifies as a recapitalization, the U.S. Holder would not recognize any gain or loss on the exchange of public warrants for Class A ordinary shares. A U.S. Holder’s basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would generally equal the holder’s basis in the exchanged public warrants. If the cashless exercise were not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period in the Class A ordinary shares would be treated as commencing on the date of exchange of the public warrants or on the immediately following date, but the holding period would not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the public warrants. On the other hand, if the cashless exercise were characterized as a realization event that qualifies as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A ordinary shares would include the holding period of the public warrants exercised therefor.
If the cashless exercise were treated as a realization event that does not qualify as a recapitalization, however, the cashless exercise could be treated in whole or in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized by the U.S. Holder. For example, a portion of the public warrants to be exercised on a cashless basis could be deemed to have been surrendered in payment of the exercise price of the remaining portion of such public warrants, which remaining portion would be deemed to be exercised. In such a case, a U.S. Holder would effectively be deemed to have sold a number of public warrants having an aggregate value equal to the exercise price of the remaining public warrants deemed exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount generally equal to the difference between the value of the portion of the public warrants deemed sold and its adjusted tax basis in such public warrants (generally in the manner described above under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants”), and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would generally equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the remaining public warrants deemed exercised and the exercise price of such public warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares would commence on the date of exercise of the public warrants or on the date following the date of exercise of the public warrants, but the holding period would not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the public warrants.
Redemption or Repurchase of Public Warrants for Cash
Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if we redeem public warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” or if we repurchase public warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or repurchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition by the U.S. Holder, taxed as described above under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants.”
Expiration of a Public Warrant
If a public warrant is allowed to expire unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the public warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price
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for a unit that is allocated to the public warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”). The deductibility of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
Adverse U.S. federal income tax rules apply to U.S. Holders that hold shares in a foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In general, we will be treated as a PFIC with respect to a U.S. Holder in any taxable year in which, after applying certain look-through rules, either:
(i) at least 75% of our gross income for such taxable year, including our pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which we are considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, consists of passive income (which generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets); or
(ii) at least 50% of our assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including our pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which we are considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, produce or are held for the production of passive income.
Because we are a blank check company with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet one or both of the PFIC tests during the taxable years prior to our acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination (including any short taxable year that might result from a business combination), which would generally result in us being treated as a PFIC in those taxable years. However, pursuant to a “start-up exception,” a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC, (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year, and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. If the start-up exception were to apply to us, we would not be a PFIC during our start-up year. The applicability of the start-up exception to us is uncertain, however, and will not be known until, at the earliest, after the close of our current taxable year (and might not be known until after the close of the second taxable year following our start-up year). Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Furthermore, we could meet one or both of the PFIC tests following our start-up year, and whether we do so may depend on, among other things, the timing of our business combination, the amount of our passive income and assets in the year of the business combination, whether we combine with a U.S. or non-U.S. target company, and the amount of passive income and assets of the acquired business. In such case, we would be treated as a PFIC in those taxable years (and likely would not qualify for the start-up exception). Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. We cannot assure you that we will not be a PFIC in our current taxable year or in any future taxable year.
Although our PFIC status is determined in each taxable year, an initial determination that we are a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held (or is deemed to have held) Class A ordinary shares or public warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we are treated as a PFIC in those subsequent years. If we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year in which a U.S. Holder holds our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants (regardless of whether we remain a PFIC for subsequent taxable years) and, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election or a mark-to-market election (in either case, as described below), such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and (ii) any “excess distribution” (generally, the portion of any distributions received by such U.S. Holder during a taxable year in excess of 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder during the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares). Under these rules:
•
the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or public warrants;
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the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder realized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the portion of the U.S. Holder’s holding period prior to the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income; and
•
the amount allocated to each of the other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for the U.S. Holder in that year, and an interest charge for the deemed deferral benefit will be imposed with respect to the resulting tax attributable to each such other taxable year (or portion thereof).
In general, if we are treated as a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may be able to avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect of our Class A ordinary shares (but not our public warrants) by making a timely and valid QEF election (if eligible to do so) in the first taxable year in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares in which we are classified as a PFIC. If a U.S. Holder makes a timely QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, each year such U.S. Holder will be required to include in its income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and our ordinary earnings (as ordinary income), if any, for our taxable year that ends with or within the taxable year of the U.S. Holder, regardless of whether or not we make distributions to such U.S. Holder (although a U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge). Such U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares will be increased to reflect taxed but undistributed earnings and profits. Distributions of earnings and profits that had been previously taxed will result in a corresponding reduction in the adjusted tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares and will not be taxed again once distributed. A U.S. Holder that has made a timely QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares will generally recognize capital gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares, and no additional tax or interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules.
It is not entirely clear how various aspects of the PFIC rules apply to the public warrants, and U.S. Holders are strongly urged to consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the application of such rules to their public warrants in their particular circumstances. A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its public warrants to acquire our Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such public warrants (other than upon the exercise of such public warrants) and we were treated as a PFIC at any time during the U.S. Holder’s holding period of such public warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such public warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares. Notwithstanding any such QEF election, the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, generally will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the public warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. Under one type of purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold such shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of this purging election, the U.S. Holder will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized on the deemed sale) and, solely for purposes of the PFIC rules, a new holding period in the Class A ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the public warrants. The application of the rules related to purging elections described above to a U.S. Holder of a public warrant that already owns Class A ordinary shares is not entirely clear. U.S. Holders are strongly urged to consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances.
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, will apply to all subsequent taxable years of the U.S. Holder during which it holds Class A ordinary shares, unless we cease to be a PFIC or unless revoked by the U.S. Holder with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621, including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement (discussed below), to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S.
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Holders should consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election in their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request by a U.S. Holder, we will endeavor to provide to such U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable such U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
A U.S. Holder that does not make a timely QEF election in the first taxable year (or portion thereof) in which we are a PFIC that is included in the holding period of such U.S. Holder may be able to mitigate the adverse PFIC tax consequences by making a QEF election in a subsequent taxable year and simultaneously making a purging election under the PFIC rules. Under one type of purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold its Class A ordinary shares at their fair market value, and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of this purging election, the U.S. Holder will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized on the deemed sale). U.S. Holders are strongly urged to consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances.
Alternatively, if we are treated as a PFIC and our Class A ordinary shares are treated as “marketable stock,” a U.S. Holder that holds our Class A ordinary shares at the close of a taxable year may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such Class A ordinary shares, provided the U.S. Holder completes and files IRS Form 8621 in accordance with the relevant instructions and related U.S. Treasury regulations. The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” which generally includes stock, or shares, that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Nasdaq (on which we intend to list the Class A ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. If made, a mark-to-market election would be effective for the taxable year for which the election was made and for all subsequent taxable years unless the Class A ordinary shares ceased to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the PFIC rules or the IRS consented to the revocation of the election. U.S. Holders should consult with and rely solely upon their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect of our Class A ordinary shares in their particular circumstances.
If the U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares and in which we are treated as a PFIC, such U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect of Class A ordinary shares. Instead, in general, such U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income in each taxable year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of the taxable year over its adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares. These amounts of ordinary income would not be eligible for the favorable tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains. Such U.S. Holder also will be permitted an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis of its Class A ordinary shares over the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. Such U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts. Any gain recognized by such U.S. Holder on a sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income, and any loss recognized on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary loss to the extent that such loss does not exceed the net mark-to-market gains previously included by the U.S. Holder. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to public warrants.
If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a direct or indirect interest in another entity that is treated as a PFIC (a “subsidiary PFIC”), each U.S. Holder generally would be treated as owning its pro rata share by value of the stock of such subsidiary PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described in the general PFIC rules above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the subsidiary PFIC or the U.S. Holder is otherwise deemed to have disposed of an interest
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in the subsidiary PFIC. Upon written request by a U.S. Holder, we will endeavor to cause any subsidiary PFIC to provide to such U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the subsidiary PFIC. There can be no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such subsidiary PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such subsidiary PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the subsidiary PFIC to provide such required information. A mark-to-market election generally would not be available with respect to a subsidiary PFIC. U.S. Holders are urged to consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by subsidiary PFICs.
A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the United States Department of the Treasury. Failure to do so, if required, may subject such U.S. Holder to substantial penalties and will extend the statute of limitations on the assessment and collection of all U.S. federal income taxes of such person for the related tax year until such required information is furnished to the IRS.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF, purging and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and public warrants are strongly urged to consult with and rely solely upon their own tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to them in their particular circumstances.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Information reporting requirements generally will apply to dividends paid to a U.S. Holder and to the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our securities unless the U.S. Holder is an exempt recipient and certifies to such exempt status. Backup withholding may apply to such payments if the U.S. Holder fails to provide a taxpayer identification number or a certification of exempt status or has been notified by the IRS that it is subject to backup withholding (and such notification has not been withdrawn). Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the U.S. federal income tax liability (if any) of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If backup withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund generally may be obtained, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Specified foreign financial assets generally include any financial account maintained with a non-U.S. financial institution and should also include our Class A ordinary shares and public warrants unless held in an account maintained with a U.S. financial institution. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Potential investors are urged to consult with and rely solely upon their tax advisors regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and public warrants.
Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a Non-U.S. Holder.
Tax Characterization of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares
The determination of the extent to which a distribution will be treated as a dividend, return of capital or gain from the sale of Class A ordinary shares is generally the same for Non-U.S. Holders as that described
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in “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Tax Characterization of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares.” To the extent a distribution constitutes gain from the sale of our Class A ordinary shares, see “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants” below, and to the extent such distribution constitutes a dividend, see “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Distributions Treated as Dividends.”
Possible Constructive Distributions with Respect to Public Warrants
The determination for Non-U.S. Holders of whether a constructive distribution from us has occurred as a result of an adjustment to the number of our Class A ordinary shares for which public warrants may be exercised or to the exercise price of the public warrants in certain events (as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants”) is generally the same as the determination for U.S. Holders as described in “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Possible Constructive Distributions with Respect to Public Warrants.” To the extent such adjustment is treated as a constructive distribution, see “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Tax Characterization of Distributions with Respect to Class A Ordinary Shares” for the consequences of such characterization.
Distributions Treated as Dividends
Any portion of a distribution that is treated as a dividend paid to a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividend is effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, that is treated as attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States). Any such effectively connected dividends generally will be taxed on a net income basis at the rates and in the manner generally applicable to United States persons. If the Non-U.S. Holder is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it may also be subject to a branch profits tax (at a 30% rate or such lower rate as specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits (as adjusted for certain items), which will include effectively connected dividends.
Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants
Subject to the discussion below under “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Information Reporting and Backup Withholding,” a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or our public warrants (including a redemption of our Class A ordinary shares as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period), unless such gain is effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, that is treated as attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States). Any such effectively connected gain generally will be taxed on a net income basis at the rates and in the manner generally applicable to United States persons. If the Non-U.S. Holder is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it may also be subject to a branch profits tax (at a 30% rate or such lower rate as specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits (as adjusted for certain items), which will include effectively connected gain.
Redemption or Repurchase of Class A Ordinary Shares for Cash
The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares” or our repurchase of a Non-U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption or repurchase of a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares, as described under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Redemption or Repurchase of Class A Ordinary Shares for Cash” above, and the consequences of the redemption or repurchase to the Non-U.S. Holder will correspond to that described above in “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Distributions Treated as Dividends” and “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants,” as applicable.
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Exercise or Redemption of a Public Warrant
The U.S. federal income tax characterization of a Non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a public warrant generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of the exercise of a public warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Cash Exercise of a Public Warrant” or “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Cashless Exercise of a Public Warrant” above, as the case may be. To the extent a cashless exercise is characterized as a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described above in “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants.” The U.S. federal income tax treatment for a Non-U.S. Holder of a redemption of public warrants for cash described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” (or if we purchase public warrants in an open market transaction) generally will correspond to that described above in “—Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale or Other Taxable Exchange or Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants.”
Expiration of a Public Warrant
The U.S. federal income tax characterization of the expiration of a public warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of the expiration of a public warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described above in “—Considerations for U.S. Holders—Expiration of a Public Warrant.”
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Information reporting requirements and United States backup withholding may apply to payments of dividends to a Non-U.S. Holder and to the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our securities unless the Non-U.S. Holder is an exempt recipient and certifies to such exempt status. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (or other applicable or successor form). Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the U.S. federal income tax liability (if any) of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If backup withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund generally may be obtained, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
INVESTORS CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF OUR SECURITIES ARE URGED TO CONSULT WITH AND RELY SOLELY UPON THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AND THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY OTHER TAX LAWS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE AND GIFT TAX LAWS AND ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAX LAWS AND TAX TREATIES.
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UNDERWRITING
Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below, for whom Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are acting as representatives, the following respective number of units:
Underwriters | | | Number of Units | | |||
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. | | | | | 22,500,000 | | |
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC | | | | | 7,500,000 | | |
Total | | | | | 30,000,000 | | |
We do not have any expectation, understanding or agreement with any underwriter for such underwriter to provide any additional services to us after the consummation of this offering relating to our initial business combination, the financing thereof or other related transactions. Any underwriter’s provision of any such additional services in connection with our initial business combination will require our separate engagement of such underwriter in connection with our initial business combination and the entry into a related written engagement agreement between such underwriter and us setting forth the terms and conditions of the additional services to be provided by such underwriter to us.
The underwriting agreement provides that following the completion of this offering, the obligations of the underwriters with respect to this offering will be deemed satisfied and the underwriters are not bound by any commitment or obligation to offer or sell to the public any securities of the company or any business combination transaction counterparty or otherwise solicit holders of securities of the company or any business combination transaction counterparty to approve the business transaction.
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the units in this offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.
The underwriters have advised us that, following the completion of this offering, they currently intend to make a market in the units as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. However, the underwriters are not obligated to do so, and the underwriters may discontinue any market-making activities at any time without notice in their sole discretion. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for the units, that you will be able to sell any of the units held by you at a particular time or that the prices that you receive when you sell will be favorable.
We have granted to the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 4,500,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.
The underwriters have advised us that they propose to offer the units to the public at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to certain dealers, which may include the underwriters, at that price less a concession not in excess of $0.12 per unit. After the offering, the initial public offering price, concession and reallowance to dealers may be reduced by the underwriters. No such reduction will change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
The following table shows the underwriting discount and commission that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. $0.35 per unit, or $10,500,000 (or $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), of deferred underwriting commission will be paid to certain of the underwriters upon the completion of our initial business combination.
| | | Paid By Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II | | |||||||||
| | | No Exercise | | | Full Exercise | | ||||||
Per Unit(1)(2) | | | | $ | 0.55 | | | | | $ | 0.55 | | |
Total(1)(2) | | | | $ | 16,500,000 | | | | | $ | 18,975,000 | | |
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(1)
$0.20 per unit, or $6,000,000 in the aggregate (or $6,900,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), is payable upon the closing of this offering. Includes $0.35 per unit, or $10,500,000 in the aggregate (or $12,075,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commission to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon the consummation of an initial business combination.
(2)
At our request, the underwriters have agreed to reserve up to 1,500,000 of the units offered by this prospectus for sale to certain members of our management team, employees of Nabors and its affiliates and other individuals associated with us and members of their families, at the initial public offering price. We call this our “Directed Unit Program.” Reserved units purchased by members of our management team will be subject to a 180-day restricted period. Sales in the Directed Unit Program will be made at our direction by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. We do not know if individual investors will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved units, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of units available in the overall offering. Any reserved units not purchased in the Directed Unit Program will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other units.
We estimate that our non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses for this offering (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions) will be approximately $940,000. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, not to exceed $25,000.
The representatives have informed us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that we and they will not, subject to certain exceptions, for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with, or submit to, the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to any units, ordinary shares, founder shares, warrants or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, any units, ordinary shares, founder shares, rights, or warrants, (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any units, ordinary shares, founder shares, or warrants or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of units or such other securities, in cash or otherwise or (iii) or publicly disclose the intention to undertake any of the foregoing, without the prior written consent of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any); (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement entered into on the effective date of this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing warrants and upon conversion of the founder shares; and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to any current or future independent director of the company (as long as such current or future independent director transferee is subject to the terms of the letter agreement, filed herewith, at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC in their discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Pursuant to a letter agreement with us, our sponsor, directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar
193
transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor and our directors and executive officers with respect to any founder shares.
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
We have been authorized to list our units on Nasdaq under the symbol “NETDU.” Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “NETD” and “NETDW,” respectively.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. We cannot assure you that the price at which the units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, from the closing of this offering 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 our public shares.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
•
Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.
•
Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of units in excess of the number of units the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of units over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of units that it may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of units involved is greater than the number of units in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing units in the open market.
•
Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of units to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more units than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
•
Penalty bids permit the representative to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions.
194
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on Nasdaq or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering and have no present intent to do so. However, the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay the underwriters fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriters prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering, and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
The underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The representatives may allocate a number of units to underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
The units are offered for sale in the United States and other jurisdictions where it is lawful to make such offers.
The underwriters have represented and agreed that they have not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that it will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.
Directed Unit Program
At our request, the underwriters have agreed to reserve up to 1,500,000 of the units offered by this prospectus for sale to certain members of our management team, employees of Nabors, and its affiliates and other individuals associated with us and members of their families, at the initial public offering price. We call this our “Directed Unit Program.” Reserved units purchased by members of our management team will be subject to a 180-day restricted period. Sales in the Directed Unit Program will be made at our direction by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. We do not know if individual investors will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved units, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of units available in the overall offering. Any reserved units not purchased in the Directed Unit Program will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other units.
195
Notice to Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each, a “Member State”), each underwriter represents and agrees that it has not made and will not make an offer of units to the public in that Member State except that it may make an offer of units to the public in that Member State at any time,
(a)
to legal entities which are qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Regulation;
(b)
to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Regulation) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or
(c)
in any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the issuer of a prospectus pursuant to Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
provided that no such offer of units shall require the Company or any of the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of units to the public” in relation to any units in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the units, and the expression Prospectus Regulation means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended or superseded).
Notice to Investors in the United Kingdom
Each underwriter represents and agrees that it has not made and will not make an offer of units to the public in the United Kingdom, except that it may make an offer of units to the public in the United Kingdom at any time:
(a)
to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
(b)
to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the UK Prospectus Regulation) in the United Kingdom subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or
(c)
at any time in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the FSMA, provided that no such offer of units shall require the Company or any of the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to the UK Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer of units to the public in relation to any units means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the units.
Each of the underwriters severally represents, warrants and agrees as follows:
(a)
it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply to the company; and
(b)
it has complied with, and will comply with all applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the units in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
Notice to Residents of Japan
The underwriters will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any
196
Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Notice to Residents of Hong Kong
The underwriters and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.
Notice to Residents of Singapore
This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act,
Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.
Notification under Section 309B(1)(c) of the Securities and Futures Act: Solely for the purposes of its obligations pursuant to sections 309B(1)(a) and 309B(1)(c) of the Securities and Futures Act and the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018 of Singapore (the “CMP Regulations 2018”), the Issuer has determined, and hereby notifies all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A of the SFA) that the Units are (A) prescribed capital markets products (as defined in the CMP Regulations 2018) and (B) Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).
Notice to Residents of Germany
Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier-Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, the underwriters have represented that they have not engaged and has agreed that it will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Notice to Residents of France
The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the
197
public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and decrét no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.
Notice to Residents of the Netherlands
Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in The Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”); provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in The Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands
No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.
Notice to Canadian Residents
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of units in Canada is being made on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
•
the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106—Prospectus Exemptions or Section 73.3 of the Securities Act (Ontario), as applicable;
•
the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103—Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations;
•
where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and
•
the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions.
Conflicts of Interest
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that each of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC is relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105—Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
198
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
The units may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This prospectus has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the units or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company or the units have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this prospectus will not be filed with, and the offer of units will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, and the offer of units has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of units.
199
LEGAL MATTERS
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, Texas, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, White & Case LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II as of April 25, 2023, and for the period from April 12, 2023 (inception) through April 25, 2023, appearing in this prospectus have been audited by WithumSmith+Brown, PC, independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included herein. Such financial statements have been included herein in reliance on the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-272810) under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
200
NABORS ENERGY TRANSITION CORP. II
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| | | Page | | |||
| | | | F-2 | | | |
| | | | F-3 | | | |
| | | | F-4 | | | |
| | | | F-5 | | | |
| | | | F-6 | | | |
| | | | F-7 | | |
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholder and the Board of Directors of
Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II
Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II (the “Company”) as of April 25, 2023, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from April 12, 2023 (inception) through April 25, 2023, 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 April 25, 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from April 12, 2023 (inception) through April 25, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
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 audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “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 audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit 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 audit 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 audit 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 audit 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 audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2023.
New York, New York
June 21, 2023
June 21, 2023
F-2
NABORS ENERGY TRANSITION CORP. II
BALANCE SHEET
APRIL 25, 2023
APRIL 25, 2023
| Assets: | | | | | | | |
| Deferred offering costs | | | | $ | 299,985 | | |
| Total assets | | | | $ | 299,985 | | |
| Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity | | | | | | | |
| Accrued offering costs | | | | $ | 276,000 | | |
| Accrued expenses | | | | | 6,412 | | |
| Total liabilities | | | | | 282,412 | | |
| Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) | | | | | | | |
| Shareholder’s Equity | | | | | | | |
| Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | | | — | | |
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | | | — | | |
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | | | — | | |
| Class F ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 8,620,000 shares issued and outstanding(1)(2) | | | | | 863 | | |
| Additional paid-in capital | | | | | 24,137 | | |
| Accumulated deficit | | | | | (7,427) | | |
| Total shareholder’s equity | | | | | 17,573 | | |
| Total Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity | | | | $ | 299,985 | | |
(1)
This number includes up to 1,125,000 Class F ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
(2)
On June 16, 2023, the Company issued an additional 2,875,000 Class F ordinary shares to the Sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares. All share and per share presentations have been retroactively restated.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
NABORS ENERGY TRANSITION CORP. II
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 12, 2023 (INCEPTION) THROUGH APRIL 25, 2023
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 12, 2023 (INCEPTION) THROUGH APRIL 25, 2023
| Formation and operational costs | | | | $ | 7,427 | | |
| Net loss | | | | $ | (7,427) | | |
| Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1)(2) | | | | | 576,923 | | |
| Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share | | | | $ | (0.01) | | |
(1)
This number excludes an aggregate of up to 1,125,000 Class F ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
(2)
On June 16, 2023, the Company issued an additional 2,875,000 Class F ordinary shares to the Sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares. All share and per share presentations have been retroactively restated.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
NABORS ENERGY TRANSITION CORP. II
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 12, 2023 (INCEPTION) THROUGH APRIL 25, 2023
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 12, 2023 (INCEPTION) THROUGH APRIL 25, 2023
| | | Ordinary Shares | | | Additional Paid-In Capital | | | Accumulated Deficit | | | Total Shareholder’s Equity | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | Class A | | | Class B | | | Class F | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | Shares | | | Amount | | | Shares | | | Amount | | | Shares | | | Amount | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance – April 12, 2023 | | | | | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | |
Issuance of Class F ordinary shares to Sponsor(1)(2) | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | 8,625,000 | | | | | | 863 | | | | | | 24,137 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 25,000 | | |
Net loss | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | (7,427) | | | | | | (7,427) | | |
Balance – April 25, 2023 | | | | | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | | 8,625,000 | | | | | $ | 863 | | | | | $ | 24,137 | | | | | $ | (7,427) | | | | | $ | 17,573 | | |
(1)
This number includes up to 1,125,000 Class F ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
(2)
On June 16, 2023, the Company issued an additional 2,875,000 Class F ordinary shares to the Sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares. All share and per share presentations have been retroactively restated.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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NABORS ENERGY TRANSITION CORP. II
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 12, 2023 (INCEPTION) THROUGH APRIL 25, 2023
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 12, 2023 (INCEPTION) THROUGH APRIL 25, 2023
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | | | | | | | |
| Net loss | | | | $ | (7,427) | | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | | | | | | | |
| Payment of formation costs through issuance of Class F ordinary shares | | | | | 1,015 | | |
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | | | | | | | |
| Accrued expenses | | | | | 6,412 | | |
| Net cash used in operating activities | | | | | — | | |
| Net increase in cash | | | | | — | | |
| Cash–beginning of the period | | | | | — | | |
| Cash–end of the period | | | | $ | — | | |
| Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities: | | | | | | | |
| Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs | | | | $ | 276,000 | | |
| Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for Class F ordinary shares | | | | $ | 23,985 | | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
NABORS ENERGY TRANSITION CORP. II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II (the “Company”) was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on April 12, 2023. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”). The Company intends to identify solutions, opportunities, companies or technologies that focus on advancing the energy transition; specifically, ones that facilitate, improve or complement the reduction of carbon or greenhouse gas emissions while satisfying growing energy consumption across markets globally. The Company is 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 of April 25, 2023, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity for the period from April 12, 2023 (inception) through April 25, 2023 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed public offering (the “Proposed Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues prior to the completion of the Business Combination, at the earliest, and will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on permitted investments from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
On April 24, 2023, Nabors Energy Transition Sponsor II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration for 5,750,000 Class F ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”). On June 16, 2023, the Company issued 2,875,000 additional Founder Shares to the Sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 Founder Shares, for approximately $0.003 per share.
The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed initial public offering of 30,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (or 34,500,000 units if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) (“Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) which is discussed in Note 3 and the sale of 9,440,000 warrants (or 10,340,000 warrants if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant (“Private Placement Warrants”) in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) to the direct or indirect owners of the Sponsor and the Company’s independent directors (the “Private Warrantholders”), that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering.
In addition, the Sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) will enter into an agreement to lend the Company $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as of the closing date of the Proposed Public Offering at no interest, which is referred to as the Overfunding Loans. The Overfunding Loans will be repaid upon the closing of the initial business combination or converted into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant (or any combination thereof), at the Sponsor’s discretion, which warrants will be identical to the private placement warrants. The Overfunding Loans are being extended in order to ensure that the amount in the Trust Account (as defined below) is $10.10 per public share. If the Company does not complete an initial business combination, the Company will not repay the Overfunding Loans from amounts held in the Trust Account, and the Trust Account proceeds will be distributed to the public shareholders, subject to the limitations; however, the Company may repay the Overfunding Loans if there are funds available outside the Trust Account to do so.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of its Proposed Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The Company’s initial Business Combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time the Company signs a definitive agreement in connection with the initial
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Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise is not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.10 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including certain proceeds of the Private Placement, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and held in cash or 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, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.
The Company will provide holders of the Company’s outstanding Public Shares sold in the Proposed Public Offering (the “Public Shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares (including any securities for which such shares are exchanged in any prior migration or other restructuring) upon the completion of a 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. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, the decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.10 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). These Public Shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law 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, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the initial shareholders will not be entitled to redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association will 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors (the “initial shareholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the time frame described below or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of Public Shares or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment.
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The Company has 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as the Company’s board of directors may approve, from the closing of its initial public offering to consummate an initial Business Combination. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months, or such earlier liquidation date as the Company’s board of directors may approve, from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes (net of any taxes payable by the Company and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and its board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The Sponsor, officers and directors will not be entitled to liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholder should acquire Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other 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 residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.10. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or by a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay Company taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party or Target that executed an agreement waiving any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account (whether or not such agreement is enforceable) or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
The Company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its anticipated obligations over the next year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the Company has access to funds from the Sponsor, and the Sponsor has the financial ability to provide such funds, that are sufficient to fund the working capital needs of the Company until the earlier of the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering or one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements.
F-9
Emerging growth company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by 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 auditor 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 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 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.
Use of estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s 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 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.
Deferred offering costs
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A—“Expenses of Offering.” Deferred offering costs consist principally of professional and registration fees that are related to the Proposed Public Offering. Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 470-20, “Debt with Conversion and Other Options,” addresses the allocation of proceeds from the issuance of convertible debt into its equity and debt components. The Company applies this guidance to allocate Proposed Public Offering proceeds from the Units between Class A ordinary shares and warrants, using the residual method by allocating Proposed Public Offering proceeds first to assigned value of the warrants and then to the Class A ordinary shares. Offering costs allocated to the Class A ordinary shares will be charged to temporary equity and offering costs allocated to the Public and Private Placement Warrants will be charged to shareholder’s equity as Public and Private Placement Warrants after management’s evaluation will be accounted for under equity treatment. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Income taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” 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 statement and tax bases of assets and
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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 Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of April 25, 2023, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. 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 to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction 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 period presented.
Net Loss per Ordinary Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 1,125,000 Class F ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 4). At April 25, 2023, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
Fair value of financial instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Warrant Instruments
The Company will account for the Public and Private Warrants to be issued in connection with the Proposed Public Offering and the private placement in accordance with the guidance contained in FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging,” whereby under that provision, the warrants that do not meet the criteria for equity treatment must be recorded as liability. Accordingly, the Company evaluated and will classify the warrant instrument under equity treatment at its assigned value. There are no Public or Private Warrants currently outstanding as of April 25, 2023.
Recent accounting pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40)” (“ASU 2020-06”), to simplify certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 as of April 12, 2023 (inception). There was no effect to the Company’s presented financial statements.
F-11
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3. PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 30,000,000 Units (or 34,500,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
The Private Warrantholders have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 9,440,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 10,340,000 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant ($9,440,000 in the aggregate, or approximately $10,340,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Private Warrantholders will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering 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 Warrantholders and the Company’s officers and directors will agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On April 13, 2023, the Sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in exchange for issuance of 5,750,000 Class F ordinary shares, which were issued on April 24, 2023. On June 16, 2023, the Company issued 2,875,000 additional Founder Shares to the Sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 Founder Shares, for approximately $0.003 per share. The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 1,125,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of Founder Shares will represent 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Public Offering. If the Company increases or decreases the size of the offering, the Company will effect a share dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the Founder Share ownership of the Company’s shareholders prior to the Proposed Public Offering at 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering.
The initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until one year after the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination or earlier if, subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (i) the reported last sale price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination or (ii) the date on which the Company consummates a liquidation, merger, share exchange, or other similar transaction which results in all of the Company’s public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares of for cash, securities or other property.
Related Party Loans
On April 24, 2023, an affiliate of the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of
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(i) October 21, 2023 and (ii) the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. The Company intends to repay the Note from the proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering not being placed in the Trust Account. As of April 25, 2023, the Company has borrowed $0 under the Note.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a 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. 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. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of April 25, 2023, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
Sponsor Loan
The Sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) will enter into an agreement to lend the Company $3,000,000 (and up to an additional $450,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as of the closing date of the Proposed Public Offering at no interest (the “Overfunding Loans”). The Overfunding Loans will be repaid upon the closing of the initial Business Combination or converted into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant (or any combination thereof), at the Sponsor’s discretion, which warrants will be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. The Overfunding Loans are being extended in order to ensure that the amount in the Trust Account is $10.10 per public share. If the Company does not complete an initial Business Combination, the Company will not repay the Overfunding Loans from amounts held in the Trust Account, and the Trust Account proceeds will be distributed to the public shareholders, subject to the limitations described herein; however, the Company may repay the Overfunding Loans if there are funds available outside the Trust Account to do so. There is no outstanding balance as of April 25, 2023.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company will enter into an agreement that will provide that, commencing on the date that the Company’s securities are first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of the initial Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation, the Company will reimburse the Sponsor or an affiliate thereof $15,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support.
In addition, the Sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on the Company’s behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable Business Combinations. Any such payments prior to an initial Business Combination will be made using funds held outside the Trust Account.
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration and Shareholder Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and the Overfunding Loans (and any 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 and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration
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rights with respect to certain underwritten offerings the Company may conduct. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to 4,500,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The underwriters will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $6,000,000 in the aggregate (or $6,900,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. In addition, $0.35 per unit, or $10,500,000 in the aggregate (or $12,075,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes an initial Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement for the Proposed Public Offering.
Risks and Uncertainties
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further the impact of this actions and related sanctions on the world economy is not determinable as of the date of these financial statements, and the specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements.
NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY
Preference Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference 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 April 25, 2023, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of April 25, 2023, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.
Class B Ordinary Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On April 25, 2023, there were no shares issued or outstanding.
Class F Ordinary Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class F ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On April 24, 2023, the Company issued 5,750,000 Class F ordinary shares to the Sponsor. On June 16, 2023, the Company issued 2,875,000 additional Class F ordinary shares to the Sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares, for approximately $0.003 per share, including an aggregate of up to 1,125,000 Class F ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture to the Company by the initial shareholders for no consideration to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part so that the Founder Shares will collectively represent 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Proposed Public Offering. All share and per share amounts have been retroactively restated.
Prior to the completion of the initial Business Combination, holders of the Class F ordinary shares will have the right to elect all of the Company’s directors prior to an initial Business Combination. On any other matter submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders, Class A ordinary shareholders, the Class B ordinary shares (if any) and the Class F ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, except as required by law or share exchange rule. Each ordinary share will have one vote on all such matters.
Following the completion of the initial Business Combination and the automatic conversion of the Class F ordinary shares into Class B ordinary shares, holders of the Class A ordinary shares and Class B
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ordinary shares will generally vote together as a single class, except as required by law or stock exchange rule, on all matters presented for a shareholder vote with each Class A ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote per share and each Class B ordinary share entitling the holder to ten votes per share.
The Class F ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class B ordinary shares at the time of an initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, and, prior to and following the initial Business Combination, each Class B ordinary share will be convertible, at the option of the holder, into one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and in each case, 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 excess of the amounts sold in the Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which the Founder Shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Founder Shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, as applicable, issuable upon conversion thereof will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination, any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans made to us and the overfunding loan).
Warrants—There are no warrants outstanding as of April 25, 2023. Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of an initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of an initial 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 Public Warrants, and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement or a new registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 days after the closing of its initial Business Combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement.
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 Class A ordinary share (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 (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, (i) 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 (ii) the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described under “Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
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
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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.
The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of an initial Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions, and they will not be redeemable by the Company. The Private Placement Warrants may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis. Except as described herein, the Private Placement Warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the Public Warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Public Warrants:
•
in whole and not in part;
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at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
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upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”); and
•
if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after completion of our initial business combination and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrantholders.
The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a 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 or the company has elected to require exercise of the warrants on a cashless basis. If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
The Company has established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and the Company issues a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrantholder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. If the Company is unable to complete an initial 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 respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
NOTE 8. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to June 21, 2023, the date the financial statements were available for issuance. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
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On June 16, 2023, the Company issued 2,875,000 additional Class F ordinary shares to the Sponsor in connection with a share capitalization, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class F ordinary shares, for approximately $0.003 per share, including an aggregate of up to 1,125,000 Class F ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture to the Company by the initial shareholders for no consideration to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part so that the Founder Shares will collectively represent 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Proposed Public Offering. All share and per share amounts have been retroactively restated.
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$300,000,000
Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II
30,000,000 Units
P r o s p e c t u s
July 13, 2023
CitigroupWells Fargo Securities
Until August 7, 2023 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.