Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-210817
M III Acquisition Corp. is a newly organized blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our common stock and one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-half of one share of our common stock at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding shares of common stock that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will 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 (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for our units, common stock or warrants. Our units have been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, or NASDAQ, under the symbol MIIIU on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the common stock and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ under the symbols MIII and MIIIW, respectively.
M III Sponsor I LLC and M III Sponsor I LP, which we refer to collectively as our sponsor throughout this prospectus, and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the representative of the underwriters, which we refer to as Cantor Fitzgerald, have committed to purchase an aggregate of 460,000 units (340,000 units by our sponsor and 120,000 units by Cantor Fitzgerald), which units are identical to the units sold by this prospectus except as described herein, at a price of $10.00 per unit (a total of $4,600,000) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these units throughout this prospectus as the private placement units.
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 Risk Factors beginning on page 26 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.
Neither 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.
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Per Unit | Total | |||||||
Public offering price | $ | 10.00 | $ | 150,000,000 | ||||
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | $ | 0.60 | $ | 9,000,000 | ||||
Proceeds, before expenses, to us | $ | 9.40 | $ | 141,000,000 |
(1) | Includes $0.40 per unit, or $6,000,000 in the aggregate payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account as described herein. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the over-allotment ($0.60 per unit or up to $1,350,000 in the aggregate) will be deposited in the trust account as deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriters in connection with this offering. See also Underwriting beginning on page 131 for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement units described in this prospectus, $150.0 million or $172.5 million if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
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 12, 2016.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
Chardan
July 7, 2016
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
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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 Risk Factors and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, references to:
➤ | we, us, company or our company are to M III Acquisition Corp.; |
➤ | public shares are to shares of our common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
➤ | public stockholders are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and members of our management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholders and member of our management teams status as a public stockholder shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
➤ | management or our management team are to our executive officers and directors; |
➤ | operating advisors are to the individuals described herein as such under the caption Operating Advisors and any other individuals designated by us as operating advisors after the date of this prospectus; |
➤ | M III LP are to M III Sponsor I LP, a Delaware limited partnership; Mohsin Meghji, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the Chief Executive Officer of M III Acquisition Partners I Corp., a Delaware corporation which is the sole general partner of M III Sponsor I LP; |
➤ | M III LLC are to M III Sponsor I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; Mohsin Meghji, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the managing member of M III Acquisition Partners I LLC, the sole managing member of M III Sponsor I LLC; |
➤ | sponsor are to M III LLC and M III LP, collectively; |
➤ | combined team is to our management team, our operating advisors and the management and employees of M-III Partners, LLC, collectively; |
➤ | founder shares refer to shares of our common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering; |
➤ | private placement units are to the units issued to our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering; |
➤ | private placement shares are to the shares of our common stock included in the private placement units issued to our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering; |
➤ | private placement warrants are to the warrants included in the private placement units issued to our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering; |
➤ | warrants refer to our redeemable warrants, which includes all of our warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market) as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees; and |
➤ | initial stockholders are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering. |
Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and gives effect to certain splits and cancellations occurring prior to the date of this prospectus as described herein.
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We are a Delaware blank check corporation formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified 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 focus our efforts on seeking and consummating an initial business combination with a company that has an enterprise value of between $350 million and $750 million, although a target entity with a smaller or larger enterprise value may be considered. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector and in any geographic region, we expect to focus on businesses based in North America that engage primarily in the financial services, healthcare services and industrials sectors because we believe that this best combines the expertise and experience of our combined team with sectors that offer attractive investment opportunities.
It is our philosophy that capital has become increasingly commoditized and that successful investment results will come not from having capital alone, but rather from having the ability to accurately assess businesses with complex strategic, management and operational issues and the added expertise to deal with these issues in increasingly competitive and changing environments. We believe this to be particularly true during times of economic uncertainty, dislocations in capital markets and other conditions that create a challenge for businesses, and opportunities for investors with the right management team. In recognition of this, we have assembled a team of executives, directors and other advisors who blend traditional investment and acquisition expertise, management and operational expertise, and deep experience in financial, strategic and operational restructurings. We are confident that this team is capable of creating value in businesses that we acquire.
We believe that the broad experience and expertise of our combined team will enable us to explore a wide range of potential acquisition targets. We intend to target companies with strong business fundamentals and those which are in need of operational improvement and can thereby benefit from our human and financial capital. The members of our combined team have proven experience and track records in identifying, acquiring and improving businesses that have strong underlying fundamentals, but are undervalued due to company-specific issues, industry dislocation, limited access to capital, or other exogenous factors that are fundamentally temporary in nature. Our combined team has played meaningful roles in contrarian investment situations with businesses requiring significant changes in strategy, enhancement of management or operational improvement, using our expertise in those areas to improve the businesses and drive ongoing growth.
We believe that the experience, capabilities and track record of our combined team will make us an attractive partner for potential target businesses, enhance our ability to complete a successful business combination and, thereafter, improve the performance of the business in order to create value for investors.
Our management team will be led by Mohsin Meghji. Mr. Meghji, who serves as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the Managing Partner of M-III Partners, LLC (M-III Partners) and is a nationally recognized U.S. turnaround professional with a track record of building value across a wide range of sectors, including financial services, healthcare services and industrials. M-III Partners is a merchant banking, investment and restructuring advisory firm founded by Mr. Meghji whose philosophy and approach marries management and operations with financial expertise in order to enhance performance and create value. Mr. Meghji has over 25 years of advisory and management experience in building value in companies that are undergoing financial, operational or strategic transitions. He has accomplished this through both operating management and financial advisory roles, often in partnership with some of the worlds leading financial institutions, private equity firms and hedge fund investors.
Mr. Meghji has led the repositioning of, and driven value creation at, numerous businesses over the past two decades in an operating management or financial advisory capacity. Mr. Meghjis most recent corporate management role was at Springleaf Holdings, LLC (NYSE:LEAF) (Springleaf), a subprime consumer finance company (now known as OneMain Holdings, Inc.), where he served as Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and as Chief Executive Officer of its captive insurance companies, Merit Life Insurance Co. and Yosemite Insurance Company. These insurance companies provided life, property and casualty insurance coverage to Springleafs customers. Springleaf was created in late-2010 when American International Group,
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Inc. sold 80% of its subsidiary, American General Finance Inc., to affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC. At the time of the sale, American General Finance Inc. provided consumer loans, retail financing and mortgages to more than one million families through more than 1,100 branches located across the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom. After multiple years of operating losses, Springleaf turned profitable in 2013 as a result of the strategic, management and operational improvements implemented by its new ownership and management team, evidencing a significant turnaround in its performance. Springleaf went public in October 2013 at a $1.95 billion valuation. As part of its senior management team and Head of Strategy for the company, Mr. Meghji played a key role in this successful transition.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Meghji, along with several of his colleagues at M-III Partners, has driven improvements in performance for numerous companies experiencing varying degrees of challenges. The following represents a sample of such cases:
| Mariner Health Care, Inc (OTCBB:MHCA) (Mariner), one of the largest nursing home operators in the United States, with over 400 locations containing more than 49,000 beds at the time of its bankruptcy filing. Mr. Meghji was retained in 1999 as turnaround advisor to the various investors who controlled Mariner following its restructuring. During his tenure at Mariner, he worked with the investor group to develop the turnaround business plan, installed a new management team and served on the Board of Directors from 2002 2004. The business plan included significant overhead and cost reductions, facility rationalization and a significant investment in IT improvements. |
| Covanta Energy Corp. (NYSE:CVA) (Covanta), a national provider of waste management and energy generation services to municipal entities. Mr. Meghji was retained as chief restructuring advisor to assist Covanta in the development of a business plan while restructuring through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. While at Covanta, Mr. Meghji spearheaded a restructuring of the companys operations through divestiture of non-core operations, increasing focus on the core waste-to-energy business, rationalizing the overall cost structure and enhancing the management team. |
| Masonite International Inc. (NYSE:DOOR) (Masonite), one of the largest door manufacturers in the world. Mr. Meghji and Thomas Persteiner, who will serve as one of our operating advisors, were initially retained in 2008 as financial advisors to debtholders who had taken control of Masonite during a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. At Masonite, Messrs. Meghji and Persteiner worked with Masonites management team to develop a turnaround business plan and manufacturing strategy. This business plan required significant overhead and other cost reductions in order to counter a massive decline in sales due to the global financial crisis. |
| Capmark Financial Group Inc. (Capmark), a leading commercial real estate finance company with businesses in commercial real estate lending and mortgage banking, investment and funds management, and servicing in North America, Asia and Europe. Capmark was the successor to GMACs Commercial Mortgage Business which was purchased by affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., Goldman Sachs and others in March 2006. Mr. Meghji was retained as Chief Restructuring Officer in 2009 and worked with Capmarks management team to restructure the business through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding which culminated in 2011. |
In each of these cases and others, Mr. Meghji and his team successfully identified the value within the business, designed and implemented a business plan which maximized this value and enabled shareholders to realize this value. We caution that the historical results reflected above are not indicative of future results and no assurance can be given as to whether future transactions will achieve similar results.
Mr. Meghjis management and restructuring expertise will be supplemented by the investment expertise of Suleman E. Lunat, a Partner at M-III Partners who serves as our Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development, and other investment professionals from M-III Partners. Mr. Lunat is an accomplished investment professional with extensive experience in sourcing, analyzing and overseeing equity and debt investment opportunities at Apollo Global Management and other investment firms. Before joining Apollo, Mr. Lunat served as a member of the founding team of Greenhill Capital Partners LLC (now known
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as GCP Partners), the private equity business of Greenhill & Co., Inc. With support from our broader team, he will have primary responsibility for evaluating the merit of investment opportunities.
Over a 20 year career, Mr. Lunat has developed broad investment experience over multiple industries, including financial services, healthcare services and industrials. His experience includes mergers and acquisitions, private equity, restructuring and investment. We believe that this experience has provided Mr. Lunat with a multi-disciplinary approach to investment analysis, as well as a deep understanding of capital structures. Additionally, we believe that the contacts developed by Mr. Lunat over the course of his career can be helpful in identifying and making introductions to potential acquisition candidates. Mr. Lunats analytical skills have led him to a track record of successful investment results, including as an investor in both Capmark and Springleaf.
Our team also will be able to draw upon investment staff of M-III Partners, LLC for support when needed and will benefit from the support of a team of operating advisors. We consider each of these operating advisors to be leaders in their respective industries, with track records of creating value for shareholders.
In addition to leveraging the contacts and relationships held by our combined team to identify attractive acquisition opportunities, we will also benefit from the long-standing relationships held by the management, directors, operating advisors and other advisors of M-III Partners with owners of private and public companies, private equity funds, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants and business brokers. Certain key members of the M-III Partners team will be active members of our combined team and the remainder of the professionals of M-III Partners will be available to us to provide specific expertise on an as-needed basis. M-III Partners receives a regular stream of investment opportunities in the ordinary course of its business and these opportunities will be made available to us prior to their review by M-III Partners for its own account.
We will focus primarily on identifying attractive acquisition candidates in the financial services, healthcare services and industrial sectors based in North America, but our search for business combination targets may extend across the wider range of industry sectors and geographies in which we believe that we can create shareholder value. We believe that our investment and operating expertise across multiple industry verticals will give us a large, addressable universe of potential targets in order to enable us to maximize our chances of completing a business combination in a timely manner and to maximize shareholder returns following such acquisition.
We have elected to focus our search for an initial business combination target on financial services, healthcare services and industrials because multiple members of our combined team have extensive experience and a successful track record of investment and management within those sectors. We believe that each of these three industries is currently experiencing some element of change or dislocation that is having a broad impact on businesses within the industry. Those businesses which have the capital and expertise to respond well will obtain a competitive advantage that should drive a disproportionate increase in shareholder value. We believe that this creates a significant opportunity for us to apply our human and financial capital to our initial acquisition target in order to capture this disproportionate increase in value for our shareholders.
Our experience and the broad rationale for our interest with respect to each of these three primary sectors for investment focus is as follows:
The financial services sector is a primary area of focus due to a combination of our combined teams depth of experience in this industry and the opportunity that we perceive from the rapid change that is transforming the industry. Driven primarily by the after-effects of the global financial crisis and the recent imposition of the Dodd-Frank regulatory regime, as well as other regulatory and market events, financial services firms are being forced to reconsider their core strategies. We would expect that this change would be accelerated in an environment characterized by economic uncertainty and instability in capital markets. In many cases, large diversified financial services companies are being forced to retrench and, as a result, are curtailing services and exiting business lines. These secular changes have created an opportunity for non-regulated entities to fill
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the void created by the large diversified financial services companies and play a more important role in providing services such as lending, specialty finance, insurance and asset management. Concurrently, many smaller financial services firms are being forced to raise capital in order to satisfy regulatory requirements, finance necessary investment or exploit available growth opportunities.
Members of our combined team have extensive experience in a wide variety of sectors in the financial services industry, having been involved in a variety of capacities in Springleaf, Capmark, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, Hunt Mortgage Group, American International Group, John Hancock Financial Services, MacKay Shields, LLC, and Pioneer Investments USA. We also believe that we have access to a deep roster of professional contacts in the industry, resulting from decades of our combined teams analysis, investment and restructuring of companies within these sectors. These include senior executives of private equity firms, commercial banks, investment banks, finance companies, insurance companies and asset managers. We believe that our relationships with these senior executives will provide us with access to investment opportunities from which we can seek an appropriate business combination target.
We believe that the healthcare services industry will provide attractive acquisition opportunities because it is experiencing rapid transformation that is driven by regulatory change (such as the Affordable Care Act), demographic change, technological change and the rising incidence of chronic disease.
Members of our combined team have significant management experience in the healthcare services sector, having been involved in a variety of capacities in creating value at companies such as HealthSouth Corporation, Mariner, Interim HealthCare, Medical Staffing Network, Gyrus ACMI, Tender Loving Care Home Health Care, American HomePatient and Rotech. From this experience, we understand the regulatory and insurance reimbursement complexities that are inherent in managing healthcare services companies, as well as the unique challenges of managing multi-locational healthcare businesses. Our combined team has successfully navigated the regulatory and insurance reimbursement landscape that is critical to managing healthcare services companies. While the regulatory and reimbursement regime can be complex and may deter many investors, a knowledgeable combined team, such as ours, can navigate those complexities in order to drive growth.
We believe that the healthcare services sector offers to us a large pool of potential acquisition candidates and that our extensive range of contacts within the industry will provide us with access to a stream of potential investment opportunities. When coupled with our specialized expertise in this sector, we believe that we will possess a competitive advantage as we source and act upon investment opportunities in the sector.
We believe that industrial companies today are facing a changing operating environment that is having a significant impact on profitability. Changes in market demand, end-buyer preferences, technology, regulation, currency, input costs and manufacturing costs are ongoing. These changes can have a significant impact on the size and growth rate of various market segments and on the competitive position of the assets and business models that serve them. Moreover, the effect of these changes on many industrial companies has been magnified by the forces of globalization and by continuing global economic instability. We believe that all of these changes are driving a need for adjustments to strategy, operations and capital structure that create opportunity for us to acquire an industrial company and enhance its value.
We have assembled a team of executives, directors, operating advisors and others who have a broad range of experience, enabling us to provide the financial and management resources necessary for an industrial company to thrive in todays competitive environment. Members of our team have successfully transformed industrial companies in multiple industry segments by re-designing strategy, enhancing management capabilities and improving operations. They have been involved in a variety of capacities in companies such as GKN plc, Johnson Controls, Volvo Truck, GE Aerospace, Electrical Components International, Standard Pacific Corporation and Champion Home Builders. Members of our combined team have successfully transformed struggling industrial companies in multiple industry segments by re-designing strategy, enhancing management capabilities and improving operations. In the course of these efforts, they have created substantial value. We believe that our team will provide us with skilled resources to source, analyze, negotiate and close
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an attractive initial business combination, as well as to provide us with additional expertise and insights as we work to maximize value of the companies that we acquire.
Our management team is committed to efficiently and effectively identifying and conducting due diligence on appropriate acquisition targets in order to maximize our opportunity to consummate a business combination in a timely manner. Based upon the experience of our combined team, we have identified a variety of criteria and guidelines that we expect to apply when evaluating any potential acquisition. These include analyzing:
Ø | underlying fundamentals of the target business; |
Ø | external factors affecting the target business; |
Ø | anticipated contribution that our combined team can make to growth of the business; and |
Ø | opportunity for superior investment return. |
We anticipate that we will find the greatest number of opportunities for our initial business combination among middle market companies with aggregate enterprise value of approximately $350 million to $750 million, as determined in the sole discretion of our officers and directors according to reasonably accepted valuation standards and methodologies.
We believe that our investment results will be strongest when our expertise and resources can meaningfully contribute to the management and growth of the acquired business. This includes situations such as:
Ø | strategic or operational improvements; |
Ø | value-added capital for growth and/or consolidation opportunities; |
Ø | established companies in an industry experiencing dislocation; |
Ø | complex or out-of-favor businesses; |
Ø | ownership transition transactions; |
Ø | deleveraging transactions; and |
Ø | partnership sales. |
The criteria and situations described above are not intended to be exhaustive and our evaluation of any particular initial business combination may reflect other considerations, factors and criteria deemed relevant by our management in effecting the relevant transaction, consistent with our business objective and strategy. Additionally, our management team may prioritize the importance of those factors differently when evaluating different target businesses, based upon our experiences with investments and acquisitions in the relevant industry.
Each member of our combined team will be tasked with the responsibility for identifying and introducing to us potential business combination targets in order to provide a steady flow of investment opportunities. Our combined team are all highly experienced in their fields and have been selected with the goal of ensuring that we have the contacts and expertise needed to source our initial business combination target and add-on acquisitions. Each of them has developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships and has committed to using those contacts and relationships to assist us in sourcing investment opportunities.
Our combined team has developed its network of contacts and relationships though personal experience in sourcing, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses, as well as executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. Members of our combined team have served on the boards of directors of financial services, healthcare services and industrial companies, such as CharterMac, Mariner Health Care Inc., Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., Genesis Healthcare, Inc., Ormet Corporation, and Standard Pacific Corp. Through the professional experiences of our combined team, we have access to senior management of companies in our target industries (i.e., financial services, healthcare services and industrials) and others, as well as to executives and senior leaders of commercial banks, investment
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banks, private equity funds and hedge funds, who either hold business combination targets within their portfolios or otherwise can introduce us to valuable investment contacts. In addition, key members of our combined team have long-standing and strong relationships with senior players in the restructuring industry (such as financial advisors, distressed debt traders and investors, lenders, accounting firms, law firms and others).
We are confident that these networks of contacts and relationships will be important sources of investment opportunities, both by making introductions to specific opportunities and by providing us with investment ideas and targets that we can investigate through our internal resources. We also anticipate that this network will provide our combined team with introductions to opportunities which are proprietary or where a limited group of investors is invited to participate in the sale process.
NASDAQ rules provide that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. 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 the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or a qualified independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. If our securities are not listed on NASDAQ after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of our initial business combination.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be 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. If our securities are not listed on NASDAQ after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of our initial business combination.
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 a qualified independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own common stock and 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. For additional information regarding our executive officers and directors business affiliations and potential conflicts of interest, see Management Directors and Executive Officers and Management Conflicts of Interest.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our executive officers have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or 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 internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or 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 $1.0 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates 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 during the prior three-year period. References herein to emerging growth company shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Our executive offices are located at 3 Columbus Circle, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019 and our telephone number is (212) 716-1491.
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In making your decision 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 below entitled Risk Factors beginning on page 26 of this prospectus.
Securities offered |
15,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
➤ one share of common stock; and |
➤ one warrant to purchase one-half of one share of common stock. |
NASDAQ symbols |
Units: MIIIU |
Common Stock: MIII |
Warrants: MIIIW |
Trading commencement and separation of common stock and warrants |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. informs us of its 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 shares of common stock 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 shares of common stock and warrants. |
Separate trading of the common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K |
In no event will the common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place four business days from 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. |
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Units: |
Number of units outstanding before this offering |
0 |
Number of private placement units to be sold simultaneously with this offering |
460,000(1) |
Number outstanding after this offering and the private placement |
15,460,000(1) |
Common stock: |
Number outstanding before this offering |
4,312,500(2) |
Number outstanding after this offering and the private placement |
19,210,000(1)(3) |
Warrants: |
Number outstanding before this offering |
0 |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering |
460,000(1) |
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement |
15,460,000(1) |
Exercisability |
Each warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one-half of one share of our common stock. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. As a result, warrant holders not purchasing an even number of warrants must sell any odd number of warrants in order to obtain full value from the fractional interest that will not be issued. We structured each warrant to be exercisable for one-half of one share of our common stock, as compared to warrants issued by some other similar blank check companies which are exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination as compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. |
(1) | Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed to purchase, simultaneously with the consummation of this offering, an aggregate of 460,000 private placement units, each unit consisting of one private placement share and one private placement warrant. 340,000 private placement units will be purchased by our sponsor and 120,000 private placement units will be purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald. |
(2) | This number includes up to 562,500 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 562,500 founder shares. |
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Exercise price |
$5.75 per half share ($11.50 per whole share), subject to adjustments as described herein. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. |
Exercise period |
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
➤ 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and |
➤ 12 months from the closing of this offering; |
provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of common stock 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). |
We are not registering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than thirty (30) days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within 90 days after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement and 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. |
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 (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants) 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. |
Redemption of warrants |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants): |
➤ in whole and not in part; |
➤ at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
➤ upon a minimum of 30 days prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and |
➤ if, and only if, the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
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We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. 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 as described above, our management 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, our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The fair market value shall mean the average reported last sale price of the common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Please see the section entitled Description of Securities Warrants Public Stockholders Warrants for additional information. |
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the initial purchasers of the private placement units or their permitted transferees. |
Founder shares |
In August 2015, M III LLC purchased an aggregate 3,593,750 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share. On November 5, 2015 we effectuated a 1.760-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend. Thereafter, we cancelled a portion of the shares issued in such split, resulting in an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares outstanding (up to 562,500 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). As a result of the stock split and subsequent partial cancellations, the per-share purchase price decreased to $0.006 per share. In April 2016, M III LLC transferred to M III LP a number of founder shares, a portion of which were subsequently cancelled so that M III LP currently holds 219,132 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $1,823.84. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20.0% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering (excluding the private |
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placement units). Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. In August 2015, M III LLC transferred 20,000 founder shares to Mr. Hood, an independent director nominee, and in October 2015, M III LLC transferred an additional 20,000 founder shares to Mr. Marber, another independent director nominee. In connection with the dividend, Messrs. Hood and Marber transferred to M III LLC an aggregate of 30,400 founder shares so that they each retain 20,000 founder shares. The 40,000 founder shares retained by Messrs. Hood and Marber will not be subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters overallotment option is not exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our stockholders prior to this offering at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares). Our initial stockholders will collectively own 21.3% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Up to 562,500 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor (or its permitted transferees) depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised. |
The founder shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
➤ the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, and |
➤ our initial stockholders, officers, directors and director nominees have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (i) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months 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 the prescribed time frame). If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 5,515,001 of the 15,000,000 public shares, or approximately 36.8%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved |
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(assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and they do not purchase shares in the offering or the aftermarket.) |
Transfer restrictions on founder shares |
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Common Stock and Warrants). We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, then the lock-up will terminate. |
Private placement units |
Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 460,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit (a total of $4,600,000) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. 340,000 private placement units will be purchased by our sponsor and 120,000 private placement units will be purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald. The purchase price of the private placement units will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the consummation of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law). There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect the private placement units and underlying securities, which will expire worthless. The private placement units are identical to the units being sold in this offering except the private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald, or their affiliates or designees. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. If the private placement units are held by someone other than the initial holder, or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. |
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Transfer restrictions on private placement units |
The private placement units (including their component securities) will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. |
Proceeds to be held in trust account |
NASDAQ rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the private placement must be deposited in a trust account. Of the $154.6 million in proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement units described in this prospectus, or $177.1 million if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full, $150.0 million ($10.00 per unit), or $172.5 million ($10.00 per unit) if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be deposited into a segregated trust account at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $1,600,000 will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering (not including underwriting fees) and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include $6,000,000 (or $7,350,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions. |
Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as discussed below and subject to the requirements of law and stock exchange rules, provides that none of the funds held in the trust account will be released from the trust account until the earlier of (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Based on current interest rates, we do not expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes. 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 stockholders. |
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 for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $30,000 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of 0.02% per year). Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from: |
➤ the net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,000,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $600,000 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 any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the |
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trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of a 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 provide that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our securities are not listed on NASDAQ after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of our initial business combination. |
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 which is a member of FINRA or a qualified independent accounting firm. We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. 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, provided that in the event that 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. |
Permitted purchases of public shares by our affiliates |
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make 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 |
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under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information and (ii) clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary. |
We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates will not make any purchases if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. |
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public 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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and working capital released to us), 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 $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions 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 initial stockholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our business combination. Cantor Fitzgerald has also agreed to waive its redemption rights (in connection with the completion of our initial business combination) with respect to its private placement shares. Prior to acquiring any securities from our initial stockholders or Cantor Fitzgerald, permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with us agreeing to be bound by the same restriction. |
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Manner of conducting redemptions |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20.0% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. |
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: |
➤ conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
➤ file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
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 shares of our common stock 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 stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders |
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tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination. |
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will: |
➤ conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
➤ file proxy materials with the SEC. |
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. |
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an 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 shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. |
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding 20% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold stockholder vote |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will |
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be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders 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 stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holders shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders ability to redeem to no more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders 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 stockholders ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold 20% or more of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our business combination. |
Redemption Rights in connection with proposed amendments to our certificate of incorporation |
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions 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 stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our common stock, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own up to 21.3% of our common stock 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 certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our |
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public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and working capital released to us), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our initial stockholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Cantor Fitzgerald has also agreed to waive its redemption rights (in connection with the completion of our initial business combination) with respect to its private placement shares. Prior to acquiring any securities from our initial stockholders, or Cantor Fitzgerald, permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with us agreeing to be bound by the same restrictions. |
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination |
On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be released to us. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination, to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, 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 stock or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, 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 companies or for working capital. |
Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination |
Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed that we will have only 24 months 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, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to |
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applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our business combination within the 24-month time period. |
Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial stockholders 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 frame. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months 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. |
Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Prior to acquiring any securities from our initial stockholders, permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with us agreeing to be bound by the same restriction. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). |
Indemnification |
Mohsin Meghji, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has agreed that he will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of |
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the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes and working capital, except as to any claims by a third party 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, Mr. Meghji will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether Mr. Meghji has sufficient funds to satisfy his indemnity obligations and Mr. Meghji may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked Mr. Meghji to reserve for such eventuality. We believe the likelihood of Mr. Meghji having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. |
Limited payments to insiders |
There will be no finders fees, reimbursements or cash payments payable by us 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 $250,000 in loans, and any additional advances, made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
➤ Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
➤ Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of 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. |
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. |
Audit Committee |
We have established and will maintain an audit committee which will be composed of a majority of independent directors and, within one year, will be composed of at least three independent directors to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to immediately 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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We are a newly formed company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. 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 26 of this prospectus.
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The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
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March 31, 2016 | ||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2015 |
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Audited | Actual | As Adjusted | ||||||||||
(Unaudited) | ||||||||||||
Balance Sheet Data: |
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Working capital (deficit)(1) | $ | (80,809 | ) | $ | (154,132 | ) | $ | 145,024,056 | ||||
Total assets(2) | $ | 136,691 | $ | 186,556 | $ | 151,024,056 | ||||||
Total liabilities(3) | $ | 112,500 | $ | 162,500 | $ | 6,000,000 | ||||||
Value of common stock that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination ($10.00 per share)(4) | $ | | $ | 140,024,050 | ||||||||
Stockholders equity(5) | $ | 24,191 | $ | 24,056 | $ | 5,000,006 |
(1) | The as adjusted calculation includes $150,000,000 cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units plus $1,000,000 in cash held outside the trust account, plus $24,056 of actual stockholders equity at March 31, 2016, less $6,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions. |
(2) | The as adjusted calculation equals $150,000,000 cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, plus $1,000,000 in cash held outside the trust account, plus $24,056 of actual stockholders equity at March 31, 2016. |
(3) | The as adjusted calculation includes $6,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions. |
(4) | The as adjusted calculation equals the as adjusted total assets, less the as adjusted total liabilities, less the as adjusted stockholders equity, which is set to approximate the minimum net tangible assets threshold of at least $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination. |
(5) | Excludes 14,002,405 shares of common stock purchased in the public market which are subject to redemption in connection with our initial business combination. The as adjusted calculation equals the as adjusted total assets, less the as adjusted total liabilities, less the value of shares of common stock that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination ($10.00 per share). |
The as adjusted information gives effect to the sale of the units in this offering, the sale of the private placement units and the payment of the estimated expenses of this offering. The as adjusted total assets amount includes the $150.0 million held in the trust account (or approximately $172.5 million if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) for the benefit of our public stockholders, which amount, less deferred underwriting commissions, will be available to us only upon the completion of our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.
If no business combination is completed within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month time period.
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this 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.
We are a recently formed company 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.
As of March 31, 2016, we had $8,368 in cash and cash equivalents and a working capital deficiency of $154,132. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Managements plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable state law or the rules of NASDAQ or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, NASDAQ rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled Proposed Business Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination for additional information.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private placement shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders will own 21.3% of our outstanding shares of common stock immediately
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following the completion of this offering assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering. As a result, we would need only 5,515,001 of the 15,000,000 public shares, or approximately 36.8%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial stockholders agreed to vote their founder shares and private placement shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval (unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons), public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
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 stockholders 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. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
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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 stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of 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 time frame described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
If we seek stockholder 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, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not
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to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This 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 common stock and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a public stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy 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 tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a public stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See Proposed Business Business Strategy Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of our common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, and (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if our plan to redeem our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering is not completed for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our units have been accepted for listing on NASDAQ on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our common stock and warrants listed 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 the NASDAQ listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities 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 stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 round-lot holders). Additionally, in
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connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQs initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQs continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4 per share and our stockholders equity would generally be required to be at least $5 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If NASDAQ delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
➤ | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
➤ | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
➤ | a determination that our common stock is a penny stock which will require brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
➤ | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
➤ | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
In addition, although we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of our initial business combination, if NASDAQ were to delist our securities for any reason, we may choose at that time not to comply with the requirement that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination.
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 common stock and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ, our units, common stock 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 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 the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a blank check company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement units and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors 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
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that comply with Rule 419, please see Proposed Business Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders 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 20% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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 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. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, 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, if we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of common stock redeemed and, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our business combination, we make purchases of our common stock, this may potentially 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 stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, 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; 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 designed to keep target
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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 where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Of the net proceeds of this offering, only approximately $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $600,000, 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 $600,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and would 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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value 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 tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses 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 any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third partys 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 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 business combination within the prescribed time frame, 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 stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Mohsin Meghji has agreed that he will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes or working capital expenses, except as to any claims by a third party 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, Mr. Meghji will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether Mr. Meghji has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and, therefore, Mr. Meghji may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked Mr. Meghji to reserve for such eventuality. We believe the likelihood of Mr. Meghji having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share or (ii) other than due to the failure to obtain such waiver, such lesser amount per 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 taxes or working capital expenses, and Mr. Meghji asserts that he is unable to satisfy his obligations or that he has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against Mr. Meghji to enforce his indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against Mr. Meghji to enforce his indemnification obligations to us, it is possible
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that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment 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 stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a preferential transfer or a fraudulent conveyance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
➤ | restrictions on the nature of our investments, and |
➤ | restrictions on the issuance of securities, |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
➤ | registration as an investment company; |
➤ | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
➤ | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in United States Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be
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subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholders pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24th month from the closing of this offering in the event we do not complete our business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholders pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering is not considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidation distribution.
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We do not currently intend to hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate a business combination (unless required by NASDAQ), and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a companys bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of a business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We are not registering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than thirty (30) days after the closing of our initial business combination, to use our best efforts to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act within 90 days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and 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, unless an exemption is available. 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. 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 worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of common stock included in the units. 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 shares of common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the founder shares and holders of our private placement units (and their constituent securities) and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement units, private placement shares, private placement warrants and the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact
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on the market price of our common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our private placement units (and their constituent securities) or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We intend to seek a business combination with an operating company in the financial services, healthcare services or industrial sectors, but may also pursue acquisition opportunities in other industries, except that we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet identified 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 businesss 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 sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a potential business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value 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 tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Although we intend to focus on identifying business combination candidates in the financial services, healthcare services and industrial sectors, and do not intend to actively seek to identify business combination candidates in other industries (which industries may be outside our managements area of expertise), we will consider a business combination outside of the financial services, healthcare services or industrial sectors if a business combination candidate is identified and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive investment opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in the financial services, healthcare services or industrial 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 investment outside of the financial services, healthcare services or industrial sectors, our managements expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained herein regarding the financial services, healthcare services or industrial sectors would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire.
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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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
Unless we complete our business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking or accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 35,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 8,060,000 (assuming that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued shares of common stock available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants. Immediately after this offering, there will be no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination, however our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders
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thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
➤ | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
➤ | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
➤ | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
➤ | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, common stock and/or warrants. |
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our business combination. In addition, our executive 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 management 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 executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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 will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our 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 and take time away from oversight of our operations.
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None of our executive officers or directors has ever been associated with a special purpose acquisition corporation. Accordingly, you may not have sufficient information with which to evaluate their ability to identify and consummate a business combination using the proceeds of this offering. Our managements lack of experience in operating a special purpose acquisition corporation could adversely affect our ability to consummate a business combination and could result in our not completing a business combination in the prescribed time frame.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the 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. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target businesss management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the targets management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the targets management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value 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 tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a potential business combination targets key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidates 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 candidates 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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Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive 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 executive officers and directors other business affairs, please see Management Directors and Executive Officers.
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. Our executive officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business.
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 to our company or to another entity. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own common stock and 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.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers and directors business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see Management Directors and Executive Officers, Management Conflicts of Interest and Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive 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 executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers and directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under Management Conflicts of Interest. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our 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 Effecting our initial business combination Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking 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 executive officers, directors or existing holders, 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 stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
As of the date of this prospectus, our sponsor, executive officers and directors beneficially own an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares, for which they paid an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 340,000 private placement units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one half share of common stock with an exercise price of $5.75 per half share, at a price of $10.00 per unit (a total of $3,400,000) simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. All of these securities will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.
At the closing of our initial business combination, 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 business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf. These financial interests of our sponsor, executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, 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
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the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
➤ | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
➤ | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
➤ | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
➤ | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
➤ | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
➤ | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
➤ | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
➤ | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
➤ | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
The net proceeds from this offering and the private placement of units will provide us with $144,000,000 (or $165,150,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our business combination (excluding up to $6,000,000, or $7,350,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
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 risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
➤ | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
➤ | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, 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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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.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. By definition, very little public information 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.
We may structure a business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the 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 of common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the companys stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (such that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our
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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 their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than is typical in many similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants is $5.75 per half share, or $11.50 per whole share. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. As a result, the warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and changed industry focus. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a companys pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the companys stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the companys public stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions 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 stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our common stock, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 21.3% of our common stock 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 certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-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 stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
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Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes or working capital expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in letter agreements that we have entered into with our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees. Prior to acquiring any securities from our initial stockholders, permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with us agreeing to be bound by the same restriction. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Although we have not yet identified any prospective target business, and thus cannot ascertain the capital requirements for our initial business combination, we anticipate that we will find the greatest number of opportunities for our initial business combination among companies with aggregate enterprise value of approximately $350 million to $750 million. If we are unable to use our capital stock in sufficient quantity in addition to the proceeds from this offering and the private placement of units, the acquisition of a target business with enterprise value within this range will require that we seek additional financing in excess of the net proceeds of this offering the sale of the private placement units. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment has made it especially difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. 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 stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own 21.3% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If our initial stockholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial stockholders 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 common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our 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 meeting, as a consequence of
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our staggered board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock 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 stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 90.4% (or $9.04 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.96 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. In addition, you may face additional dilution as a result of the conversion into warrants of up to $1,000,000 in loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination.
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 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the warrants with the consent of at least 65% 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, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 7,500,000 shares of our common stock (or up to 8,625,000 shares of common stock 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
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an aggregate of 460,000 private placement warrants contained in the private placement units, each exercisable to purchase one-half of one share of common stock (or an aggregate of 230,000 shares of common stock) at $5.75 per half share. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. To the extent we issue shares of common stock to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and reduce the value of the shares of common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Each warrant is exercisable for one-half of one share of common stock. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. 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 the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. As a result, warrant holders not purchasing an even number of warrants must sell any odd number of warrants in order to obtain full value from the fractional interest that will not be issued. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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 common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
➤ | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
➤ | prior offerings of those companies; |
➤ | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
➤ | a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
➤ | our capital structure; |
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➤ | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
➤ | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
➤ | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities. Stockholders 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.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financing reporting standards, 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 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 are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
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Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
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, 2017. 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 on us as compared to other public companies because a target company 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.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located in the United States but with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
➤ | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations |
➤ | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
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➤ | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
➤ | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
➤ | tariffs and trade barriers; |
➤ | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
➤ | longer payment cycles; |
➤ | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
➤ | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
➤ | rates of inflation; |
➤ | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
➤ | cultural and language differences; |
➤ | employment regulations; |
➤ | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks and wars; and |
➤ | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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Certain statements contained in this prospectus that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management teams 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, intends, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predict, project, should, would and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
➤ | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
➤ | 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, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
➤ | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
➤ | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
➤ | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
➤ | 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; or |
➤ | our financial performance following this offering. |
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 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 beginning on page 26. 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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We are offering 15,000,000 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 units will be used as set forth in the following table.
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Without Over-Allotment Option |
Over-Allotment Option Exercised |
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Gross proceeds |
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Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | $ | 150,000,000 | $ | 172,500,000 | ||||
Gross proceeds from private placement units offered in the private placement | 4,600,000 | 4,600,000 | ||||||
Total gross proceeds | $ | 154,600,000 | $ | 177,100,000 | ||||
Offering expenses(2) |
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Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3) | $ | 3,000,000 | $ | 3,000,000 | ||||
Legal fees and expenses | 250,000 | 250,000 | ||||||
Printing and engraving expenses | 40,000 | 40,000 | ||||||
Accounting fees and expenses | 47,500 | 47,500 | ||||||
SEC Expenses | 20,266 | 20,266 | ||||||
FINRA Expenses | 30,688 | 30,688 | ||||||
Travel and road show | 20,000 | 20,000 | ||||||
NASDAQ listing and filing fees | 75,000 | 75,000 | ||||||
Directors and officers insurance | 75,000 | 75,000 | ||||||
Miscellaneous expenses | 41,546 | 41,546 | ||||||
Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) | $ | 600,000 | $ | 600,000 | ||||
Proceeds after offering expenses | $ | 151,000,000 | $ | 173,500,000 | ||||
Held in trust account(3) | $ | 150,000,000 | $ | 172,500,000 | ||||
% of public offering size | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||
Not held in trust account | $ | 1,000,000 | $ | 1,000,000 |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,000,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account(4).
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Amount | % of Total | |||||||
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination(5) | $ | 450,000 | 45.0 | % | ||||
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | 200,000 | 20.0 | % | |||||
Reserve for liquidation expenses | 30,000 | 3.0 | % | |||||
NASDAQ continued listing fees | 75,000 | 7.5 | % | |||||
Other miscellaneous expenses (including franchise taxes) | 245,000 | 24.5 | % | |||||
Total | $ | 1,000,000 | 100.0 | % |
(1) | Includes amounts payable to public stockholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination. |
(2) | In addition, a portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of a loan from M III LLC of up to $250,000 that we may draw down as described in this prospectus. This loan will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $600,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses other than underwriting commissions. 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. |
(3) | The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 4.0% of the gross proceeds of this offering. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the over-allotment will be deposited in the trust account as deferred underwriting commissions. Upon completion of our initial business combination, up to $6,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters deferred commissions (or up to $7,350,000 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 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 |
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initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
(4) | 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 a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an acquisition 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 to pay our taxes. Based on the current interest rate environment, we would expect approximately $30,000 per year to be available to us from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account over 24 months following the closing of this offering; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. This estimate assumes an interest rate of 0.02% per annum based upon current yields of securities in which the trust account may be invested. |
(5) | 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. |
The rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market 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 and the sale of the private placement units, $150,000,000 (or $172,500,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), including up to $6,000,000 (or up to $7,350,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will be placed in a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 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 $30,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.02% per year. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes or working capital expenses, until the earlier of (i) the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we are unable to complete a business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering (subject to the requirements of law). Based on current interest rates, we do not expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes or a substantial portion of working capital expenses.
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 stock or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our 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 companies or for working capital.
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 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 their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
M III LLC has loaned or agreed to loan us up to $250,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earlier of July 31, 2016 or the closing of this offering. This loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $600,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.
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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 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 $1,000,000 of such loans will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. No written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
If we seek stockholder 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 also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) and the agreement for our business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, 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 stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of our common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein or (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months following 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 stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and (except for Cantor Fitzgerald) public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, our initial stockholders and Cantor Fitzgerald have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates 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 prescribed time frame.
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We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of 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 stock dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, in which case we will effect a stock dividend immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our stockholders prior to this offering at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares). 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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The difference between the public offering price per share of common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus in or the private placement units, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock 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 stockholders 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 common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our common stock.
At March 31, 2016, our net tangible book value was $(154,132), or approximately $(0.04) per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 15,000,000 shares of common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement units and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at March 31, 2016 would have been $5,000,006 or $0.96 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 14,002,405 shares of common stock that may be redeemed for cash and assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option) of $1.00 per share to our initial stockholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $9.04 per share or 90.4% to our public stockholders not exercising their redemption rights. The dilution to new investors if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $9.15 per share or 91.5%.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or in the private placement warrants included in the private placement units:
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Public offering price | $ | 10.00 | ||||||||||
Net tangible book value before this offering | $ | (0.04 | ) | |||||||||
Increase attributable to public stockholders | 1.00 | |||||||||||
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement units | $ | 0.96 | ||||||||||
Dilution to public stockholders | $ | 9.04 |
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 $140,024,050 because holders of up to approximately 93.35% 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 tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or stockholders meeting, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of shares of common stock sold in this offering.
The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial stockholders and the public stockholders:
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Shares Purchased | Total Consideration | Average Price per Share |
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Number | Percentage | Amount | Percentage | |||||||||||||||||
Initial Stockholders(1) | 3,750,000 | 19.53 | % | $ | 25,000 | 0.02 | % | $ | 0.007 | |||||||||||
Private Placement | 460,000 | 2.39 | % | 4,600,000 | 2.97 | % | $ | 10.00 | ||||||||||||
Public Stockholders | 15,000,000 | 78.08 | % | 150,000,000 | 97.01 | % | $ | 10.00 | ||||||||||||
19,210,000 | 100.00 | % | $ | 154,625,000 | 100.00 | % |
(1) | Assumes an aggregate of 562,500 shares held by our sponsor have been forfeited. |
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The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:
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Numerator: |
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Net tangible book value before this offering | $ | (154,132 | ) | |
Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement units, net of expenses | 151,000,000 | |||
Offering costs excluded from net tangible book value before this offering | 178,188 | |||
Less: deferred underwriters commissions payable | (6,000,000 | ) | ||
Less: amount of common stock subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 | (140,024,050 | ) | ||
$ | 5,000,006 | |||
Denominator: |
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Shares of common stock outstanding prior to this offering | 4,312,500 | |||
Shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised | (562,500 | ) | ||
Shares of common stock included in the units offered | 15,000,000 | |||
Private placement shares issued | 460,000 | |||
Less: shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 | (14,002,405 | ) | ||
5,207,595 |
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The following table sets forth our capitalization at March 31, 2016, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units in this offering and the private placement units and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
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March 31, 2016 | ||||||||
Actual | As Adjusted(1) | |||||||
(Unaudited) | ||||||||
Deferred underwriting commissions(2) | $ | | $ | 6,000,000 | ||||
Notes payable(3) | 162,500 | | ||||||
Common stock, subject to redemption(4)(5) | | 140,024,050 | ||||||
Stockholders equity: | ||||||||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding | | | ||||||
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 5,031,250 shares issued and outstanding (actual); 35,000,000 shares authorized; 5,207,595 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 14,002,405 shares subject to redemption) (as adjusted)(4) |
503 | 521 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital(6) | 24,497 | 5,000,429 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit | (944 | ) | (944 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders equity | 24,056 | 5,000,006 | ||||||
Total capitalization | $ | 186,556 | $ | 151,024,056 |
(1) | Includes the $4,600,000 we will receive from the sale of the private placement units. Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and the resulting forfeiture of 562,500 founder shares held by our sponsor has occurred. |
(2) | Deferred underwriting commissions As Adjusted reflects the $6,000,000 payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account as described herein. |
(3) | Notes payable As Adjusted reflects the repayment of the non-interest bearing related party loans from our sponsor which are to be repaid on the earlier of July 31, 2016 or the completion of this offering. |
(4) | Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public stockholders 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 the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. |
(5) | Common stock, subject to redemption As Adjusted is calculated as net tangible book value before this offering plus the proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement units, net of expenses plus the offering costs excluded from net tangible book value before this offering less the deferred underwriter's commissions payable and required minimum net tangible assets. |
(6) | Additional paid-in capital As Adjusted is calculated as the additional paid in capital as of March 31, 2016 plus the additional paid in capital for the 1,457,595 common shares (15,460,000 common shares less 14,002,405 shares subject to redemption) plus the working capital that will be on the balance sheet less the deferred underwriting commission. |
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We are a Delaware blank check corporation formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not identified any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with respect to identifying any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement units, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a business combination:
➤ | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
➤ | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
➤ | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
➤ | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
➤ | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock and/or warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, 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 security is payable on demand; |
➤ | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
➤ | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
➤ | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
➤ | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
➤ | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
➤ | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at March 31, 2016, we had $8,368 in cash and deferred offering costs of $178,188. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful. These factors among others raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
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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 on cash and cash equivalents 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 for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied to date through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor, as well as loans and advances from M III LLC totalling $250,000 and $27,762, respectively, as of the date of this prospectus. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $600,000, underwriting commissions of $3,000,000 (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $6,000,000 (or $7,350,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full)), and (ii) the sale of the private placement units for a purchase price of $4,600,000, will be $154,600,000 (or $177,100,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). $150,000,000 (or $172,500,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes $6,000,000 (or $7,350,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions. The remaining approximately $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $600,000, 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 $600,000, 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes and up to $50,000 for liquidation expenses, if any. We estimate our annual Delaware franchise tax obligations, based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding after the completion of this offering, to be approximately $86,450. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We do not expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. To the extent that our capital stock 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.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,000,000 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 similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we 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 $1,000,000 of such loans will be
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convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. No written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $450,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $200,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $75,000 for NASDAQ and other regulatory fees; $30,000 as a reserve for liquidation expenses and approximately $245,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.
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 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.
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. 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 business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. In the current economic environment, it has become especially difficult to obtain acquisition financing. 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. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
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 requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer would 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 growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
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Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of 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:
➤ | staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
➤ | reconciliation of accounts; |
➤ | proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
➤ | evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
➤ | documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
➤ | 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 managements report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target businesss internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 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.
In August 2015, M III LLC purchased an aggregate 3,593,750 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share. On November 5, 2015 we effectuated a 1.760-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend. Thereafter, we cancelled a portion of the shares issued in such split, resulting in an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares outstanding (up to 562,500 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). As a result of the stock split and subsequent partial cancellations, the per-share purchase price decreased to $0.006 per share. In April 2016, M III LLC transferred to M III LP a number of founder shares, a portion of which were subsequently cancelled so that M III LP currently holds 219,132 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $1,823.84. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20.0% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering (excluding the private placement shares). The 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. In August 2015, M III LLC transferred 20,000 founder shares to Mr. Hood, an independent director nominee, and in October 2015, M III LLC transferred an additional 20,000 founder shares to Mr. Marber, another independent director nominee. In connection with the dividend, Messrs. Hood and Marber transferred to the sponsor an aggregate of 30,400 founder shares so that they each retain 20,000 founder shares. The 40,000 founder shares retained by Messrs. Hood and Marber will not be subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters overallotment option is not exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the
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Securities Act, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital, as applicable immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our stockholders prior to this offering at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares).
As of the date of this prospectus, M III LLC has loaned and advanced us $250,000 and $27,762, respectively, to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These advances and loan are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of July 31, 2016 or the closing of this offering. These advances and loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $600,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to 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 certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we 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 $1,000,000 of such loans will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. 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.
Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 460,000 private placement units, at a price of $10.00 per unit (a total of $4,600,000) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. 340,000 private placement units will be purchased by our sponsor and 120,000 private placement units will be purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald. The purchase price of the private placement units will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete a business combination within 24 months from the consummation of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law). There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares, private placement shares or warrants, which will expire worthless. The private placement units are identical to the units being sold in this offering except the private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their affiliates or designees. If the private placement units are held by someone other than the initial holder, or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Other than as stated above, 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.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with our initial stockholders and initial purchasers of the private placement units 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 are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our 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 the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.
As of March 31, 2016, 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 conducted no operations to date.
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On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. 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 auditors attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditors 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 CEOs compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an emerging growth company, whichever is earlier.
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We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated in August 2015 as a Delaware corporation formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not identified any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with respect to identifying any business combination target.
We intend to focus our efforts on seeking and consummating an initial business combination with a company that has an enterprise value of between $350 million and $750 million, although a target entity with a smaller or larger enterprise value may be considered. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector and in any geographic region, we expect to focus on businesses based in North America that engage primarily in the financial services, healthcare services and industrials sectors because we believe that this best combines the expertise and experience of our combined team with sectors that offer attractive investment opportunities.
It is our philosophy that capital has become increasingly commoditized and that successful investment results will come not from having capital alone, but rather from having the ability to accurately assess businesses with complex strategic, management and operational issues and the added expertise to deal with these issues in increasingly competitive and changing environments. We believe this to be particularly true during times of economic uncertainty, dislocations in capital markets and other conditions that create a challenge for businesses, and opportunities for investors with the right management team. In recognition of this, we have assembled a team of executives, directors and other advisors who blend traditional investment and acquisition expertise, management and operational expertise, and deep experience in financial, strategic and operational restructurings. We are confident that this team is capable of creating value in businesses that we acquire.
We believe that the broad experience and expertise of our combined team will enable us to explore a wide range of potential acquisition targets. We intend to target companies with strong business fundamentals and those which are in need of operational improvement and can thereby benefit from our human and financial capital. The members of our combined team have proven experience and track records in identifying, acquiring and improving businesses that have strong underlying fundamentals, but are undervalued due to company-specific issues, industry dislocation, limited access to capital, or other exogenous factors that are fundamentally temporary in nature. Our combined team has played meaningful roles in contrarian investment situations with businesses requiring significant changes in strategy, enhancement of management or operational improvement, using our expertise in those areas to improve the businesses and drive ongoing growth.
We believe that the experience, capabilities and track record of our combined team will make us an attractive partner for potential target businesses, enhance our ability to complete a successful business combination and, thereafter, improve the performance of the business in order to create value for investors.
Our management team will be led by Mohsin Meghji. Mr. Meghji serves as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Meghji is the Managing Partner of M-III Partners, LLC (M-III Partners) and is a nationally recognized U.S. turnaround professional with a track record of building value across a wide range of sectors, including financial services, healthcare services and industrials. M-III Partners is a merchant banking, investment and restructuring advisory firm founded by Mr. Meghji whose philosophy and approach marries management and operations with financial expertise in order to enhance performance and create value. Mr. Meghji has over 25 years of advisory and management experience in building value in companies that are undergoing financial, operational or strategic transitions. He has accomplished this through both operating management and financial advisory roles, often in partnership with some of the worlds leading financial institutions, private equity firms and hedge fund investors.
Mr. Meghji has led the repositioning of, and driven value creation at, numerous businesses over the past two decades in an operating management or financial advisory capacity. Mr. Meghjis most recent corporate management role was at Springleaf Holdings, LLC, a subprime consumer finance company (now known as OneMain Holdings, Inc.), where he served as Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and as Chief Executive Officer of its captive insurance companies, Merit Life Insurance Co. and Yosemite Insurance
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Company. These insurance companies provided life, property and casualty insurance coverage to Springleafs customers. Springleaf was created in late-2010 when American International Group, Inc. sold 80% of its subsidiary, American General Finance Inc., to affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC. At the time of the sale, American General Finance Inc. provided consumer loans, retail financing and mortgages to more than one million families through more than 1,100 branches located across the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom. After multiple years of operating losses, Springleaf turned profitable in 2013 as a result of the strategic, management and operational improvements implemented by its new ownership and management team, evidencing a significant turnaround in its performance. Springleaf went public (NYSE: LEAF) in October 2013 at a $1.95 billion valuation. As part of its senior management team and Head of Strategy for the company, Mr. Meghji played a key role in this successful transition.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Meghji, along with several of his colleagues at M-III Partners, has driven improvements in performance for numerous companies experiencing challenges. The following represents a sample of such cases:
| Mariner Health Care, Inc., one of the largest nursing home operators in the United States, with more than 400 locations containing more than 49,000 beds at the time of its bankruptcy filing. Mr. Meghji was retained in 1999 as turnaround advisor to the various private equity funds who controlled Mariner following its bankruptcy. During his tenure at Mariner, he worked with the investor group to develop the turnaround business plan, hired a new management team and served on the Board of Directors from 2002 2004. The business plan included significant overhead and cost reductions, facility rationalization and a significant investment in IT improvements. |
| Covanta Energy Corp., a national provider of waste management and energy generation services to municipal entities. Mr. Meghji was retained as Chief Restructuring Advisor to assist Covanta in the development of a business plan while restructuring through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. While at Covanta, Mr. Meghji spearheaded a restructuring of the companys operations through divestiture of non-core operations, increasing focus on the core waste-to-energy business, rationalizing the overall cost structure and enhancing the management team. |
| Masonite International Inc., one of the largest door manufacturers in the world. Mr. Meghji and Thomas Persteiner, who will serve as one of our operating advisors, were initially retained in 2008 as financial advisors to debtholders who had taken control of Masonite during a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. At Masonite, Messrs. Meghji and Persteiner worked with a new management team to develop a turnaround business plan and manufacturing strategy. This business plan required significant overhead and other cost reductions in order to counter a massive decline in sales due to the global financial crisis. |
| Capmark Financial Group Inc., a leading commercial real estate finance company with businesses in commercial real estate lending and mortgage banking, investment and funds management, and servicing in North America, Asia and Europe. Capmark was the successor to GMACs Commercial Mortgage Business which was purchased by affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., Goldman Sachs and others in March 2006. Mr. Meghji was retained as Chief Restructuring Officer in 2009 and worked with Capmarks management team to restructure the business through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding which culminated in 2011. |
In each of these cases and others, Mr. Meghji and his team successfully identified the value within the business, designed and implemented a business plan which maximized this value and enabled shareholders to realize this value. We caution that the historical results reflected above are not indicative of future results and no assurance can be given as to whether future transactions will achieve similar results.
Mr. Meghjis management and restructuring expertise will be supplemented by the investment expertise of Suleman E. Lunat, a Partner at M-III Partners who serves as our Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development, and other investment professionals from M-III Partners. Mr. Lunat is an accomplished investment professional with extensive experience in sourcing equity and debt investment opportunities at Apollo Global Management and other investment firms. Before joining Apollo, Mr. Lunat served as a member of the founding team of Greenhill Capital Partners LLC (now known as GCP Partners),
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the private equity business of Greenhill & Co., Inc. With support from our broader team, he will have primary responsibility for evaluating the merit of investment opportunities.
Mr. Lunat has 20 years of experience as an investor in public and private equity, credit and distressed special situations and investment banking. Over this period, he has developed investment experience over a broad range of industries. Mr. Lunat has provided M&A, debt restructuring and capital raising services to a range of middle market and large corporate clients in North America and Europe. He also has developed experience as a principal investor in private equity and credit and distressed special situations. We believe that this experience has provided Mr. Lunat with an inter-disciplinary approach to investment analysis, as well as a deep understanding of capital structures. Additionally, we believe that the contacts developed by Mr. Lunat over the course of his career can be helpful in identifying and making introductions to potential acquisition candidates. Mr. Lunats analytical skills have led him to a track record of successful investment results, including as an investor in both Capmark and Springleaf.
In addition to leveraging the contacts and relationships held by our combined team to identify attractive acquisition opportunities, we will also benefit from the long-standing relationships held by the management, directors, operating advisors and other advisors of M-III Partners with owners of private and public companies, private equity funds, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants and business brokers. Certain key members of the M-III Partners team will be active members of our combined team and the remainder of the professionals of M-III Partners will be available to us to provide specific expertise on an as-needed basis. M-III Partners receives a regular stream of investment opportunities in the ordinary course of its business and these opportunities will be made available to us prior to their review by M-III Partners for its own account.
We will focus primarily on identifying attractive acquisition candidates in the financial services, healthcare services and industrial sectors based in North America, but our search for business combination targets may extend across the wider range of industry sectors and geographies in which we believe that we can create shareholder value. We believe that our investment and operating expertise across multiple industry verticals will give us a large, addressable universe of potential targets in order to enable us to maximize our chances of completing a business combination in a timely manner and to maximize shareholder returns following such acquisition.
We have elected to focus our search for an initial business combination target on financial services, healthcare services and industrials because multiple members of our combined team have extensive experience and a successful track record of investment and management within those sectors. We believe that each of these three industries is currently experiencing some element of change or dislocation that is having a broad impact on businesses within the industry. Those businesses which have the capital and expertise to respond well will obtain a competitive advantage that should drive a disproportionate increase in shareholder value. We believe that this creates a significant opportunity for us to apply our human and financial capital to our initial acquisition target in order to capture this disproportionate increase in value for our shareholders.
Our experience and the broad rationale for our interest with respect to each of these three primary sectors for investment focus is as follows:
The financial services sector is a primary area of focus due to a combination of our combined teams depth of experience in this industry and the opportunity that we perceive from the rapid change that is transforming the industry. Driven primarily by the after-effects of the global financial crisis and the recent imposition of the Dodd-Frank regulatory regime, as well as other regulatory and market events, financial services firms are being forced to reconsider their core strategies. We would expect that this change would be accelerated in an environment characterized by economic uncertainty and instability in capital markets. In many cases, large diversified financial services companies are being forced to retrench and, as a result, are curtailing services and exiting business lines. These secular changes have created an opportunity for non-regulated entities to fill the void created by the large diversified financial services companies and play a more important role in
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providing services such as lending, specialty finance, insurance and asset management. Concurrently, many smaller financial services firms are being forced to raise capital in order to satisfy regulatory requirements, finance necessary investment or exploit available growth opportunities. We believe that these secular changes provide opportunities for our combined team to acquire businesses that have been created to capitalize on the void left by, or acquire non-core businesses divested by, traditional financial services companies.
In addition to regulatory changes, the financial services industry is also being transformed by technological changes. Currently, new technologies are driving the conversion of traditional, relationship-driven market segments into online solutions, as, for example, traditional money managers are seeing increasing competition from online management products and traditional consumer lenders are seeing increased competition from online lenders and loan brokers. Similarly, in areas such as payment processing and credit cards, long-established market leaders are facing new competition that is more convenient, secure and cost-effective than the traditional solutions. The changes wrought by these new technologies are forcing established companies to re-think their business models and strategies. Many of these companies have a sustainable business, but are challenged by identifying their key competitive strengths in this new environment or obtaining the capital needed to adapt.
We believe that regulatory and technological change will continue to drive industry dislocation for the foreseeable future, despite growing demand for financial services. We believe that this creates opportunity for an investment team with deep expertise in the financial services industry, such as us, to create value.
Members of our combined team have extensive experience in a wide variety of sectors in the financial services industry, having been involved in a variety of capacities in companies such as Springleaf, Capmark, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, Hunt Mortgage Group, American International Group, John Hancock Financial Services, MacKay Shields, LLC and Pioneer Investments USA. We also believe that we have access to a deep roster of professional contacts in the industry, resulting from decades of our combined teams analysis, investment and restructuring of companies within these sectors. These include senior executives of private equity firms, commercial banks, investment banks, finance companies, insurance companies and asset managers. We believe that our relationships with these senior executives will provide us with access to investment opportunities from which we can seek an appropriate business combination target.
We believe that the healthcare services industry will provide attractive acquisition opportunities because it is experiencing rapid transformation and strong secular tailwinds. Factors such as regulatory change (such as the Affordable Care Act), demographic change, technological change and the rising incidence of chronic disease will, we believe, drive increasing demand for various healthcare and healthcare-related services. For example:
| the US Department of Health and Human Services reported in a Fact Sheet on June 24, 2015 that approximately 10.2 million Americans have active health insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace and approximately 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health coverage since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act; |
| in its Health, United States, 2014 report, the Centers for Disease Control reported that the average life expectancy in the United States increased from 76.8 years in 2000 to 78.8 years in 2013. |
| the Administration for Community Living of the US Department of Health and Human Services reports that the number of Americans who are 65 or older is projected to increase from 12.4% of the population in 2009 to 19% by 2030 an 82% increase from 39.6 million Americans in 2009 to 72.1 million by 2030; and |
| in its Health, United States, 2014 report, the Centers for Disease Control reported that the number of Americans over 20 years of age with diabetes rose from 9.8% in 1999 to 12.3% in 2012 an increase of more than 25.5%%. |
Although the aging population and rising incidence of chronic disease drive demand for increased healthcare services, this increased demand is offset by a global focus on reducing the cost of healthcare delivery and payment based upon successful outcomes (rather than volume or cost).
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Concurrently with this increase in demand for healthcare services and changes in delivery and reimbursement models, the healthcare services industry is also being transformed by technological change. These changes include advances in both hardware and software that can provide more effective and efficient delivery of healthcare services. Notably, the introduction of online medical records and network-enabled diagnostic equipment has created the ability to collect large quantities of real-time patient data. Similarly, improved data analysis technologies are enabling both providers and consumers of healthcare services to identify the factors that produce the most positive outcomes in order to develop the most cost-effective solutions.
These changes are forcing businesses in the healthcare services sector to adapt to new conditions. Some of these businesses are successfully navigating these changes with internal resources, but many others require additional financing or management expertise to address this rapidly changing business environment. These changes have triggered a wave of merger and acquisition activity within the industry, as companies seek acquisitions to achieve scale or obtain technologies that are perceived as necessary to thrive in this new environment, while simultaneously divesting non-core assets in order to preserve high growth rates in a cost-sensitive environment.
Members of our combined team have significant management experience in the healthcare services sector, having been involved in a variety of capacities in companies such as HealthSouth Corporation, Mariner, Interim HealthCare, Medical Staffing Network, Gyrus ACMI, Tender Loving Care Home Health Care, American HomePatient and Rotech. From this experience, we understand the regulatory and insurance reimbursement complexities that are inherent in managing healthcare services companies, as well as the unique challenges of managing multi-locational healthcare businesses. While the regulatory and reimbursement regime can be complex and may deter many investors, a knowledgeable management team, such as ours, can navigate those complexities in order to drive growth.
We believe that the healthcare services sector offers to us a large pool of potential acquisition candidates and that our extensive range of contacts within the industry will provide us with access to a stream of potential investment opportunities. When coupled with our specialized expertise in this sector, we believe that we will possess a competitive advantage as we source and act upon investment opportunities in the sector.
We believe that industrial companies today are facing a changing operating environment that is having a significant impact on profitability. Changes in market demand, end-buyer preferences, technology, regulation, currency, input costs and manufacturing costs are ongoing. These changes can have a significant impact on the size and growth rate of various market segments and on the competitive position of the assets and business models that serve them. Moreover, the effect of these changes on many industrial companies has been magnified by the forces of globalization and by continuing global economic instability.
The industrial dynamics described above create both opportunities and threats, including (i) end markets can grow or shrink, (ii) capacity can be long or short and (iii) a given asset type or business model can become advantaged or not. Under any of these circumstances, management teams may or may not accurately diagnose how best to respond. This constant interplay between the changing environment and individual companies evolving strategies creates the potential for situations in which assets are mispriced relative to their potential. This is particularly true in the middle market where many industrial companies lack the resources to navigate this complex business environment.
We believe that all of these changes are driving the need for adjustments to strategy, operations and capital structure that create opportunity for us to acquire an industrial company and enhance its value. Whether the challenge arises from globalization, technology or other causes, we believe that the changing environment for industrial companies has made management skill a significant competitive advantage for an industrial company. Those industrial companies that have strong management and sufficient financial resources will become industry leaders, while those who are unable to recognize or adapt to the changing environment will fall behind.
We have assembled a team of executives, directors, operating advisors and others who have a broad range of experience, enabling us to provide the financial and management resources necessary for an industrial company to thrive in todays competitive environment. Members of our team have successfully transformed
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industrial companies in multiple industry segments by re-designing strategy, enhancing management capabilities and improving operations. They have been involved in a variety of capacities in companies such as GKN plc, Johnson Controls, Volvo Truck, GE Aerospace, Electrical Components International, Standard Pacific Corporation and Champion Home Builders. Members of our combined team have successfully transformed struggling industrial companies in multiple industry segments by re-designing strategy, enhancing management capabilities and improving operations. In the course of these efforts, they have created substantial value. We believe that our team will provide us with skilled resources to source, analyze, negotiate and close an attractive initial business combination, as well as to provide us with additional expertise and insights as we work to maximize value of the companies that we acquire.
Our management team is committed to efficiently and effectively identifying and conducting due diligence on appropriate acquisition targets in order to maximize our opportunity to consummate a business combination. Based upon the experience of our combined team, we have identified a variety of criteria and guidelines that we expect to apply when evaluating any potential acquisition. These include:
Ø | Underlying Fundamentals of the Target Business. The factors that we will evaluate in determining whether the underlying fundamentals of a target business meet our anticipated criteria include: Its financial condition and historical results of operation; our expectations of projected performance; the industry in which it operates; its brand recognition and potential; the experience and skill of existing management and availability of additional personnel; any additional capital requirements; its competitive position; any barriers to entry for potential competitors in the relevant industry; the stage of development of its key existing and potential products, processes or services; existing distribution channels for its products and potential for expansion; the degree of current or potential market acceptance of the products, processes or services; any proprietary aspects of products and the extent of intellectual property or other protection for products or formulas; and industry leadership, sustainability of market share and attractiveness of market industries in which the business participates. |
Ø | External Factors Affecting the Target Business. The external factors affecting the target business that we anticipate we will evaluate include: The impact of regulation on the business; the regulatory environment of the industry; and the specific competitive dynamics in the industry within which the company competes. |
Ø | Anticipated Contribution that our Combined Team can Make to Growth of the Business. The factors that we will evaluate in determining the anticipated contribution that our combined team can make to the growth of the target business include: The scope of experience and skills possessed by our combined team in the relevant business and industry; the need for additional capital or management support required by the target business; and the value of our expertise in strategy, management and operations to the business. |
Ø | Opportunity for Superior Investment Return. The factors that we will evaluate in determining whether we are likely to obtain a superior return on our investment in the business include: the valuation at which our investment is made; the appropriateness of the business for public capital markets; the potential for growth from add-on acquisitions; the potential for profitable, organic long-term growth; and the costs associated with effecting the business combination. |
We anticipate that we will find the greatest number of opportunities for our initial business combination among middle market companies with aggregate enterprise value of approximately $350 million to $750 million, as determined in the sole discretion of our officers and directors according to reasonably accepted valuation standards and methodologies.
We believe that our investment results will be strongest when our expertise and resources can meaningfully contribute to the management and growth of the acquired business. This includes situations such as:
Ø | Strategic or Operational Improvements. Our combined team has significant and successful experience in investing in, and working with, companies where there is an opportunity to effect meaningful operational improvements or derive meaningful benefit from a change in strategy. |
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Members of our combined team have worked with such companies as investors, senior management, board members and consultants. We intend to tailor our approach to working with the target companys management team to address the unique challenges and opportunities they face. Our combined team has the versatility and flexibility to allow us to provide strategic guidance as board members or to take on direct senior leadership roles to design and implement operational improvements or strategic change at the target company. |
Ø | Value-Added Capital for Growth and/or Consolidation Opportunities. Over decades of combined investment experience, our combined team has developed significant expertise in successfully identifying and investing in companies that are achieving rapid and profitable organic growth and growth through strategic initiatives. Our combined team also has a long and successful track record in managing businesses of this nature. Through this experience, we have found that management teams vary in their ability to recognize growth opportunities and take advantage of them. It is our current intent to target companies whose management teams recognize the opportunities in their industry, but lack the capital to take advantage of those opportunities or could benefit from our combined teams years of business experience in order to most effectively take advantage of those opportunities. |
Ø | Established Companies in an Industry Experiencing Dislocation. We may seek to acquire an established company operating in an industry undergoing dislocation. Industries typically experience dislocation when faced with, among other things, supply and demand imbalances, new technology entrants, cyclicality and legal or regulatory challenges. We view episodes of industry dislocation as opportunities to acquire a company at an attractive multiple and invest in strengthening the long-term market position of the company over its competitors. The history of our combined team in successfully managing companies during periods of dislocation makes this a criteria that we will particularly seek as we identify appropriate business combination targets. |
Ø | Complex or Out-of-Favor Businesses. Our management team believes that businesses that have situational complexity or operate in industries that have fallen out-of-favor with investors can provide attractive investment opportunities. Within a business, situational complexity can often arise from business, legal, regulatory or capital structure issues. Our combined team has a successful record of managing investments and operating improvements in complex or out-of-favor businesses by applying tailored solutions that drive value creation. Recognizing that capital today is becoming commoditized, we believe that it is the management skills of our combined team and our experience in managing complex situations that provide us with our greatest strategic advantage. |
Ø | Ownership Transition Transaction. In our experience, acquisition opportunities for good businesses periodically arise when the external needs of the current owner restrict further investment in the business. These restrictions can arise from changing corporate priorities, financial distress within the owner, contractual divestiture requirements applicable to private equity funds, or other factors. In situations of this nature, it is not unusual for the seller to seek to retain a meaningful stake in the business in order to preserve the opportunity for further appreciation. We expect to actively seek out opportunities to acquire businesses of this nature in which we believe that the underlying business fundamentals justify the investment cost and provide a strong opportunity to achieve superior investment returns. Moreover, we believe that our close relationships with private equity firms will provide us with access to investment opportunities of this nature. |
Ø | Deleveraging Transaction. Our combined teams extensive relationships with lenders and private equity firms, as well as their prior experience in making deleveraging investments, should position us well to source and execute a recapitalizing acquisition. We believe that the record issuance of high yield debt and leveraged loans from 2011 through the first half of 2015 will lead to an increase in companies that will need to de-lever within the next two years. As opposed to distressed debt funds and investors, we believe we would be a preferred refinancing/de-leveraging solution to owners and management teams of middle-market companies. |
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Ø | Partnership Sale. We may seek to acquire one or more companies from a current owner, private equity or otherwise, who would like to retain a meaningful stake in the company to preserve and enhance potential upside. As a source of public equity capital, we believe that we will be well-positioned to provide liquidity to such an owner and expect that potential acquisition targets and partners would view the contribution to be made by our combined team as a positive factor in reviewing any acquisition proposal from us. We also could be an attractive financial and operating partner for a private equity firm that sees compelling acquisition opportunities, but may be already fully-invested. Prequin Buyout Deals Analyst reports that approximately 29% of portfolio companies have been held by private equity investors for more than seven years. |
The criteria and situations described above are not intended to be exhaustive and our evaluation of any particular initial business combination may reflect other considerations, factors and criteria deemed relevant by our management in effecting the relevant transaction, consistent with our business objective and strategy. Additionally, our management team may prioritize the importance of those factors differently when evaluating different target businesses, based upon our experiences with investments and acquisitions in the relevant industry.
In implementing the strategy described above, we will undertake a disciplined approach to identifying, analyzing, negotiating, documenting and consummating any business combination and have developed investment policies and procedures that are intended to allow us to respond quickly to opportunities, while preserving the quality of our investment approval process.
Each member of our combined team will be tasked with the responsibility for identifying and introducing to us potential business combination targets in order to provide a steady flow of investment opportunities. Our combined team are all highly experienced in their fields and have been selected with the goal of ensuring that we have the contacts and expertise needed to source our initial business combination target and add-on acquisitions. Each of them has developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships and has committed to using those contacts and relationships to assist us in sourcing investment opportunities.
Our combined team has developed its network of contacts and relationships though personal experience in sourcing, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses, as well as executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. Members of our combined team have served on the boards of directors of financial services, healthcare services and industrial companies such as CharterMac, Bluestem Group Inc. (formerly known as Capmark Financial Group Inc.), Mariner Health Care Inc., Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., Genesis Healthcare, Inc., Ormet Corporation and Standard Pacific Corp. Through the professional experiences of our combined team, we have access to senior management of companies in our target industries (i.e., financial services, healthcare services and industrials) and others, as well as to executives and senior leaders of commercial banks, investment banks, private equity funds and hedge funds, who either hold business combination targets within their portfolios or otherwise can introduce us to valuable investment contacts. In addition, key members of our combined team have long-standing and strong relationships with senior players in the restructuring industry (such as financial advisors, distressed debt traders and investors, lenders, accounting firms, law firms and others).
We are confident that these networks of contacts and relationships will be important sources of investment opportunities, both by making introductions to specific opportunities and by providing us with investment ideas and targets that we can investigate through our internal resources. We also anticipate that this network will provide our management team with introductions to opportunities which are proprietary or where a limited group of investors is invited to participate in the sale process.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough and extensive due diligence review, which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews and inspection of facilities, and review of financial and other information that is made available to us.
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We believe that our combined team is uniquely qualified to conduct a thorough diligence examination and understand the risks and opportunities inherent in the business of a particular company. In addition to the substantial management and operating experience of our combined team, key members of our combined team have extensive expertise in managing businesses in a wide variety of industries through financial and operational restructurings. Though this experience, we have built an expertise in quickly and efficiently identifying the risks, inefficiencies and opportunities for a business. We have also developed expertise in identifying management strengths and weaknesses, so that we can provide support where appropriate and otherwise make difficult, but often essential, management changes.
Our combined team also is well-qualified to undertake the financial analysis necessary to determine whether a particular business is an attractive business combination candidate. Members of our combined team have a diverse professional backgrounds and qualifications, including experience as investment bankers, buy-side investment professionals and restructuring advisors. Our combined team possesses valuable professional credentials and certifications, including certified turnaround professionals, chartered accountants, CPAs, MBAs and law degrees.
Our experience has shown us that successful acquisition transactions result not just from thorough diligence and attractive deal terms, but also from intangible factors, such as personal relationships and trust. Our combined team is well-versed in the art and science of negotiating investment and acquisition transactions, having been involved in a wide variety of such transactions during their careers. We also have found that trust which is built with the business management team during the diligence and negotiation stages of a transaction often provide the glue that binds the team together and allows difficult decisions to be made more easily after the transaction closes. Through our professional experience, we have learned how to delicately balance the conflicting goals of obtaining the best transaction terms for our investors and maintaining a strong relationship with the seller and the business management team. We believe that this, when coupled with our management experience, allows us to act more quickly and effectively to make the changes needed to improve management and operational efficiency of a business and build value.
NASDAQ rules provide that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. 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 the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or a qualified independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. If our securities are not listed on NASDAQ after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of our initial business combination.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target
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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. If our securities are not listed on NASDAQ after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of our initial business combination.
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 a qualified independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own common stock and 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. For additional information regarding our executive officers and directors business affiliations and potential conflicts of interest, see Management Directors and Executive Officers and Management Conflicts of Interest.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our executive officers have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering.
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. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock 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 process a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts 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 prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing
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management incentives consistent with stockholders interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a companys profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. 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 $1.0 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates 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 during the prior three-year period.
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $144,000,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of up to $6,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $165,150,000 after payment of $7,350,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), 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 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.
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 and the private placement of the private placement units, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using stock or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemptions of purchases of our common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We have not identified any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions with respect to identifying any business combination target. From the period commencing with our formation through the date of this prospectus, there have been no communications or discussions between any of our officers, directors or our sponsor and any of their potential contacts or relationships regarding a potential initial business combination. 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. 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 impact a target business.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business
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combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our 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 law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
We believe our combined teams extensive private equity investment and transaction experience, along with relationships with intermediaries and companies, will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our combined team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has been developed over the course of over 25 years, in the case of our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
We expect that the combined teams network of existing contacts and relationships will be able to deliver a flow of potential platform and add-on acquisition opportunities which are proprietary or where a limited group of established, credentialed buyers have been invited to participate in the sale process. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive 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 a qualified 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 Management Conflicts of Interest, if any of our executive officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing 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. Certain of our executive officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
We anticipate that target business candidates will also be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, private investment funds and other intermediaries. 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.
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NASDAQ rules provide that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our 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 independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or a qualified independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. If our securities are not listed on NASDAQ after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of 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 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 otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be 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 the 80% of net assets test. 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.
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.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our 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.
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
➤ | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and |
➤ | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
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 businesss 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
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management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. 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 additional managers, or that the additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
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Type of Transaction | Whether Stockholder Approval is Required |
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Purchase of assets | No | |
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | No | |
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | No | |
Merger of the company with a target | Yes |
Under NASDAQs listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
➤ | we issue common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our common stock then outstanding; |
➤ | any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding shares of common stock or voting power of 5% or more; or |
➤ | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
In the event we seek stockholder 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, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. They will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider
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trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information and (ii) clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of such purchases would be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) 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 business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This 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 common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against the business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and working capital released to us), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and (except for Cantor Fitzgerald) any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our business combination.
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We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
➤ | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
➤ | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
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 shares of our common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
➤ | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
➤ | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. Cantor Fitzgerald has not
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committed to vote any private placement shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 5,515,001 of the 15,000,000 public shares, or approximately 36.8%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). Each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and (except for Cantor Fitzgerald) public shares in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an 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 shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders 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 stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holders shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders ability to redeem no more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders 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 stockholders ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination.
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in street name, to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using Depository Trust Companys DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holders option. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from two days prior to the vote on the business combination if we distribute
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proxy materials to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $35.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
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 stockholders 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 such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an option window after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the companys stock 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 stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder 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 holders 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 the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of this offering.
Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed that we will have only 24 months 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, 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 (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our business combination within the 24-month time period.
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Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial stockholders 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.
Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). Prior to acquiring any securities from our initial stockholders, permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with us agreeing to be bound by the same restriction.
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 $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $50,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, 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 any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third partys 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 management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such
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entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, Mohsin Meghji, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer has agreed that he will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets other than due to the failure to obtain such waiver, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes or working capital expenses, except as to any claims by a third party 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. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then Mr. Meghji will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We cannot assure you, however, that Mr. Meghji would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our other officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets other than due to the failure to obtain such waiver, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes or working capital expenses, and Mr. Meghji asserts that he is unable to satisfy his indemnification obligations or that he has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against Mr. Meghji to enforce his indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against Mr. Meghji to enforce his indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.00 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that Mr. Meghji will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, 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. Mr. Meghji 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 $1,000,000 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 $50,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $600,000, 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 $600,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a
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liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholders pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, is not considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidation distribution. If we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months 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, 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 (net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes or working capital expenses and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 24th month, and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account.
As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, Mohsin Meghji, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets other than due to the failure to obtain such waiver, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes or working capital expenses and less any per-share amounts distributed from our trust account to our public stockholders in the event we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and will 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. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, Mr. Meghji will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a preferential transfer or a fraudulent conveyance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts
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received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board 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 stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholders voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholders redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. If we seek to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation relating to stockholders rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote. Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:
➤ | prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (1) seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our stockholders with the opportunity to tender their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein; |
➤ | we will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination; |
➤ | if our initial business combination is not consummated within 24 months from the closing of this offering, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account; and |
➤ | prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. |
These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the shares of common stock voted by our stockholders at a duly held stockholders meeting.
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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 business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.
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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 |
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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 stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders 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 $10.00 per share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | If we seek stockholder 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 either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. | If we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months 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 $10.00 per share), including interest (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. | |||
Impact to remaining stockholders | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay taxes or working capital expenses (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 will be no impact to our remaining stockholders 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 stockholders, our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. |
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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 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.
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Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
Escrow of offering proceeds | The rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the private placement be deposited in a trust account. $150,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States at JPMorgan Chase Bank with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | Approximately $126,900,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering less allowable underwriting commissions, expenses and company deductions under Rule 419, would be required to 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. | ||
Investment of net proceeds | $150,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement units held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 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 stockholders 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 $50,000 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. | ||
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Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | NASDAQ rules provide that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our securities are not listed on NASDAQ after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on NASDAQ at the time of 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 common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. informs us of its 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. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place four 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. | No trading of the units or the underlying common stock 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. | ||
Exercise of the warrants | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or 12 months from the closing of this offering. | 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. |
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Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
Election to remain an investor | We will provide our public stockholders 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, which interest shall be net of taxes payable and working capital released to us, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a stockholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 SECs proxy rules. If, however, we hold a stockholder vote, 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 stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public share irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction. | 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 companys registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a stockholder 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 automatically returned to the stockholder. 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. |
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Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
Business combination deadline | If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months 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, 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and working capital released to us and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the companys registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. | ||
Release of funds | Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, none of the funds held in trust (including the interest on such funds) will be released from the trust account until the earlier of (i) the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we are unable to complete a business combination within the required time frame (subject to the requirements of 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. |
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 us. 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 stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they
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potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 3 Columbus Circle, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, M-III Partners, LLC, an affiliate of Mohsin Meghji, our Chief Executive Officer, has agreed to provide, at no cost to us, office space and general administrative services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
We currently have three executive officers. 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 Mr. Meghji or any other members of our management 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, but we expect that he will devote a substantial portion of his professional time to our affairs.
We will register our units, common stock 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 auditors.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with GAAP. 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 GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with GAAP. To the extent that this requirement 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, 2017 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 company 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 date of this prospectus, we will file 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 will be 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 business transaction.
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 (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 $1.0 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates 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 during the prior three-year period. References herein to emerging growth company shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
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, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.
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Our directors, officers and director nominees are as follows:
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Name | Age | Title | ||
Mohsin Meghji | 51 | Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer | ||
Suleman E. Lunat | 43 | Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development | ||
Brian Griffith | 42 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
Andrew L. Farkas | 56 | Director Nominee | ||
Osbert Hood | 63 | Director Nominee | ||
Philip Marber | 65 | Director Nominee |
Mohsin Meghji, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since inception, has also been the Managing Partner of M-III Partners, LLC since February 2014. His career of more than 25 years has focused primarily identifying the financial, operational and strategic changes needed to revive troubled companies and working with the relevant constituencies to implement those changes. He has accomplished this through management and advisory roles in partnership with some of the worlds leading financial institutions, private equity and distressed hedge fund investors. Mr. Meghjis most recent corporate role was as Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy at Springleaf, as well as Chief Executive Officer of its captive insurance companies, from January 2012 to February 2014. Springleaf was listed on the NYSE in late 2013. Prior to Springleaf, Mr. Meghji served as a Senior Managing Director at C-III Capital Partners, LLC, a real-estate focused merchant banking firm from October to December 2011. Mr. Meghji co-founded Loughlin Meghji + Company, a privately-held financial advisory firm which became one of the leading restructuring boutiques in the U.S. Mr. Meghji was a Principal and Managing Director of Loughlin Meghji + Company from February 2002 to October 2011. During his tenure with Loughlin Meghji + Company, Mr. Meghji periodically served as Chief Restructuring Officer (or in an analogous position) of companies which elected to utilize bankruptcy proceedings as a part of their financial restructuring process and, as such, he served as an executive officer of various companies which filed bankruptcy petitions under federal law, including, without limitation, Pappas Telecasting in 2008, Capmark Finance, Inc. in 2009, Medical Staffing Network in 2010. Mr. Meghji was appointed as an independent director of MS Resorts in connection with the filing of its bankruptcy petition and served in such capacity from January 2011 through February 2013. Earlier in his career, Mr. Meghji was with Arthur Andersen & Co. from 1987 to 2002 in the firms London, Toronto and New York offices, including as a Partner in the Global Corporate Finance group from 2001 to 2002. He has served as a director on a number of corporate boards including Mariner Health Care Inc. from 2002 to 2004, Cascade Timberlands, LLC from 2004 to 2005 and MS Resorts from January 2011 to February 2013. He is a director of The Childrens Museum of Manhattan as well as the Equity Group International Foundation, which provides funding for underprivileged high-potential students in Kenya. Previously, he served on the Board of HealthRight International from 2004 to 2012. Mr. Meghji is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada and has taken executive courses at the INSEAD School of Business in France. He has previously qualified as a U.K. and Canadian Chartered Accountant as well as a U.S. Certified Turnaround Professional. Mr. Meghji is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience in turnaround situations, business, finance and operations.
Suleman E. Lunat, our Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development since inception, is also a Partner of M-III Partners, LLC. He has 20 years of experience as an investor in public and private equity, credit and distressed special situations and investment banking. He has provided M&A, debt restructuring and capital raising services to a range of middle market and large corporate clients in North America and Europe. Before joining M-III Partners in July 2014, Mr. Lunat was a Principal and portfolio manager in the Opportunistic Credit group of Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), a global alternative investment manager focusing on private equity, credit and real estate, from 2007 to February 2013. At Apollo, Mr. Lunat focused on managing a portfolio of special situation performing, stressed and distressed credit and equity investments in both the public and private markets. Mr. Lunat was also a member of Apollos Strategic Value
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Fund and Credit Opportunity Fund investment teams. Prior to Apollo, Mr. Lunat held positions as Senior Investment Analyst at Longacre Fund Management from 2005 to 2007 and Sandell Asset Management from 2004 to 2005, both privately-held alternative asset management firms. Before joining Sandell, he was a Vice President at Greenhill & Co. (NYSE: GHL), where he was employed from 1997 to 2003, focused on debt restructuring, M&A and principal investing. He was an initial member of the Greenhill Capital Partners private equity investment team. He began his career at Lehman Brothers as a financial analyst in the Investment Banking division in 1995. Mr. Lunat has served as a trustee of Success Academy Charter Schools-NYC since September 2014 and as a director of Centrus Energy Corporation (NYSE: LEU) from October 2014. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Economics.
Brian Griffith, our Chief Financial Officer since inception, is also a Managing Director of M-III Partners, LLC. Mr. Griffith has more than 17 years of financial, operational and advisory experience in both growth and distressed situations. Over the course of his career, Mr. Griffith served as Chief Restructuring Officer and interim VP of Finance for various clients in the finance, energy and technology sectors. His experience covers a number of industries including financial services, real estate, healthcare services, energy, consumer products, manufacturing and food services. Prior to joining M-III Partners in August 2014, Mr. Griffith spent two years as an independent advisor to companies in transition, including roles as the Chief Restructuring Officer of Yoostar Entertainment Group from April 2014 to October 2014 and as an advisor to Springleaf Holdings, LLC (NYSE: LEAF) from May 2013 to October 2014. Mr. Griffith was previously a Managing Director at Loughlin Meghji + Company, a privately-held financial advisory firm, from February 2008 to January 2013. At Loughlin Meghji + Company, he was involved with numerous transactions, including the restructuring of Capmark Financial Group, Inc., where he was responsible for the development and execution of cost rationalization initiatives. Mr. Griffith also advised Berkadia Commercial Mortgage on process improvement and cost reduction initiatives. Other roles included advising an institutional investor on a merger integration of two healthcare companies. Prior to Loughlin Meghji + Company, Mr. Griffith worked for CCV Restructuring from 2002 to 2008, FTI Consulting from 2001 to 2002 and Ernst & Young, LLP from 1996 to 1997 advising stakeholders in turnarounds, as well as providing transaction advisory services. Mr. Griffith earned an M.B.A from Fordham University and received a B.S. in Business Administration degree from Villanova University. He is a member of the Turnaround Management Association.
Andrew L. Farkas, who will be one of our directors on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, currently serves as the Managing Member, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Island Capital Group LLC. Island Capital Group LLC is a private, real-estate oriented merchant banking firm specializing in real estate investing, real estate operating businesses and real estate securities. Mr. Farkas also serves as an officer in various subsidiaries and controlled affiliates of Island Capital Group LLC and is also regularly appointed to and holds director positions in private, non-corporate vehicles controlled by Island Capital Group LLC. Prior to founding Island Capital Group LLC in 2003, Mr. Farkas was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1998 to 2003 of Insignia Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: IFS), a global real estate services company that he founded in 1990 and which was merged with CB Richard Ellis in 2003 to form the worlds largest commercial real estate services company. Prior to founding Insignia Financial Group, Inc., Mr. Farkas was employed at Thompson McKinnon Securities from 1982 to 1984 and was the founder and managing principal of Metropolitan Asset Group, Ltd., a private real estate investment banking and merchant banking firm specializing in securitized real estate transactions since 1984. Mr. Farkas served on the Board of Directors of iStar Financial Inc. from 2001 to 2003. He also served as a Managing Trustee of the Board of Trustees of Charter Mac (NYSE: CHC) from 2004 until 2007. Mr. Farkas graduated from Harvard University in 1982 with a B.A. in Economics. Mr. Farkas is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in finance, real estate, banking and business.
Osbert Hood. Mr. Hood, who will be one of our directors on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms part, is currently retired from active business management. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Advent Capital Management, LLC, a privately-held investment management firm, from June 2012 to May 2014. At Advent, Mr. Hood oversaw all non-investment functions including business development, product development, investor relations, operations and technology. Prior to joining Advent, Mr. Hood served as a business advisor from May 2010 to May 2012 and was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MacKay Shields, LLC, a privately-held investment management firm, from
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January 2007 to April 2010. Prior to MacKay Shields, LLC, he served as Pioneer Investments USAs Chief Executive Officer and President from 2003 to 2006 and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 to 2003. Pioneer Investments USA is the US division of Pioneer Investments S.p.A., which is a global asset management firm that is a subsidiary of UniCredit S.p.A., a leading publicly-traded European banking group. Mr. Hood was employed by John Hancock Financial Services from 1990 to 2000, where he served in roles of increasing responsibility before being named as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of John Hancock Advisors in 1997. John Hancock is the United States operating unit of Manulife Financial, a leading Canada-based financial services group (NYSE: MFC). He began his professional career at American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) in 1977. Mr. Hood has been a director of Centrus Energy Corporation (NYSE: LEU), a global energy company that supplies low enriched uranium for commercial nuclear plants, since October 2014. Mr. Hood holds an MBA from New York University and a BS from Adelphi University. He also has attended the Advanced Management Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hood is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in finance, business and operations.
Philip Marber. Mr. Marber, who will be one of our directors on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, is currently retired from active business management. From 1996 to 2009, Mr. Marber served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald and Co., an investment bank and brokerage business, where he was responsible for all aspects of management of the institutional equities business. Mr. Marber joined Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as the founder of its institutional options department in 1990 and held positions of increasing responsibility prior to his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to that, Mr. Marber was employed by Jeffries & Co. as an institutional equity option salesman since 1984. He was a member of the National Organization of Investment Professionals, a non-profit organization of investment professionals to which membership is offered on an invitation-only basis, from 2002 to 2009. Mr. Marber is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in finance, business and operations.
Our current roster of operating advisors is as follows:
Ø | Matthew Boyer: Mr. Boyer has been a Senior Adviser at Cooper Investment Partners, a $750 million private equity fund, since January 2015 and was a founding Partner of the fund from February 2010 to December 2014. During his time at Cooper, Mr. Boyer has led or co-led investments and related commitments totaling approximately $410 million in the shipping, engineering/construction and telecommunications industries. Prior to joining Cooper, Mr. Boyer was employed by The Carlyle Group from June 2001 to December 2008, most recently as a Partner and Managing Director, focused on buyouts in media, communications and IT services. Mr. Boyer completed over $21 billion of leveraged buyouts and related transactions while at The Carlyle Group. Previously, Mr. Boyer was at Lehman Brothers from June 1996 to April 2001, most recently as a Senior Vice President and one of the founding members of the Lehman Brothers Communications Fund, an $800 million private equity fund focused on early stage investments in communications companies. From 1996 to 1999, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers in the Communications and Media Group, where he focused on wireless and emerging wireline communications companies. Mr. Boyer completed over $12 billion of advisory assignments, debt and equity financings and principal investments during his time at Lehman Brothers. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Boyer was an Associate in the Media and Telecommunications Group at Chase Securities from June 1994 to May 1996. Mr. Boyer received an M.B.A. and an M.I.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. in political science from Duke University. |
Ø | Kenneth Campbell: Mr. Campbell served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Pacific Corporation (NYSE: SPF), a nationwide builder of homes and residential communities, from December 2008 through December 2011. During his tenure with Standard Pacific, Mr. Campbell implemented a restructuring program which we have been informed significantly reduced overhead and debt, while increasing equity value from less than $200 million to more than $3 billion. From July 2007 through December 2008, he was a Partner at MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, a privately-held global alternative asset management firm. |
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He served as the Chief Executive Officer and a Director at Ormet Corporation, a producer and supplier of aluminum products, from May 2006 to May 2007. Mr. Campbell served as the Chief Restructuring Officer and Chief Financial Officer at RailWorks Corporation, a provider track and transit & systems construction and maintenance services from 2003 to 2006. He also served as Chief Financial Officer of HQ Global Workplaces, a privately-held provider of executive office space in Dallas, from 2002 to 2003. Mr. Campbell served as a consultant to various companies between 1998 and 2002. Prior to 1998, he held a number of finance and planning positions of increasing responsibility at public and private companies. We have selected Mr. Campbell as an operating advisor because we believe that his long history of designing and implementing operating, strategic and financial improvements to drive growth will assist us in driving growth at companies acquired by us. |
Ø | Ned Cloonan: Mr. Cloonan is Senior Advisor to M-III Partners, and has served in such position since January 2015. He has focused his career on the intersection between business and geopolitical issues, and how to help companies address political, policy and reputation risk. Mr. Cloonan spent over three decades in progressively senior positions at American International Group, Inc.. a publicly traded insurance and financial services company, from 1980 to 2010, where he reported directly to Maurice R. Greenberg, its Chairman and CEO. We believe that, during his tenure at American International Group, Mr. Cloonan built one of the most effective global government and external affairs operations in corporate America. His achievements include securing licenses in China, India and Vietnam, building a highly-regarded political and market intelligence network and creating a substantial global corporate giving program. For his efforts, Mr. Cloonan was named a C.V. Starr Partner by Chairman Greenberg, the highest form of recognition within the company. Mr. Cloonan continues to be active in a number of organizations. He is a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Council of the Americas. He has been a member of the Business Advisory Board of the Asia Society since 2010 and the Board of the Center for Contemporary German Studies since 2006. He is also has been a member of the Advisory Board for the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University since 2005. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Mr. Cloonan received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and an M.A. from the School of International Affairs at Columbia University. |
Ø | Thomas Pernsteiner: Mr. Pernsteiner was a Managing Director at M-III Partners from February 2015 through April 2016. He is an experienced senior executive, turnaround manager and strategy consultant, with expertise in helping firms in North America and Europe to improve their market, competitive and financial performance. The fundamental emphasis of his work is to assist investors and management in discerning the structure and dynamics of an industry, identifying opportunities for step change performance improvement, re-designing organizational models and processes to infuse new capabilities and personally leading efforts to quickly capture results. From January 2011 to January 2015, Mr. Pernsteiner was the Executive Vice President of U.S. Operations for Champion Home Builders, a privately-held producer of manufactured housing which he joined after advising it through bankruptcy. While at Champion, he implemented a major strategic and operational overhaul, which we understand doubled market share and revenue and returned it to profitability. Prior to Champion, Mr. Pernsteiner was a Managing Director at Loughlin Meghji + Company, a privately-held financial advisory firm, from 2006 to 2010. Prior to Loughlin Meghji + Company, Mr. Pernsteiner spent 14 years with the global strategy consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, a privately-held management consulting firm, as a Partner where he specialized in corporate and operating unit strategy development for Fortune 500 firms and associated business transformation programs to create significant shareholder value. Mr. Pernsteiner holds an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan and received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He has published a number of articles on strategy and performance and is a Certified Turnaround Professional. |
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We currently expect our operating advisors to (i) assist us in sourcing potential business combination targets, (ii) provide their business insights when we assess potential business combination targets and (iii) upon our request, provide their business insights as we work to create additional value in the businesses that we acquire. In this regard, they will fulfill some of the same functions as our board members. However, our operating advisors will not perform board or committee functions, nor will they have any voting or decision making capacity on our behalf. They will also not be subject to the fiduciary requirements to which our board members are subject. We may modify or expand our roster of operating advisors as we source potential business combination targets or create value in businesses that we may acquire.
Our board of directors is divided into two 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 meeting of stockholders) serving a two-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Hood and Marber, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Meghji and Farkas will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. We do not currently intend to hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination.
Our officers are elected by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An independent director is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the companys board of directors, would interfere with the directors exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Farkas, Hood and Marber are independent directors as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
None of our executive officers, directors or director nominees has received any cash (or non-cash) compensation for services rendered to us. 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 business combinations. Our independent directors will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our combined team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely of independent directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our combined team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after the initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our managements motivation in identifying or
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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 executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms part, our board of directors will have two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Both our audit committee and our compensation committee will be composed solely of independent directors.
Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. We have established an audit committee of the board of directors, which currently consists of Messrs. Meghji, Hood and Marber. Messrs. Hood and Marber meet the independent director standard under Nasdaqs listing standards and under Rule 10A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act; Mr. Meghji does not. Because we expect to list our securities on Nasdaq in connection with our initial public offering, we have one year to have our audit committee be comprised of at least three independent members, at which time Mr. Meghji will resign from the audit committee. Mr. Marber will serve as chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Marber qualifies as an audit committee financial expert as defined in applicable SEC rules.
Responsibilities of the audit committee include:
➤ | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
➤ | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
➤ | reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
➤ | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors; |
➤ | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
➤ | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (i) the independent auditors 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; |
➤ | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
➤ | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Messrs. Hood and Marber. Mr. Hood will serve as chairman of the compensation committee. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
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➤ | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officers compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officers performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation in executive session at which the Chief Executive Officer is not present; |
➤ | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other executive officers; |
➤ | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
➤ | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
➤ | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
➤ | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
➤ | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
➤ | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by NASDAQ and the SEC.
We do not have a standing nominating committee, though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or NASDAQ rules. 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. The directors who shall participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Messrs. Farkas, Hood and Marber. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the NASDAQ rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to the Board should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
Suleman E. Lunat, who serves as our Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development, is a member of the Board of Directors of Centrus Energy Corp. and sits on its Compensation Committee. Osbert Hood, who will be a member of the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors, also is a member of the Board of Directors of Centrus Energy Corp.
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of Code of Ethics and our audit committee charter as exhibits to the registration statement of
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which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SECs web site at www.sec.gov. 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. See Where You Can Find Additional Information.
Certain of our executive officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our executive officers, directors and director nominees may become involved with subsequent blank check companies similar to our company, although they have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any blank check company until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
➤ | 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. |
➤ | 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 affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented to our company or to another entity. For a complete description of our managements other affiliations, see Directors and Executive Officers. |
➤ | Our initial stockholders and Cantor Fitzgerald have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and (except for Cantor Fitzgerald) public shares in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial stockholders and Cantor Fitzgerald have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months 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 units will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares, private placement shares or warrants, which will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial stockholders until the earlier of (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (2) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization, or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (2) if we consummate a transaction after our initial business |
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combination which results in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement units and their component securities will not be transferable, assignable or salable by the purchasers until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants following this offering, our 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. |
➤ | 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. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
➤ | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
➤ | the opportunity is within the corporations line of business; and |
➤ | it would not be fair to the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the doctrine of corporate opportunity will not apply with respect to any of our officers or directors in circumstances where the application of the doctrine would conflict with any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations they may have. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers, directors and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
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Individual | Entity | Entitys Business | Affiliation | Nature of Conflict | ||||
Mohsin Meghji | M-III Partners, LLC | Private Equity Investments | Managing Member | Mr. Meghji owes fiduciary duties to M-III Partners, LLC as the Managing Member and an officer thereof. M-III Partners, LLC has agreed that it will present to us any investment opportunity available to M-III Partners, LLC prior to review of such opportunity by M-III Partners, LLC and that M-III Partners, LLC will not pursue any such opportunity unless we have elected not to pursue it. | ||||
Suleman E. Lunat | M-III Partners, LLC | Private Equity Investments | Partner | Mr. Lunat owes a fiduciary duty to M-III Partners, LLC as a Partner and officer thereof. M-III Partners, LLC has agreed that it will present to us any investment opportunity available to M-III Partners, LLC prior to review of such opportunity by M-III Partners, LLC and that M-III Partners, LLC will not pursue any such opportunity unless we have elected not to pursue it. |
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Individual | Entity | Entitys Business | Affiliation | Nature of Conflict | ||||
Mr. Lunat will be required to present all business opportunities which are suitable for Centrus Energy Corp. to it prior to presenting them to us. However, we believe that the area in which we are looking and the area in which Centrus Energy Corp. operates are sufficiently different that the risk of any conflict is small. | ||||||||
Brian Griffith | M-III Partners, LLC | Private Equity Investments | Managing Director | Mr. Griffith owes a fiduciary duty to M-III Partners, LLC as an officer thereof. M-III Partners, LLC has agreed that it will present to us any investment opportunity available to M-III Partners, LLC prior to review of such opportunity by M-III Partners, LLC and that M-III Partners, LLC will not pursue any such opportunity unless we have elected not to pursue it. | ||||
Andrew L. Farkas | Island Capital Group LLC and various subsidiaries and controlled affiliates | Investment | Managing Member | Mr. Farkas will be required to present all business opportunities which are suitable for Island Capital Group LLC or certain of its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates (including, without limitation, certain investment funds sponsored and controlled by Island Capital Group LLC) to it prior to presenting them to us. However, we believe that, as Island Capital Group LLC and such subsidiaries and controlled affiliates focus on investment in real estate, real estate services companies and real estate-related securities, the risk of any conflict is small. | ||||
Osbert Hood | Centrus Energy Corp. | Uranium Processing | Director. | Mr. Hood will be required to present all business opportunities which are suitable for Centrus Energy Corp. to it prior to presenting them to us. However, we believe that the area in which we are looking and the area in which Centrus Energy Corp. operates are sufficiently different that the risk of any conflict is small. |
Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers, directors or director nominees becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our independent directors will not be obligated to present any business combination opportunities to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
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 such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a qualified independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination and our officers and
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directors have also agreed to vote any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination. Cantor Fitzgerald has not committed to vote any private placement shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 5,515,001 of the 15,000,000 public shares, or approximately 36.8%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised).
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted by the DGCL.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to maintain insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We will 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.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholders investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions and, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
➤ | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
➤ | each of our executive officers, directors and director nominees that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and |
➤ | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock 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.
The post-offering ownership percentage column below assumes that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 562,500 founder shares, that our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald purchase the 460,000 private placement units and that there are 19,210,000 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding after this offering.
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Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock |
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Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Before Offering |
After Offering |
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M III Sponsor I LLC(2) | 4,053,368 | 93.9 | % | 19.9 | % | |||||||
M III Sponsor I LP(2) | 219,132 | 5.1 | % | 1.2 | % | |||||||
Mohsin Meghji(2) | 4,272,500 | 99.0 | % | 21.1 | % | |||||||
Suleman E. Lunat(3) | | | * | |||||||||
Brian Griffith | | | * | |||||||||
Andrew L. Farkas(4) | | | * | |||||||||
Osbert Hood(5) | 20,000 | * | * | |||||||||
Philip Marber(5) | 20,000 | * | * | |||||||||
All directors and executive officers as a group (6 individuals) | 4,312,500 | 100.0 | % | 21.3 | % |
* | Less than one percent. |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is 3 Columbus Circle, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019. |
(2) | These shares represent the founder shares held by our sponsor. Mohsin Meghji, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the managing member of M III Acquisition Partners I LLC, the sole managing member of M III Sponsor I LLC. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of M III Acquisition Partners I Corp., the sole general partner of M III Sponsor I LP. Consequently, he may be deemed the beneficial owners of the founder shares held by our sponsor and have sole voting and dispositive control over such securities. Mr. Meghji disclaims beneficial ownership over any securities owned by our sponsor in which he does not have a pecuniary interest. |
(3) | Mr. Lunat does not beneficially own any shares of our common stock. However, Mr. Lunat has a pecuniary interest in shares of our common stock through his ownership of membership interests in our sponsor. |
(4) | Mr. Farkas does not beneficially own any shares of our common stock. However, Mr. Farkas has a pecuniary interest in shares of our common stock through his ownership of membership interests of our sponsor. |
(5) | The founder shares held by this individual will not be subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters overallotment option is not exercised. |
Immediately after this offering, our initial stockholders will beneficially own 21.3% of the then issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our stockholders prior to this offering at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares). Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election
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of directors, amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions other than approval of our initial business combination.
The founder shares and private placement shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the units being sold in this offering. However, the holders have agreed (A) with the exception of Cantor Fitzgerald, 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 tender offer or stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 460,000 private placement units, at a price of $10.00 per unit (a total of $4,600,000) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. 340,000 private placement units will be purchased by our sponsor and 120,000 private placement units will be purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald. The purchase price of the private placement units will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete a business combination within 24 months from the consummation of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law). There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares, private placement shares or warrants, which will expire worthless. The private placement units are identical to the units being sold in this offering except the private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor or their affiliates or designees. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. If the private placement units are held by someone other than the initial holder, or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
Our sponsor and our executive officers are deemed to be our promoters as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
The founder shares, private placement units and securities contained therein are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreements with us to be entered into by our initial stockholders and Cantor Fitzgerald. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, the last sale price of the common stock (x) equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property and (ii) in the case of the private placement units and the securities contained therein, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members or partners of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor or any of its members or partners, or Cantor Fitzgeralds officers, directors and direct and indirect equityholders; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the members of the individuals immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of one of the individuals immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) 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 shares were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; (g) by virtue of the laws of Delaware or our sponsors limited liability company agreement; or (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business
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combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions.
The holders of the founder shares and private placement units (and their constituent securities) will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have piggy-back registration rights to include such securities in other registration statements filed by us and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cantor Fitzgerald may not exercise its demand and piggyback registration rights after five (5) and seven (7) years after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements.
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In August 2015, M III LLC purchased an aggregate 3,593,750 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share. On November 5, 2015 we effectuated a 1.760-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend. Thereafter, we cancelled a portion of the shares issued in such split, resulting in an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares outstanding (up to 562,500 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). As a result of the stock split and subsequent partial cancellations, the per-share purchase price decreased to $0.006 per share. In April 2016, M III LLC transferred to M III LP a number of founder shares, a portion of which were subsequently cancelled so that M III LP currently holds 219,132 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $1,823.84. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20.0% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering (excluding the private placement shares). In August 2015, M III LLC transferred 20,000 founder shares to Mr. Hood, an independent director nominee, and in October 2015, M III LLC transferred an additional 20,000 founder shares to Mr. Marber, another independent director nominee. In connection with the dividend, Messrs. Hood and Marber transferred to M III LLC an aggregate of 30,400 founder shares so that they each retain 20,000 founder shares. The 40,000 founder shares retained by Messrs. Hood and Marber will not be subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters overallotment option is not exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our stockholders prior to this offering at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares).
Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 460,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit (a total of $4,600,000) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. 340,000 private placement units will be purchased by our sponsor (300,000 by M III LLC and 40,000 by M III LP) and 120,000 private placement units will be purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald. The purchase price of the private placement units will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete a business combination within 24 months from the consummation of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law). There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares, private placement shares or warrants, which will expire worthless. The private placement units are identical to the units being sold in this offering except the private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor or their affiliates or designees. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. If the private placement units are held by someone other than the initial holder, or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
As more fully discussed in 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. Certain of our executive officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Commencing on the date of this prospectus, M-III Partners, LLC, an affiliate of Mohsin Meghji, our Chief Executive Officer, has agreed to provide, at no cost to us, office space and general administrative services.
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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 business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
As of the date of this prospectus, M III LLC has loaned and advanced us $250,000 and $27,762, respectively to to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These advances and loan are non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earlier of July 31, 2016 or the closing of this offering. These advances and loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $600,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses. The value of our sponsors 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 the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as described 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.
After our initial business combination, members of our combined 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 stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. 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 stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares and private placement units (and their constituent securities), which is described under the heading Principal Stockholders Registration Rights.
Following this offering, our audit committee must review and approve any related person transaction we propose to enter into. Our audit committee charter details the policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest and may raise questions as to whether such transactions are consistent with the best interest of our company and our stockholders. A summary of such policies and procedures is set forth below.
Any potential related party transaction that is brought to the audit committees attention will be analyzed by the audit committee, in consultation with outside counsel or members of management, as appropriate, to determine whether the transaction or relationship does, in fact, constitute a related party transaction. At its meetings, the audit committee will be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, the business purpose of the transaction and the benefits to us and to the relevant related party.
In determining whether to approve a related party transaction, the audit committee must consider, among other factors, the following factors to the extent relevant:
➤ | whether the terms of the transaction are fair to us and on the same basis as would apply if the transaction did not involve a related party; |
➤ | whether there are business reasons for us to enter into the transaction; |
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➤ | whether the transaction would impair the independence of an outside director; and |
➤ | whether the transaction would present an improper conflict of interest for any director or executive officer. |
Any member of the audit committee who has an interest in the transaction under discussion must abstain from any voting regarding the transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the audit committee, participate in some or all of the audit committees discussions of the transaction. Upon completion of its review of the transaction, the audit committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the transaction.
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Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock will consist of 35,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of common stock and one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-half of one share of our common stock at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. For example, if a warrant holder holds two warrants, such warrants will be exercisable for one share of the companys common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. The common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the closing of this offering unless Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. informs us of its decision (based upon, among other things, its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization and blank check companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular) 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 shares of common stock 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 shares of common stock and warrants.
In no event will the common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering which will include this audited balance sheet, which is anticipated to take place four 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.
Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 4,312,500 shares of our common stock outstanding. Our initial stockholders will own 21.3% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed to purchase 460,000 private placement shares contained in the private placement units in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. 340,000 private placement units will be purchased by our sponsor and 120,000 private placement units will be purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald. Upon the closing of this offering, 19,210,000 shares of our common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 562,500 founder shares by our sponsor). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our stockholders prior to this offering at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares).
Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. Our board of directors is divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
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Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of 35,000,000 shares of common stock, if we were to enter into a business combination, we will likely (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our business combination.
In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public 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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and working capital released to us), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and (except for Cantor Fitzgerald) public shares in connection with the completion of our business combination. Unlike many blank check companies that hold stockholder 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 stockholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to 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 certificate of incorporation requires 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 SECs proxy rules. If, however, a stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal 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 stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. 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 stockholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock, non-votes 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.
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 certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares.
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However, we would not be restricting our stockholders ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. However, Cantor Fitzgerald has not committed to vote any private placement shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 5,515,001 of the 15,000,000 public shares, or approximately 36.8%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial stockholders 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 time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders 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 stock, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our public stockholders 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, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and working capital released to us), upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
The founder shares and private placement shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares and private placement shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) the founder shares and private placement shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, and (ii) our initial stockholders and holders of our private placement shares have entered into letter agreements (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement) with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and (except for Cantor Fitzgerald) public shares in connection with the completion of our business combination and (B) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if we fail to complete our business combination within 24 months 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. If we submit our business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in
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favor of our initial business combination. Cantor Fitzgerald has not committed to vote any private placement shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 5,515,001 of the 15,000,000 public shares, or approximately 36.8%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised).
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares and private placement shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until, with respect to the founder shares, the earlier of one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, (x) subsequent to our business combination, the last sale price of the common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property, and with respect to the private placement shares, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Up to 562,500 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor (or its permitted transferees) on a pro rata basis depending on the exercise of the over-allotment option.
The founder shares and private placement shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the units being sold in this offering. However, the holders have agreed (A) with the exception of Cantor Fitzgerald, 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 stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that shares of preferred stock 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 stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder 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 stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering.
Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one-half of one share of our common stock at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. For example, if a warrant holder holds two warrants, such warrants will be exercisable for one share of the companys common stock. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. 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.
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of common stock 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 shares of common stock 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 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, unless an exemption is available. In
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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 worthless. 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 share of common stock underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than thirty (30) days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within 90 days after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement and 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.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:
➤ | in whole and not in part; |
➤ | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
➤ | upon not less than 30 days prior written notice of redemption (the 30-day redemption period) to each warrant holder; and |
➤ | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the common stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We 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 warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the common stock may fall below the $24.00 redemption trigger price as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price (for whole shares) after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a cashless basis. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The fair market value shall mean the average reported last sale price of the common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the fair market value in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for
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redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants contained in the private placement units for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
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 persons affiliates), to the warrant agents actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding shares of common stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of common stock, or by a split-up of shares of common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of common stock. A rights offering to holders of common stock entitling holders to purchase shares of common stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of common stock 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 common stock) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of common stock 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 common stock, in determining the price payable for common stock, 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 volume weighted average price of common stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
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 common stock on account of such shares of common stock (or other shares of our capital stock 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 common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) as a result of the repurchase of shares of common stock by the company if the proposed initial business combination is presented to the stockholders of the company for approval, 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 share of common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of common stock.
Whenever the number of shares of common stock 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 shares of common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our
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outstanding shares of common stock), 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 in connection with which we are dissolved, 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 the shares of our common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following 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. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by stockholders of the company as provided for in the companys amended and restated certificate of incorporation or as a result of the repurchase of shares of common stock by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the stockholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of common stock, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a stockholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the common stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustments (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. Additionally, if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of common stock 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 warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the per share consideration minus Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.
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 defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants.
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 warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
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Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of common stock. 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 the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. As a result, warrant holders not purchasing an even number of warrants must sell any odd number of warrants in order to obtain full value from the fractional interest that will not be issued.
The private placement warrants contained in the private placement units (including the common stock 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, among other limited exceptions as described under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants, to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their permitted transferees. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. 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. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The fair market value shall mean the average reported last sale price of the common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor and permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain 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 stockholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the shares of common stock received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a 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 stock dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, in which case we will effect a stock dividend immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our stockholders prior to this offering at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares). Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
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The transfer agent for our common stock 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 stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees 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.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of at least 65% of our common stock and then only if we allow dissenting holders the opportunity to redeem their pro-rata interest from the trust account. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 21.3% of our common stock 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 certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:
➤ | if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
➤ | prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination; |
➤ | although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a qualified independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
➤ | if a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal 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; |
➤ | if our securities are listed on NASDAQ, 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 our assets held in the trust account (excluding the 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; |
➤ | if our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if |
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we do not complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and |
➤ | we will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets upon consummation of our initial business combination to be less than $5,000,001.
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers upon completion of this offering. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a business combination with:
➤ | a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an interested stockholder); |
➤ | an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or |
➤ | an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder. |
A business combination includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
➤ | our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an interested stockholder, prior to the date of the transaction; |
➤ | after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or |
➤ | on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors will be classified into two 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 meetings.
Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder 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 common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our CEO or by our chairman.
Our bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholders notice will need to be received by the secretary
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to our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day prior to the scheduled date of the annual meeting of stockholders. If our annual meeting is called for a date that is not within 45 days before or after such anniversary date, a stockholders notice will need to be received not earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day before the meeting and not later than the later of (x) the close of business on the 90th day before the meeting or (y) the close of business on the 10 th day following the day on which we first publicly announce the date of the annual meeting. Our bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders notice for an annual meeting. Specifically, a stockholders notice must include: (i) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting, the text of the proposal or business and the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting, (ii) the name and record address of such stockholder and the name and address of the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, (iii) the class or series and number of shares of our capital stock owned beneficially and of record by such stockholder and by the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, (iv) a description of all arrangements or understandings between such stockholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by such stockholder, (v) any material interest of such stockholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made in such business and (vi) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the annual meeting to bring such business before such meeting. These notice requirements will be deemed satisfied by a stockholder as to any proposal (other than nominations) if the stockholder has notified us of such stockholders intention to present such proposal at an annual meeting in compliance with Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, and such stockholder has complied with the requirements of such rule for inclusion of such proposal in the proxy statement we prepare to solicit proxies for such annual meeting. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. The foregoing provisions may limit our stockholders ability to bring matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.
Immediately after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option) we will have 19,210,000 (or 22,022,500 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of common stock outstanding. Of these shares, the 15,000,000 shares (or 17,250,000 shares if the 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 4,210,000 (or 4,772,500 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares (including all 460,000 private placement units and their component securities) are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock 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 shares of our common stock 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:
➤ | 1% of the total number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 192,100 shares immediately after this offering (or 220,225 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or |
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➤ | the average weekly reported trading volume of the common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
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.
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:
➤ | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
➤ | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
➤ | the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material 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 Form 8-K reports; and |
➤ | 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 stockholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement units and their component securities, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
The holders of the founder shares and private placement units (and their component securities) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain piggy-back registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cantor Fitzgerald may not exercise its demand and piggyback registration rights after five (5) and seven (7) years after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Our units, common stock and warrants have been approved for listing on NASDAQ under the symbols MIIIU, MIII and MIIIW, respectively. Our units will be listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the shares of our common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our common stock and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on NASDAQ.
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The following is a discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units, shares of common stock and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. Because the components of a unit are separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying common stock and warrant components of the unit, as the case may be. As a result, the discussion below with respect to actual holders of common stock and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying common stock and warrants that comprise the units). This discussion applies only to securities that are held as a capital asset for U.S. federal income tax purposes and is applicable only to holders who purchased units in this offering.
This discussion does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances, including the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare tax on certain investment income and the different consequences that may apply if you are subject to special rules that apply to certain types of investors, such as:
➤ | financial institutions; |
➤ | insurance companies; |
➤ | dealers or traders subject to a mark to market method of accounting with respect to the securities; |
➤ | persons holding the securities as part of a straddle, hedge, integrated transaction or similar transaction; |
➤ | U.S. holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar; |
➤ | partnerships or other pass through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes; and |
➤ | tax exempt entities. |
If you are a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of your partners will generally depend on the status of the partners and your activities.
This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions and final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations as of the date hereof, changes to any of which subsequent to the date of this prospectus may affect the tax consequences described herein. This discussion does not address any aspect of state, local or non U.S. taxation, or any U.S. federal taxes other than income taxes (such as gift and estate taxes).
You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of U.S. federal tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.
We could be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company, or PHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (ii) at least 60% of the corporations adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents).
Depending on the date and size of our initial business combination, at least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income as discussed above. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our sponsor and certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts, more than 50% of our stock may be owned or deemed
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owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not become a PHC following this offering or in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments. The PHC requirements may apply to us in the taxable year of the offering and/or future taxable years.
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our common stock and one warrant to acquire one-half of one share of our common stock. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you will agree to adopt such treatment for tax purposes. 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 ordinary share and the warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. The price allocated to each share of common stock and the warrant should be the shareholders tax basis in such share or warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the share of common stock and one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the ordinary share and warrant based on their respective relative fair market values. The separation of the share of common stock and the warrant comprising a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the shares of common stock and warrants and a holders purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
This section applies to you if you are a U.S. holder. A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of our units, shares of common stock or warrants who or that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
➤ | an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
➤ | a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; or |
➤ | an estate or trust the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source. |
Taxation of Distributions. If we pay cash distributions to U.S. holders of shares of our common stock, 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. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. holders adjusted tax basis in our common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the common stock and will be treated as described under U.S. holders Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants below.
Dividends we pay to a U.S. holder that is a taxable corporation generally will qualify for the dividends received deduction if the requisite holding period is satisfied. With certain exceptions (including, but not limited to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), and provided certain holding period requirements are met, dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. holder generally will constitute qualified dividends that will be subject to tax at the maximum tax rate accorded to
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long-term capital gains. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the common stock described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements with respect to the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income, as the case may be.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants. Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of common stock or warrants as described below, and 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. holders adjusted tax basis in the common stock or warrants. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holders holding period for the common stock or warrants so disposed of exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the common stock described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. holder is 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 common stock or 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 common stock or the warrants based upon the then fair market values of the common stock and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. holders adjusted tax basis in its common stock or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. holders adjusted tax basis in its common stock or warrants generally will equal the U.S. holders acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of common stock or warrant or, as discussed below, the U.S. holders initial basis for common stock received upon exercise of warrants) less, in the case of a share of common stock, any prior distributions treated as a return of capital.
Redemption of Common Stock. In the event that a U.S. holders common stock is redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under Description of Securities Common Stock or if we purchase a U.S. holders common stock in an open market transaction, the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as sale of the common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of common stock, the U.S. holder will be treated as described under U.S. holders Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of common stock, the U.S. holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under U.S. holders Taxation of Distributions. Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of shares of our stock treated as held by the U.S. holder (including any stock constructively owned by the U.S. holder as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of common stock generally will be treated as a sale of the common stock (rather than as a corporate distribution) if the redemption (i) is substantially disproportionate with respect to the U.S. holder, (ii) results in a complete termination of the U.S. holders interest in us or (iii) is not essentially equivalent to a dividend with respect to the U.S. holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. holder takes into account not only stock actually owned by the U.S. holder, but also shares of our stock that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. holder may constructively own, in addition to stock owned directly, stock owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. holder, as well as any stock the U.S. holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include common stock which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately following the redemption of common stock must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately before the redemption. There will be a complete termination of a
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U.S. holders interest if either (i) all of the shares of our stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed or (ii) all of the shares of our stock actually owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed and the U.S. holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of stock owned by certain family members and the U.S. holder does not constructively own any other stock. The redemption of the common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if a U.S. holders conversion results in a meaningful reduction of the U.S. holders proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. holders proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a meaningful reduction. A U.S. holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under U.S. holders Taxation of Distributions, above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. holder in the redeemed common stock will be added to the U.S. holders adjusted tax basis in its remaining stock, or, if it has none, to the U.S. holders adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other stock constructively owned by it.
Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant. Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. holder generally will not recognize taxable gain or loss from the acquisition of common stock upon exercise of a warrant for cash. The U.S. holders tax basis in the share of our common stock received upon exercise of the warrant generally will be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. holders initial investment in the warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. holders purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under General Treatment of Units) and the exercise price. The U.S. holders holding period for the common stock received upon exercise of the warrants will begin on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrants and will not include the period during which the U.S. holder held the warrants. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holders tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a gain realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either tax-free situation, a U.S. holders basis in the common stock received would equal the holders basis in the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a gain realization event, a U.S. holders holding period in the common stock would be treated as commencing on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the common stock would include the holding period of the warrant.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants equal to the number of common shares having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the common stock represented by the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. holders tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. holders tax basis in the common stock received would equal the sum of the fair market value of the common stock represented by the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. holders tax basis in the warrants exercised. A U.S. holders holding period for the common stock would commence on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant.
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 consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
Possible Constructive Distributions. The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned Description of Securities Warrants Public
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Stockholders Warrants. An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of common stock that would be obtained upon exercise) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of shares of our common stock which is taxable to the U.S. holders of such shares as described under U.S. holders Taxation of Distributions above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. In general, information reporting requirements may apply to dividends paid to a U.S. holder and to the proceeds of the sale or other disposition of our units, shares of common stock and warrants, unless the U.S. holder is an exempt recipient. Backup withholding may apply to such payments if the U.S. holder fails to provide a taxpayer identification number, 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).
Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against a U.S. holders U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
This section applies to you if you are a Non U.S. holder. A Non U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of our units, shares of common stock and warrants who or that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
➤ | a non resident alien individual, other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates; |
➤ | a foreign corporation; or |
➤ | an estate or trust that is not a U.S. holder; |
but does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of a security.
Taxation of Distributions. In general, any distributions we make to a Non-U.S. holder of shares of our common stock, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, provided such dividends are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holders conduct of a trade or business within the United States, we will be required to withhold tax from the gross amount of the dividend at a rate of 30%, unless such Non-U.S. holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E). Any distribution not constituting a dividend will be treated first as reducing (but not below zero) the Non-U.S. holders adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock and, to the extent such distribution exceeds the Non-U.S. holders adjusted tax basis, as gain realized from the sale or other disposition of the common stock, which will be treated as described under Non-U.S. holders Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants below. In addition, if we determine that we are likely to be classified as a United States real property holding corporation (see Non-U.S. holders Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants below), we will withhold 10% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits.
The withholding tax does not apply to dividends paid to a Non-U.S. holder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holders conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the Non-U.S. holder were a U.S. resident, subject to an applicable income tax treaty providing otherwise. A Non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to an additional branch profits tax imposed at a rate of 30% (or a lower treaty rate).
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Exercise of a Warrant. The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. holders exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. holder, generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. holder, as described under U.S. holders Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described below in Non-U.S. holders Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants.
Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants. A Non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax in respect of gain recognized on a sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition of our common stock, which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, or warrants (including an expiration or redemption of our warrants), in each case without regard to whether those securities were held as part of a unit, unless:
➤ | the gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the Non-U.S. holder within the United States (and, under certain income tax treaties, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the Non-U.S. holder); or |
➤ | we are or have been a U.S. real property holding corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or the period that the Non-U.S. holder held our common stock, and, in the case where shares of our common stock are regularly traded on an established securities market, the Non-U.S. holder has owned, directly or constructively, more than 5% of our common stock at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or such Non-U.S. holders holding period for the shares of our common stock. There can be no assurance that our common stock will be treated as regularly traded on an established securities market for this purpose. |
Unless an applicable treaty provides otherwise, gain described in the first bullet point above will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates as if the Non-U.S. holder were a U.S. resident. Any gains described in the first bullet point above of a Non-U.S. holder that is a foreign corporation may also be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate (or lower treaty rate).
If the second bullet point above applies to a Non-U.S. holder, gain recognized by such holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock or warrants will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a buyer of our common stock or warrants from such holder may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 10% of the amount realized upon such disposition. We cannot determine whether we will be a U.S. real property holding corporation in the future until we complete an initial business combination. We will be classified as a U.S. real property holding corporation if the fair market value of our U.S. real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests plus our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Redemption of Common Stock. The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. holders common stock pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under Description of Securities Common Stock generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. holders common stock, as described under U.S. holders Redemption of Common Stock above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. holder will be as described above under Non-U.S. holders Taxation of Distributions and Non-U.S. holders Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants, as applicable.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. Information returns will be filed with the IRS in connection with payments of dividends and the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our units, shares of common stock and warrants. A Non-U.S. holder may have to comply with certification procedures to establish that it is not a United States person in order to avoid information reporting and backup withholding requirements. The certification procedures required to claim a reduced rate of withholding under a treaty will satisfy the certification requirements necessary to avoid the backup withholding as well. The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to a Non-U.S. holder will be allowed as a credit against such holders
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U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
FATCA Withholding Taxes. Provisions commonly referred to as FATCA impose withholding of 30% on payments of dividends (including constructive dividends) on our common stock or warrants, and, beginning in 2017, sales or other disposition proceeds from our units, shares of common stock and warrants to foreign financial institutions (which is broadly defined for this purpose and in general includes investment vehicles) and certain other Non-U.S. entities unless various U.S. information reporting and due diligence requirements (generally relating to ownership by U.S. persons of interests in or accounts with those entities) have been satisfied, or an exemption applies (typically certified as to by the delivery of a properly completed IRS Form W-8BEN-E). If FATCA withholding is imposed, a beneficial owner that is not a foreign financial institution generally will be entitled to a refund of any amounts withheld by filing a U.S. federal income tax return (which may entail significant administrative burden). Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing FATCA may be subject to different rules. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisers regarding the effects of FATCA on their investment in our securities.
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We are offering the units described in this prospectus through the underwriters named below. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., is acting as representative of the underwriters. We have entered into an underwriting agreement with the representative. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, the underwriters have agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to each of the underwriters, the number of units listed next to its name in the following table:
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Underwriter | Number of Units |
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Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. | 14,300,000 | |||
Chardan Capital Markets, LLC | 700,000 | |||
Total | 15,000,000 |
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters must buy all of the units if they buy any of them. However, the underwriters are not required to purchase the units covered by the underwriters option to purchase additional units as described below.
Our units are offered subject to a number of conditions, including:
➤ | receipt and acceptance of our units by the underwriters; and |
➤ | the underwriters right to reject orders in whole or in part. |
We have been advised by the representative that the underwriters intend to make a market in our units but that they are not obligated to do so and may discontinue making a market at any time without notice.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters or securities dealers may distribute prospectuses electronically.
We have granted the underwriters an option to buy up to an aggregate of 2,250,000 additional units. The underwriters have 45 days from the date of this prospectus to exercise this option. If the underwriters exercise this option, they will purchase additional units approximately in proportion to the amounts specified in the table above.
Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount of up to $0.12 per unit from the initial public offering price. Sales of units made outside of the United States may be made by affiliates of the underwriters. If all the units are not sold at the initial public offering price, the representative may change the offering price and the other selling terms. Upon execution of the underwriting agreement, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase the units at the prices and upon the terms stated therein.
The following table shows the per unit and total underwriting discount we will pay to the underwriters assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters option to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional units.
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No Exercise(1) | Full Exercise(1) | |||||||
Per Unit | $ | 0.60 | $ | 0.60 | ||||
Total | $ | 9,000,000 | $ | 10,350,000 |
(1) | Includes $0.40 per unit, or $6,000,000 in the aggregate payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account as described herein. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the over-allotment ($0.60 per unit or up to $1,350,000 in the aggregate) will be deposited in the trust account as deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination. |
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We estimate that the total expenses of the offering payable by us, not including the underwriting discount, will be approximately $600,000. In addition, we have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters legal counsel, not to exceed $15,000, the expenses of bound transaction bibles and lucite cube mementos not to exceed $8,000 and the expenses of investigations and background checks, not to exceed $15,000.
Cantor Fitzgerald has committed to purchase 120,000 placement units for an aggregate purchase price of $1,200,000, or $10.00 per unit, in the private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. The placement units are identical to the units being sold in this offering except that they will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its permitted transferees. Additionally, for so long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The placement units and underlying shares of common stock and warrants have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of the FINRA Manual commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Additionally, the private units purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for 180 days following the effective date of this prospectus except to any underwriter or selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriters and any such participating selected dealer. The private placement units (including their component securities) purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Common Stock and Warrants).
We, our executive officers and directors, and our initial stockholders will enter into lock-up agreements with the underwriters. Under the lock-up agreements, subject to certain exceptions, we and each of these persons may not, without the prior written approval of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, or hedge our units, warrants, shares of common stock or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for our common stock. These restrictions will be in effect for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if at any time during the 180-day restricted period we cease to qualify as an emerging growth company under the U.S. federal securities laws and either (1) during the date that is 15 calendar days plus three business days before the last day of the 180-day restricted period, we issue an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to our company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the 180-day restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 180-day period, then the restrictions described above shall continue to apply until the expiration of the date that is 15 calendar days plus three business days after the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. may, at any time and in its sole discretion, release some or all the securities from these lock-up agreements. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. will consider, among other factors, the holders reasons for requesting the release, the number of securities for which the release is being requested and market conditions at the time. If the restrictions under the lock-up agreements are waived, our units, warrants and shares of our common stock may become available for resale into the market, subject to applicable law, which could reduce the market price of our securities.
Our initial stockholders and holders of the private placement units have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, the last sale price of the common stock (x) equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations,
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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 following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Common Stock and Warrants).
The private placement units (including their component securities) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Common Stock and Warrants).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act. If we are unable to provide this indemnification, we have agreed to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
Our units have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol MIIIU and, once the common stock and warrants begin separate trading, to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols MIII and MIIIW, respectively.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in activities that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of units during and after this offering, including:
➤ | stabilizing transactions; |
➤ | short sales; |
➤ | purchases to cover positions created by short sales; |
➤ | imposition of penalty bids; and |
➤ | syndicate covering transactions. |
Stabilizing transactions consist of bids or purchases made for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our units while this offering is in progress. Stabilization transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. These transactions may also include making short sales of our units, which involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of units than they are required to purchase in this offering and purchasing units on the open market to cover short positions created by short sales. Short sales may be covered short sales, which are short positions in an amount not greater than the underwriters option to purchase additional units referred to above, or may be naked short sales, which are short positions in excess of that amount.
The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option, in whole or in part, or by purchasing units in the open market. In making this determination, 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.
Naked short sales are short sales made in excess of the over-allotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market that could adversely affect investors who purchased in this offering.
The underwriters also may impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the representative a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representative has repurchased units sold by or for the account of that underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
These stabilizing transactions, short sales, purchases to cover positions created by short sales, the imposition of penalty bids and syndicate covering transactions may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market
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price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our units. As a result of these activities, the price of our units may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. The underwriters may carry out these transactions on the Nasdaq, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. Neither we nor the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the units. Neither we, nor the underwriters, make any representation that the underwriters will engage in these stabilization transactions or that any transaction, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Prior to this offering, there was no public market for our units. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiation between us and the representatives of the underwriters. The principal factors to be considered in determining the initial public offering price include:
➤ | the information set forth in this prospectus and otherwise available to the representative; |
➤ | our history and prospects and the history and prospects for the industry in which we compete; |
➤ | our past and present financial performance; |
➤ | our prospects for future earnings and the present state of our development; |
➤ | the general condition of the securities market at the time of this offering; |
➤ | the recent market prices of, and demand for, publicly traded units of generally comparable companies; and |
➤ | other factors deemed relevant by the underwriters and us. |
The estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus is subject to change as a result of market conditions and other factors. Neither we nor the underwriters can assure investors that an active trading market will develop for our units, warrants or common stock or that the units will trade in the public market at or above the initial public offering price.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may from time to time in the future engage with us and perform services for us or in the ordinary course of their business for which they will receive customary fees and expenses. In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective 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, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of us. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of these securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in these securities and instruments.
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 such underwriters fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arms 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 90 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 finders fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
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A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the Internet sites or through other online services maintained by the underwriters participating in this offering, or by their respective affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and, depending upon the particular underwriter, prospective investors may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of units for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on any underwriters website and any information contained in any other website maintained by an underwriter is not part of the prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or any underwriters in their capacity as underwriter and should not be relied upon by investors.
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in relation to the offering. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Corporations Act), and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.
Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons (the Exempt Investors) who are sophisticated investors (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), professional investors (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.
This prospectus contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). This prospectus is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus. The shares to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a relevant member state), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that relevant member state (the relevant implementation date), an offer of units described in this prospectus may not be made to the public in that relevant member state prior to the
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publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that has been approved by the competent authority in that relevant member state or, where appropriate, approved in another relevant member state and notified to the competent authority in that relevant member state, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that, with effect from and including the relevant implementation date, an offer of our units may be made to the public in that relevant member state at any time:
➤ | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive; |
➤ | to fewer than 100, or, if the relevant member state has implemented the relevant provisions of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant Dealer or Dealers nominated by the issuer for any such offer; or natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined below) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or |
➤ | in any other circumstances that do not require the publication by us of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive. |
Each purchaser of units described in this prospectus located within a relevant member state will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive.
For the purpose of this provision, the expression an offer to the public in any relevant 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 for the units, as the expression may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the PD 2010 Amending Directive to the extent implemented by the relevant member state) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each relevant member state, and the expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.
We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of units through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters with a view to the final placement of the units as contemplated in this prospectus. Accordingly, no purchaser of the units, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of the units on behalf of us or the underwriters.
The shares 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 document 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 document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the shares or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company, the shares have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of shares will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA), and the offer of shares 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 shares.
This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the Order) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together
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being referred to as a relevant person). The units are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire such units will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units described in this prospectus has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers or by the competent authority of another member state of the European Economic Area and notified to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. The units have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units has been or will be:
➤ | released, issued, distributed or caused to be released, issued or distributed to the public in France; or |
➤ | used in connection with any offer for subscription or sale of the units to the public in France. |
Such offers, sales and distributions will be made in France only:
➤ | to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) and/or to a restricted circle of investors (cercle restreint dinvestisseurs), in each case investing for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with, Article L.411-2, D.411-1, D.411-2, D.734-1, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier; |
➤ | to investment services providers authorized to engage in portfolio management on behalf of third parties; or |
➤ | in a transaction that, in accordance with article L.411-2-II-1°-or-2°-or 3° of the French Code monétaire et financier and article 211-2 of the General Regulations (Règlement Général) of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, does not constitute a public offer (appel public à lépargne). |
The units may be resold directly or indirectly, only in compliance with Articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 through L.621-8-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier.
The units may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to professional investors within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a prospectus within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the units may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), 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 laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to units which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to professional investors within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.
The units have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) and, accordingly, will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or for the benefit of any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to any Japanese Person, except in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines promulgated by relevant Japanese governmental or regulatory authorities in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, Japanese Person shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
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This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the SFA), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to compliance with conditions set forth in the SFA.
Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
➤ | shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except: |
➤ | to an institutional investor (for corporations, under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction, whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA; |
➤ | where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or |
➤ | where the transfer is by operation of law. |
Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, New York, New York, 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. Graubard Miller, New York, New York, advised the underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities.
The financial statements of M III Acquisition Corp. as of December 31, 2015 and for the period from August 4, 2015 (inception) through December 31, 2015 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of M III Acquisition Corp. to continue as a going concern, as described in Note 1 to the financial statements) appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
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We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 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 SECs website at www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its public reference facility at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.
You may also obtain copies of the documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference facilities.
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F-1
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders
of M III Acquisition Corp.
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of M III Acquisition Corp. (the Company) as of December 31, 2015, and the related statements of operations, stockholders equity and cash flows for the period from August 4, 2015 (inception) through December 31, 2015. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Companys management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of M III Acquisition Corp., as of December 31, 2015, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from August 4, 2015 (inception) through December 31, 2015 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has no present revenue, its business plan is dependent on the completion of a financing and the Companys cash and working capital as of December 31, 2015 are not sufficient to complete its planned activities for the upcoming year. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Managements plans regarding these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. These financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
New York, NY
February 12, 2016, except for Notes 1, 3, 4 and 5, as to which the date is July 8, 2016
F-2
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As of March 31, 2016 |
As of December 31, 2015 |
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Unaudited | Audited | |||||||
ASSETS |
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Current asset cash | $ | 8,368 | $ | 31,691 | ||||
Deferred offering costs | 178,188 | 105,000 | ||||||
Total assets | $ | 186,556 | $ | 136,691 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY |
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Notes payable | $ | 162,500 | $ | 112,500 | ||||
Total current liabilities | 162,500 | 112,500 | ||||||
Commitments and contingencies |
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Stockholders equity: |
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Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued or outstanding | | | ||||||
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 35,000,000 authorized shares, 5,031,250 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015(1) | 503 | 503 | ||||||
Additional paid-in-capital | 24,497 | 24,497 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit | (944 | ) | (809 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders equity | 24,056 | 24,191 | ||||||
Total liabilities and stockholders equity | $ | 186,556 | $ | 136,691 |
(1) | The number includes an aggregate of 718,750 shares that were returned and cancelled in July 2016 and up to 562,500 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
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Three Months Ended March 31, 2016 |
August 4, 2015 Through December 31, 2015 |
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Unaudited | Audited | |||||||
Formation and operating costs | $ | (135 | ) | $ | (809 | ) | ||
Net loss | (135 | ) | $ | (809 | ) | |||
Weighted average common shares outstanding(1) |
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Basic and diluted | 4,375,000 | 4,375,000 | ||||||
Net loss per common share: |
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Basic and diluted | $ | (0.00 | ) | $ | (0.00 | ) |
(1) | The number includes an aggregate of 718,750 shares that were returned and cancelled in July 2016 and excludes 562,500 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
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Common Stock | Additional Paid-in Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Stockholders Equity |
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Shares(1) | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||
Sale of common stock to Sponsor | 6,325,000 | $ | 633 | $ | 24,367 | $ | | $ | 25,000 | |||||||||||
Return and cancellation of common stock by Sponsor | (1,293,750 | ) | (130 | ) | 130 | | | |||||||||||||
Net loss | | | | (809 | ) | (809 | ) | |||||||||||||
Balances, December 31, 2015 (audited) | 5,031,250 | 503 | 24,497 | (809 | ) | 24,191 | ||||||||||||||
Net Loss | | | | (135 | ) | (135 | ) | |||||||||||||
Balances, March 31, 2016 (unaudited) | 5,031,250 | $ | 503 | $ | 24,497 | $ | (944 | ) | $ | 24,056 |
(1) | The number includes an aggregate of 718,750 shares that were returned and cancelled in July 2016 and up to 562,500 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
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Three Months Ended March 31, 2016 |
August 4, 2015 Through December 31, 2015 |
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Unaudited | Audited | |||||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
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Net Loss | $ | (135 | ) | $ | (809 | ) | ||
Net cash used in operating activities | (135 | ) | (809 | ) | ||||
Cash flows from financing activities: |
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Proceeds from Notes Payable | 50,000 | 75,000 | ||||||
Proceeds from issuance of common stock to initial stockholder | | 25,000 | ||||||
Payment of deferred offering costs | (73,188 | ) | (67,500 | ) | ||||
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (23,188 | ) | 32,500 | |||||
Net change in cash | (23,323 | ) | 31,691 | |||||
Cash at beginning of period | 31,691 | | ||||||
Cash at end of period | $ | 8,368 | $ | 31,691 | ||||
Non-cash investing and financing activities: |
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Payment of certain deferred offering cost directly by affiliate | $ | | $ | 37,500 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
M III Acquisition Corp. (the Company) was incorporated in Delaware on August 4, 2015. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the Business Combination). While it may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector and in any geographic region, the Company expects to focus on businesses based in North America that engage primarily in the financial services, healthcare services and industrials sectors. The Company is an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act).
At March 31, 2016, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from August 4, 2015 (inception) through March 31, 2016 relates to the Companys formation and the proposed initial public offering (Proposed Offering) described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of its initial business combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Offering. The Company has selected December 31st as its fiscal year end.
The Companys sponsor is M III Sponsor I, LLC, a Delaware limited liability corporation and M III Sponsor I LP (M III LLC and M III LP, respectively and collectively, the Sponsor). The Company intends to finance a Business Combination with proceeds from a $150,000,000 public offering (the Proposed Offering Note 3) and a $4,600,000 private placement (Note 4). Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering and the private placement, $150,000,000 (or $172,500,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full Note 3) will be held in the Trust Account (discussed below).
The Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of one hundred and eighty (180) days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which invest only in direct U.S. government obligations. Funds will remain in the Trust Account until the earlier of (i) the consummation of its first Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below. The remaining proceeds outside the Trust Account may be used to pay for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisitions and continuing general and administrative expenses.
The Companys amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, other than the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes or up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released until the earlier of: (i) the completion of the Business Combination; or (ii) the redemption of 100% of the shares of common stock included in the Units being sold in the Proposed Offering if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering (subject to the requirements of law).
The Companys management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Offering, although substantially all of the net proceeds of the Proposed Offering are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business Combination with (or acquisition of) a Target Business. As used herein, Target Business must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in
F-7
connection with the Companys initial business combination. Furthermore, there is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
The Company, after signing a definitive agreement for a Business Combination, will either (i) seek stockholder approval of the Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose in connection with which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the Business Combination, 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 the initial Business Combination, including interest but less taxes payable, or (ii) provide stockholders with the opportunity to sell their shares to the Company by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount in 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 commencement of the tender offer, including interest but less taxes payable. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of the Business Combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares in a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its 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 the Company to seek stockholder approval unless a vote is required. If the Company seeks stockholder approval, it will complete its Business Combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. However, in no event will the Company redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets upon consummation of its Business Combination to be less than $5,000,001. In such case, the Company would not proceed with the redemption of its public shares and the related Business Combination, and instead may search for an alternate Business Combination.
If the Company holds a stockholder vote or there is a tender offer for shares in connection with a Business Combination, a public stockholder will have the right to redeem its shares for an amount in 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 the initial Business Combination, including interest but less taxes payable. As a result, such shares of common stock will be recorded at redemption amount and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering, in accordance with FASB ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public common share ($150,000,000 held in the Trust Account divided by 15,000,000 public common shares).
If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions in connection with a Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Companys Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the Proposed Offering (Excess Shares). However, the Company would not be restricting the stockholders ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against a Business Combination.
The Company will only have 24 months from the closing date of the Proposed Offering to complete its initial Business Combination. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within this period of time, it shall (i) cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible, but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares of common stock for a per share pro rata portion of the Trust Account, including interest, but less taxes payable (less up to $50,000 of such net interest to pay dissolution expenses) and (iii) as promptly as possible following such redemption, dissolve and liquidate the balance of the Companys net assets to its remaining stockholders, as part of its plan of dissolution and liquidation. The initial stockholders have entered into letter agreements with us (and Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed as part of its unit purchase agreement), pursuant to which they have waived their rights to participate in any redemption with respect to their initial shares; however, if the initial stockholders or any
F-8
of the Companys officers, directors or affiliates acquire shares of common stock in or after the Proposed Offering, they will be entitled to a pro rata share of the Trust Account upon the Companys redemption or liquidation in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the required time period.
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 less than the initial public offering price per Unit in the Proposed Offering. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Companys Chairman and Chief Executive Officer has agreed that he will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Companys indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed 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 the Companys Chairman and Chief Executive Officer will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims.
At March 31, 2016 the Company had $8,368 in cash and cash equivalents and a working capital deficit of $154,132. Further, the Company expects to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a Proposed Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Companys plans to raise capital will be successful. As of March 31, 2016 M III LLC loaned the Company $162,500 to be used, in part, for transaction costs incurred in connection with the Proposed Offering. The loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of July 31, 2016 or the closing of the Proposed Offering. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
The financial statements of the Company are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and pursuant to the accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The accompanying unaudited financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2016 have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for interim financial information and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal accruals) considered for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016.
F-9
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. 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.
Net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture.
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which at times, may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
The fair value of the Companys assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Companys management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A Expenses of Offering. Deferred offering costs at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 of $178,188 and $105,000, respectively, consist principally of cost incurred in connection with formation and preparation for the Proposed Offering. These costs, together with the underwriters discount, will be charged to stockholders equity upon completion of the Proposed Offering or charged to operations if the Proposed Offering is not completed.
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of FASB ASC 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
F-10
assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts and are 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.
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no uncertain tax benefits as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. 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 may be subject to potential examination by U.S. federal, U.S. states or foreign jurisdiction authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with U.S. federal, U.S. state and foreign tax laws. The Companys management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months. Since the Company was incorporated on August 4, 2015, the evaluation was performed for the upcoming 2015 tax year, which will be the only period subject to examination upon filing of the appropriate tax returns. The income tax provision was deemed to be immaterial for the periods ended March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015.
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Companys financial statements.
Management has evaluated subsequent events to determine if events or transactions occurring through April 18, 2016, the date the financial statements were available for issuance, require potential adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements and has concluded that all such events that would require recognition or disclosure have been recognized or disclosed.
Pursuant to the Proposed Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale up to 15,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit (the Units). Each Unit consists of one share of the Companys common stock, $0.0001 par value and one redeemable common stock purchase warrant (the Warrants). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one-half of one share of common stock at a price of $5.75. 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, the Company will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. Each Warrant will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of the Companys initial Business Combination or 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering and will expire five years after the completion of the Companys initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. However, if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination on or prior to the 24-month period allotted to complete the Business Combination, the Warrants will expire at the end of such period. If the Company is unable to deliver registered shares of common stock to the holder upon exercise of Warrants issued in connection with the 15,000,000 public units during the exercise period, there will be no net cash settlement of these Warrants and the Warrants will expire worthless, unless they may be exercised on a cashless basis in the circumstances
F-11
described in the warrant agreement. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants in whole and not in part at a price of $0.01 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days prior written notice of redemption, only in the event that the last sale price of the Companys shares of common stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional Units to cover any over-allotment, at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The warrants that would be issued in connection with 2,250,000 over-allotment units are identical to the public warrants and have no net cash settlement provisions.
In August 2015, M III LLC purchased an aggregate 3,593,750 Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share. On November 5, 2015 the Company effectuated a 1.760-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend. All share and per-share amounts have been retroactively restated for the effect of this stock split. On December 31, 2015, the Company cancelled 1,293,750 Founder Shares issued in the stock split, and on July 6, 2016, the Company cancelled a further 718,750 Founder Shares issued in the stock split, resulting in an aggregate of 4,312,500 Founder Shares outstanding (up to 562,500 of which are subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). As a result of the stock split and subsequent partial cancellations, the per-share purchase price decreased to $0.006 per share. The Founder Shares are identical to the common stock included in the Units being sold in the Proposed Offering except that the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below. The Sponsor has agreed to forfeit up to 562,500 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters. The forfeiture will be adjusted to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters so that the initial stockholders will own 20.0% of the Companys issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Offering (excluding the private placement shares and any shares purchased in the Proposed Offering). If the Company increases or decreases the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, the Company will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the Proposed Offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of the Companys stockholders prior to the Proposed Offering at 20.0% of the Companys issued and outstanding shares of the Companys common stock upon the consummation of the Proposed Offering (excluding the private placement shares and any shares purchased in the Proposed Offering).
The Companys initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of the Companys initial Business Combination, or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination that results in all of the Companys stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (the Lock Up Period). If subsequent to the Companys initial Business Combination, the last sale price of the Companys common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Companys initial Business Combination, or if the Company consummates a transaction after the initial Business Combination which results in the stockholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities, or other property, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.
F-12
The Sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have agreed to purchase from the Company an aggregate of 460,000 private placement units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one half share of common stock with an exercise price of $5.75 per half share, at a price of $10.00 per unit (a total of $4,600,000), in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of the Proposed Offering (the Private Placement Units). 340,000 private placement units will be purchased by the Sponsor and 120,000 private placement units will be purchased by Cantor Fitzgerald. The purchase price of the Private Placement Units will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Offering to be held in the Trust Account pending completion of the Companys initial Business Combination. The Private Placement Units (including their component securities) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and the Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the Sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the Sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants contained in the Private Placement Units will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the Units being sold in the Proposed Offering. In addition, for as long as the Private Placement Warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement related to the Proposed Offering. Otherwise, the Private Placement Warrants contained in the Private Placement Units have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the Warrants being sold as part of the Units in the Proposed Offering and have no net cash settlement provisions.
If the Company does not complete a Business Combination, then the proceeds will be part of the liquidating distribution to the public stockholders and the Private Placement Units and their component securities issued to the Sponsor will expire worthless.
M III LLC has agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of $250,000 against the issuance of an unsecured promissory note (the Note) to cover expenses related to this Proposed Offering. This loan is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of July 31, 2016 or the completion of the Proposed Offering. $112,500 was outstanding under this agreement at December 31, 2015 and $162,500 was outstanding at March 31, 2016.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Companys officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required. If the Company completes its Business Combination, the Company would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds released from the Trust Account. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that the Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants discussed above. The terms of such loans by the Companys Sponsor, officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
F-13
The authorized common stock of the Company includes up to 35,000,000 shares. Holders of the Companys common stock are entitled to one vote for each share of common stock. At both December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, there were 5,031,250 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. This number includes an aggregate of up to 656,250 Founder Shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters.
The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. At both December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, there were no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
The Company expects to pay an underwriting discount of 2% of the per Unit offering price to the underwriters at the closing of the Proposed Offering (or $3.0 million), with an additional fee (the Deferred Discount) of 4% of the gross offering proceeds payable upon the Companys completion of a Business Combination. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, the entire 6.0% underwriting discount from the over-allotment will be deposited in the Trust Account as Deferred Discount. The Deferred Discount will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event the Company completes its initial Business Combination.
The Companys initial stockholders and holders of the Private Placement Units (and their constituent securities) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed on or before the date of the prospectus for the Proposed Offering. The Companys initial stockholders and holders of the Private Placement Units (and their constituent securities) will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have piggy-back registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements. The registration rights agreement does not provide for any cash penalties or additional penalties associated with any delays in registering the securities.
F-14
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained in this prospectus and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security other than the securities offered by this prospectus, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or is unlawful. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our securities.
Until August 1, 2016 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our common stock, 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 underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.