POS AM

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

Emerging growth company

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 21, 2021

Registration No. 333-254720

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Post-Effective Amendment No. 1

FORM S-4

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

MARKETWISE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

6770

87-1767914

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code)

(I.R.S employer

identification no.)

667 Madison Avenue, 5^th Floor

New York, New York 10065

(212) 209-6126

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

Copies to:

Joel L. Rubinstein

Elliott M. Smith

White & Case LLP

1221 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10020

(212) 819-8200

Marc D. Jaffe, Esq.

Ian D. Schuman, Esq.

Christopher J. Clark, Esq.

Latham & Watkins LLP

885 Third Avenue

New York, New York 10022

(212) 906-1200

Ryan J. Maierson, Esq.
Latham & Watkins LLP
811 Main Street, Suite 3700
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 545-5400

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the Registration Statement became effective.

If the securities being registered on this Form are being offered in connection with the formation of a holding company and there is compliance with General Instruction G, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer, “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

If applicable, place an X in the box to designate the appropriate rule provision relied upon in conducting this transaction:

Exchange Act Rule 13e-4(i) (Cross-Border Issuer Tender Offer) ☐

Exchange Act Rule 14d-1(d) (Cross-Border Third-Party Tender Offer) ☐

This registration statement shall hereinafter become effective in accordance with the provisions of Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 (this “Amendment”) to Registration Statement No. 333-254720, dated July 1, 2021 (the “Registration Statement”), is being filed pursuant to Rule 414(d) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), by MarketWise, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“MarketWise”), as the successor to Ascendant Digital Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Ascendant”). On July 20, 2021, Ascendant changed its jurisdiction of incorporation from the Cayman Islands to the State of Delaware, as described further below (the “Domestication”), and changed its name to “MarketWise, Inc.” MarketWise expressly adopts the Registration Statement, as modified by this Amendment, as its own registration statement for all purposes of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). For the purposes of this Amendment and the Registration Statement, references to the “Company,” the “Registrant,” “we,” “our,” “us” and similar terms mean, as of any time prior to the Domestication, Ascendant, and, as of any time after the Domestication, MarketWise. The information contained in this Amendment sets forth additional information to reflect the Domestication. All documents filed by the Company under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act before the effective date of the Domestication will not reflect the change in our jurisdiction of incorporation or capital structure.

The Domestication was effected in the manner described in the section of the Registration Statement titled “Domestication Proposal.” In the Domestication, Ascendant effected a deregistration under Article 206 of the Cayman Islands Companies Law (2020 Revision) and, pursuant to Section 388 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), domesticated as a corporation organized in the State of Delaware. The business, assets and liabilities of the Company, as well as its principal place of business and fiscal year, were the same immediately after the Domestication as they were immediately prior to the Domestication. In addition, the directors and executive officers of the Company immediately after the Domestication were the same individuals who were directors and executive officers, respectively, of Ascendant immediately prior to the Domestication.

As a result of and upon the effective time of the Domestication, among other things, (1) each of the then issued and outstanding 10,350,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of Ascendant (the “Ascendant Class B ordinary shares”) converted automatically, on a one-for-one basis, into an Ascendant Class A ordinary share (as defined below), (2) immediately following the conversion described in clause (1), each of the then issued and outstanding 51,750,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of Ascendant (the “Ascendant Class A ordinary shares”) converted automatically, on a one-for-one basis, into a share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of MarketWise (the “MarketWise Class A common stock”), (3) each of the then issued and outstanding 20,700,000 redeemable warrants of Ascendant (the “Ascendant warrants”) converted automatically into a redeemable warrant to purchase one share of MarketWise Class A common stock (the “MarketWise warrants”) pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, dated July 23, 2020 (the “Warrant Agreement”), between Ascendant and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“Continental”), as warrant agent, and (4) each of the then issued and outstanding units of Ascendant that had not been previously separated into the underlying Ascendant Class A ordinary shares and underlying Ascendant warrants upon the request of the holder thereof (the “Ascendant units”), were cancelled and entitled the holder thereof to one share of MarketWise Class A common stock and one-half of one MarketWise warrant, and (5) each of the then issued and outstanding 10,280,000 private placement warrants of Ascendant converted automatically into a MarketWise warrant pursuant to the Warrant Agreement. No fractional MarketWise warrants were issued upon separation of the Ascendant units.

The rights of holders of MarketWise Class A common stock are now governed by its Delaware certificate of incorporation, its Delaware bylaws and the DGCL, each of which is described in Ascendant’s final proxy statement/prospectus, dated July 1, 2021, relating to the Domestication, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) on July 1, 2021 (the “Final Prospectus”). The Final Prospectus formed part of the Registration Statement.

The registration fees were paid at the time of filing of the Registration Statement. Because no additional securities are being registered, no further registration fee is required.

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN DOCUMENT

Item 20. Indemnification of Officers And Directors

Subsection (a) of Section 145 of the DGCL empowers a corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or who is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful.

Subsection (b) of Section 145 empowers a corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person acted in any of the capacities set forth above, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

Section 145 further provides that to the extent a director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 145, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith; that indemnification provided for by Section 145 shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the indemnified party may be entitled; and the indemnification provided for by Section 145 shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of such person’s heirs, executors and administrators. Section 145 also empowers the corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liabilities under Section 145.

Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL provides that a corporation’s certificate of incorporation may contain a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, provided that such provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Additionally, our certificate of incorporation limits the liability of our directors to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, and our bylaws provide that we will indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by such law. We have entered into and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors, executive officers and other employees as determined by our board of directors. Under the terms of such indemnification agreements, we are required to indemnify each of our directors and officers, to the fullest extent permitted by the laws of the state of Delaware, if the basis of the indemnitee’s involvement was by reason of the fact that the indemnitee is or was our director or officer or was serving at our request in an official capacity for another entity. We must indemnify our officers and directors against all direct and indirect costs, fees and expenses of any type or nature whatsoever,

including all other disbursements, obligations or expenses of the types customarily incurred in connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating, being or preparing to be witness in, settlement or appeal of, or otherwise participating in any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, claim, counterclaim, cross claim, arbitration, mediation, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed proceeding. The indemnification agreements also require us to advance, to the extent not prohibited by law, all direct and indirect costs, fees and expenses that such director or officer incurred, provided that such person will return any such advance if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification by us. Any claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

Item 21. Exhibits And Financial Statement Schedules


Exhibit No.		Description of Document

3.1		Certificate of Incorporation of MarketWise, Inc.

3.2		Bylaws of MarketWise, Inc.

4.1		Warrant Agreement, dated July 23, 2020, between Ascendant Digital Acquisition Corp. and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 28, 2020).

5.1		Opinion of White & Case LLP (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5.1 to Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on May 28, 2021).

23.1		Consent of WithumSmith+Brown, PC.

23.2		Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

23.3		Consent of White & Case LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

Item 22. Undertakings

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(a)

To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i)

To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii)

To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(iii)

To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

(b)

That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c)

To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(d)

That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

(e)

That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i)

Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii)

Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii)

The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv)

Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by them is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes as follows: that prior to any public reoffering of the securities registered hereunder through use of a prospectus which is a part of this registration statement, by any person or party who is deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of Rule 145(c), the issuer undertakes that such reoffering prospectus will contain the information called for by the applicable registration form with respect to reofferings by persons who may be deemed underwriters, in addition to the information called for by the other items of the applicable form.

The registrant undertakes that every prospectus: (1) that is filed pursuant to the immediately preceding paragraph, or (2) that purports to meet the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Act and is used in connection with an offering of securities subject to Rule 415, will be filed as a part of an amendment to the registration statement and will not be used until such amendment is effective, and that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to respond to requests for information that is incorporated by reference into the prospectus pursuant to Item 4, 10(b), 11 or 13 of this Form S-4, within one business day of receipt of such request, and to send the incorporated documents by first Class mail or other equally prompt means. This includes information contained in documents filed subsequent to the effective date of this Registration Statement through the date of responding to the request.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to supply by means of a post-effective amendment all information concerning this transaction that was not the subject of and included in this Registration Statement when it became effective.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, State of New York, on the 21st day of July 2021.


MARKETWISE, INC.

By:		/s/ Mark Gerhard
		Name: Mark Gerhard
		Title: Chief Executive Officer and Director

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on July 21, 2021.


Signature		Title

/s/ Mark Gerhard Mark Gerhard		Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)

* Riaan Hodgson		Chief Operating Officer and Director (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

* David Gomberg		President and Director

* Robert Foresman		Director

* Michael Jesselson		Director

* Diane Nelson		Director

* Mickie Rosen		Director



* By:		/s/ Mark Gerhard
		Mark Gerhard
		Attorney-in-fact