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ATTORNEYS AT LAW
100
North Tampa Street, Suite 2700 Tampa, FL 33601-3391 813.229.2300 TEL 813.221.4210 FAX www.foley.com
WRITER’S
DIRECT LINE ccreely@foley.com |
October 18, 2022
Via EDGAR
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Real Estate & Construction
Washington, DC 20549
Attention: Ronald (Ron) E. Alper and Jeffrey Gabor
| Re: | Oxbridge Acquisition Corp. | |
| Preliminary Proxy Statement on Form 14A | ||
| Filed October 11, 2022 | ||
| File No. 001-40725 |
Dear Mr. Alper and Mr. Gabor:
On behalf of Oxbridge Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), we are responding to the comment of the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission set forth in your letter to Jay Madhu, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, dated October 18, 2022. Your comment is reproduced below in bold, followed by our response on behalf of the Company.
Preliminary Proxy Statement on Form 14A filed October 11, 2022
General
| 1. | With a view toward disclosure, please tell us whether your sponsor is, is controlled by, or has substantial ties with a non-U.S. person. If so, also include risk factor disclosure that addresses how this fact could impact your ability to complete your initial business combination. For instance, discuss the risk to investors that you may not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company should the transaction be subject to review by a U.S. government entity, such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), or ultimately prohibited. Disclose that as a result, the pool of potential targets with which you could complete an initial business combination may be limited. Further, disclose that the time necessary for government review of the transaction or a decision to prohibit the transaction could prevent you from completing an initial business combination and require you to liquidate. Disclose the consequences of liquidation to investors, such as the losses of the investment opportunity in a target company, any price appreciation in the combined company, and the warrants, which would expire worthless. |
AUSTIN Boston CHICAGO dallas DENVER |
DETROIT houston JACKSONVILLE LOS ANGELES MADISON |
MEXICO CITY MIAMI MILWAUKEE NEW YORK ORLANDO |
SACRAMENTO SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SILICON VALLEY TALLAHASSEE |
TAMPA WASHINGTON, D.C. BRUSSELS TOKYO |
October 18, 2022
Page 2
Response: In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company proposes to include in its definitive proxy statement the following risk factor in the “Risk Factors” section of the proxy statement:
Were we to be considered to be a “foreign person,” we might not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company if such initial business combination is subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and review by a U.S. government entity such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), or ultimately prohibited.
Certain investments that involve the acquisition of, or investment in, a U.S. business by a non-U.S. investor may be subject to review and approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). 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. Significant CFIUS reform legislation, which was fully implemented through regulations that became effective on February 13, 2020, expanded the scope of CFIUS’s jurisdiction to investments that do not result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person but afford certain foreign investors certain information or governance rights in a U.S. business that has a nexus to “critical technologies,” “critical infrastructure” and/or “sensitive personal data.”
In addition, if our potential initial business combination falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may be required to make a mandatory filing or determine to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or to proceed with the initial business combination without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the initial business combination. Our Sponsor, OAC Sponsor, Ltd., is a Cayman Islands exempted company. Jay Madhu, our Chief Executive Officer and a director, as well as one of the three directors of our Sponsor, is a U.S. citizen and resident of the Cayman Islands. Wrendon Timothy, our Chief Financial Officer and a director, as well as one of the three directors of our Sponsor, is a resident of the Cayman Islands. Jason Butcher, a director of our Company and the third director of our Sponsor, is a resident of the Cayman Islands. A substantial portion of the capital contributions made to our Sponsor are from non-U.S. persons. Except as disclosed herein, the Sponsor has no other substantial ties with a non-U.S. person. However, if CFIUS has jurisdiction over our initial business combination, CFIUS may decide to block or delay our initial business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such initial business combination or order us to divest all or a portion of a U.S. business of the combined company if we had proceeded without first obtaining CFIUS clearance. If we were considered to be a “foreign person,” foreign ownership limitations, and the potential impact of CFIUS, may limit the attractiveness of a transaction with us or prevent us from pursuing certain initial business combination opportunities 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 could be limited and we could be adversely affected in terms of competing with other SPACs which do not have similar foreign ownership issues.
Moreover, 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 liquidate, our public shareholders may only receive the redemption value per share (as described above), and our warrants will expire worthless. This will also cause you to lose any potential investment opportunity in a target company and the chance of realizing future gains on your investment through any price appreciation in the combined company.
*****
Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at 813.225.4122.
| Best regards, | |
| /s/ Curt P. Creely | |
| Curt P. Creely |