425 1 ea154958-8k425_eaststone.htm CURRENT REPORT

 

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

 

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):   January 31, 2022

 

East Stone Acquisition Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

British Virgin Islands   001-39233   N/A
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
  (Commission File Number)   (IRS Employer
Identification No.)

 

25 Mall Road, Suite 330

Burlington, MA 01803

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (781) 202 9128

 

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
   
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
   
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
   
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company  

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of each exchange on which registered
Units, each consisting of one Ordinary Share, one Right and one Warrant   ESSCU   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Ordinary Shares, no par value   ESSC   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Rights, exchangeable into one-tenth of one Ordinary Share   ESSCR   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Warrants, each exercisable for one-half of one Ordinary Share, each whole Ordinary Share exercisable for $11.50 per share   ESSCW   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1.01 Entry Into A Material Definitive Agreement.

 

Founder Share Transfer Agreement

 

On January 31, 2022, East Stone Acquisition Corporation, a British Virgin Islands business company (“East Stone”), entered into share transfer agreements (the “Founder Share Transfer Agreements”) with Sea Otter Securities (“Sea Otter”), Stichting Juridisch Eigendom Mint Tower Arbitrage Fund (“Mint Tower”) and Meteora Capital Partners, LP and Meteora Special Opportunity Fund I, LP (collectively, “Meteora” and, together with Sea Otter and Mint Tower, the “Backstop Investors”), with Double Ventures Holdings Limited (the “Sponsor”) to support East Stone's proposal to amend and restate its memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which East Stone has to consummate a business combination from February 24, 2022 to August 24, 2022 (the "Extension"). Pursuant to Founder Share Transfer Agreements, the Backstop Investors agreed to not request redemption of an aggregate of up to 600,000 ordinary shares of East Stone in connection with the Extension. In connection therewith, our Sponsor agreed to transfer to the Backstop Investors an aggregate of (i) 180,000 founder shares on or prior to the special meeting of East Stone (the “Special Meeting”) in which East Stone’s shareholders will vote on the Extension, and (ii) 60,000 founder shares for each month past May 24, 2022 that the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement (as defined below) have not yet closed, for a total of up to 360,000 founder shares to be received by the Backstop Investors to support the Extension.

 

Any founder shares transferred pursuant to the Founder Share Transfer Agreements will be transferred to such investors on or before the date of the Special Meeting and will be subject to the same rights and obligations as the remaining founder shares held by the Sponsor, including certain registration rights and the obligations to (a) vote any founder shares held by them in favor of the Business Combination, and (b) subject any founder shares held by them to the same lock-up restrictions as the founder shares held by the Sponsor.

 

The foregoing description is only a summary of the Founder Share Transfer Agreements and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the form of Founder Share Transfer Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and incorporated by reference herein. The form of Founder Share Transfer Agreement is included as an exhibit to this Current Report on Form 8-K in order to provide investors and security holders with material information regarding its terms and the transaction. It is not intended to provide any other factual information about the Sponsor or the Backstop Investors. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Founder Share Transfer Agreements were made only for purposes of that agreement; are solely for the benefit of the parties to the Founder Share Transfer Agreements; may have been made for the purposes of allocating contractual risk between the parties to the Founder Share Transfer Agreements instead of establishing these matters as facts; and may be subject to standards of materiality applicable to the parties that differ from those applicable to investors. Security holders and investors should not rely on the representations, warranties or covenants or any description thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of the Sponsor or the Backstop Investors.

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

  (d) Exhibits

 

Exhibit No.   Description
     
10.1   Form of Share Transfer Agreement
104   Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

JHD Technologies Limited, a Cayman Islands company (“Pubco”)has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 on June 28, 2021 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”) which includes a preliminary proxy statement of East Stone, and a prospectus in connection with the proposed business combination (the “Business Combination”) involving East Stone, JHD Holdings (Cayman) Limited, a Cayman Islands company (“JHD”), Pubco, Yellow River MergerCo Limited, a British Virgin Islands company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pubco, Navy Sail International Limited, a British Virgin Islands company, in the capacity as the Purchaser Representative, Yellow River (Cayman) Limited, a Cayman Islands company, in the capacity as Primary Seller and Seller Representative, and the Sellers and Double Ventures Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company, for limited purposes thereof, pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, dated as of February 16, 2021, as amended as of June 25, 2021, as amended and restated as of September 13, 2021, as further amended and restated as of each of October 7, 2021 and November 12, 2021, and as may be further amended (the "Business Combination Agreement"). The definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents will be mailed to shareholders of East Stone as of a record date to be established for voting on East Stone’s initial business combination with JHD. Shareholders of East Stone and other interested persons are advised to read the preliminary proxy statement, and amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement in connection with East Stone’s solicitation of proxies for the special meeting of its shareholders to be held to approve the Business Combination because these documents will contain important information about East Stone, JHD, Pubco and the Business Combination. Shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of the Registration Statement and the proxy statement/prospectus, without charge, once available, on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to East Stone by contacting its Chief Financial Officer, Chunyi (Charlie) Hao, c/o East Stone Acquisition Corporation, 25 Mall Road, Suite 330, Burlington, MA 01803, at (781) 202-9128 or at hao@estonecapital.com.

 

DISCLAIMER

 

This report and the exhibits hereto do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

NO ASSURANCE

 

There can be no assurance that the proposed Business Combination will be completed, nor can there be any assurance, if the Business Combination is completed, that the potential benefits of combining the companies will be realized.

 

PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION

 

East Stone, Pubco, and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of East Stone in connection with the Business Combination. Information regarding the officers and directors of East Stone is set forth in East Stone’s annual report on Form 10-KT, which was filed with the SEC on June 9, 2021. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants is also included in the Registration Statement (and will be included in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus for the Business Combination) and other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC.

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning the Business Combination, JHD’s expected financial performance, as well as its strategic and operational plans. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this report due to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking-statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against East Stone, JHD or others following announcement of the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement or any related private financing(s) due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of East Stone; (4) delays in obtaining, adverse conditions contained in, or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals required to complete the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement; (5) the risk that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the transactions described herein; (6) the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination; (7) the ability to obtain or maintain the listing of Pubco’s securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market, following the Business Combination, including having the requisite number of shareholders; (8) costs related to the Business Combination; (9) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (10) the possibility that JHD may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (11) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in filings with the SEC by East Stone or Pubco. 

 

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SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

  East Stone Acquisition Corporation
     
Date: February 4, 2022 By: /s/ Xiaoma (Sherman) Lu
    Name:  Xiaoma (Sherman) Lu
    Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

 

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