UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended
For the transition period from to
Commission file number:
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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: ( |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
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 definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
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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.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
The aggregate market value of the shares of Class A common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price for the Class A common stock on June 30, 2021, as reported on the Nasdaq Stock Market was $
As of March 30, 2022, there were
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Report (as defined below), including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act (as defined below) and Section 21E of the Exchange Act (as defined below). These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:
● | 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; |
● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; and |
● | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not 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. 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.
Unless otherwise stated in this Report, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
● | “amended and restated certificate of incorporation” are to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation of the company; |
● | “board of directors” or “board” are to the board of directors of the company; |
● | “Class A common stock” are to the Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share; |
● | “Class B common stock” are to the Class B common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share; |
● | “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock; |
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● | “Continental” are to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, trustee of our trust account and warrant agent of our public warrants; |
● | “DGCL” are to the Delaware General Corporation Law; |
● | “DWAC System” are to the Depository Trust Company’s Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian System; |
● | “equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with our initial business combination including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt; |
● | “Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; |
● | “FINRA” are to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; |
● | “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering and the shares of our Class A common stock that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the shares of our Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of doubt, such shares of our Class A common stock will not be “public shares”); |
● | “GAAP” are to the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; |
● | “IFRS” are to the International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board; |
● | “initial business combination” are to a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses; |
● | “initial public offering” are to the initial public offering that was consummated by the company on January 12, 2021; |
● | “initial stockholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering; |
● | “Investment Company Act” are to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; |
● | “JOBS Act” are to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012; |
● | “Kennedy Lewis” are to Kennedy Lewis Management LP, an affiliate of our sponsor; |
● | “management” or “management team” are to our executive officers and directors; |
● | “Marcum” are to Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | “Nasdaq” are to the Nasdaq Stock Market; |
● | “PCAOB” are to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States); |
● | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering warrants issuable and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any; |
● | “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in the initial public offering or thereafter in the open market); |
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● | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each of our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
● | “public warrants” are to warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market); |
● | “Registration Statement” are to the Form S-1 initially filed with the SEC on December 17, 2020 (File No. 333-251398), as amended; |
● | “Report” are to this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021; |
● | “Sarbanes-Oxley Act” are to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; |
● | “SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; |
● | “Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
● | “sponsor” is to KL Sponsor LLC, and references to the experience of our sponsor include the experience of members of our sponsor; |
● | “trust account” are to the trust account in which an amount of $287,500,000 ($10.00 per unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the units and private placement warrants in the initial public offering was placed following the closing of the initial public offering; |
● | “units” are to the units sold in our initial public offering, which consist of one public share and one-third of one public warrant; and |
● | “we,” “us,” “Company” or “our company” are to KL Acquisition Corp, a Delaware corporation. |
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PART I
Item 1. | Business. |
We are a blank check company incorporated in August 2020 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Since our initial public offering (as described below), we have focused our search for an initial business combination on businesses that may provide significant opportunities for attractive investor returns.
While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, we intend to focus on industries that complement our management team’s significant background in the healthcare or healthcare-related industries in the United States and other developed countries, and to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a target business in this sector. Our strategy is to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, build a healthcare or health-related business. We focus our investment effort on life sciences, which includes medical devices, diagnostics and life sciences tools and instrumentation.
Initial Public Offering
The registration statement for the Company’s initial public offering was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 7, 2021. On January 12, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 28,750,000 units, including 3,750,000 units purchased by the underwriters pursuant to the over-allotment option granted by the Company. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the company, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-third of one redeemable warrant of the Company, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the company of $287,500,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 5,166,667 warrants to our sponsor at a purchase price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds of approximately $7,750,000.
A total of $287,500,000, comprised of $281,750,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and $5,750,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants was placed in the trust account maintained by Continental, acting as trustee.
On March 1, 2021, our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units commenced separating trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “KLAQ” and “KLAQW,” respectively.
Our Sponsor and Management Team
Our company was jointly founded by our management team and our sponsor, which is an affiliate of Kennedy Lewis. Kennedy Lewis (with its affiliates) is a leading alternative asset manager with significant investment experience and dedicated healthcare expertise with a focus on life sciences, and had approximately $9.2 billion in regulatory assets under management as of December 31, 2021. We believe that the experience of our management team and our relationship with Kennedy Lewis will allow us to source, identify and execute an attractive transaction for our stockholders.
Since its launch in 2017, Kennedy Lewis has focused extensively on the healthcare industry. Kennedy Lewis’ dedicated life sciences team has investment experience spanning both public and private securities, and across all stages of a company’s life cycle and operating history. Kennedy Lewis has deep product and industry expertise across all life science sectors, designing bespoke transactions that provide long-term structured capital to fund growth. In addition to investing experience, Kennedy Lewis’ operational capabilities provide a range of corporate finance, accounting and tax resources that complement the team’s investment structuring. These capabilities and the Kennedy Lewis investment team’s experience enable Kennedy Lewis to identify and structure tailored investments that can create growth opportunities for targeted companies.
We believe our management team is well positioned to take advantage of the growing set of acquisition opportunities within the life sciences and healthcare industries and that our contacts and relationships, ranging from owners and management teams of private and public companies, private equity funds, investment bankers, attorneys, to accountants and business brokers, will allow us to identify and consummate an attractive initial business combination transaction that will generate attractive returns for our stockholders.
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We have also assembled a group of independent directors who provide public company governance, executive leadership, operational oversight, private equity investment management and capital markets experience. Our board members have served as directors or officers for numerous publicly-listed and privately-owned companies. Our directors have experience with acquisitions, divestitures and corporate strategy and implementation, which we believe significantly benefit us as we evaluate potential acquisition or merger candidates as well as following the completion of our initial business combination.
The past performance of the members of our management team, sponsor and Kennedy Lewis or its affiliates is not a guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team, our sponsor or Kennedy Lewis or any of their affiliates’ or managed funds’ performance as indicative of our future performance.
Business Strategy
Our acquisition and value creation strategy is to identify, acquire and build a company in the healthcare or health-related industries that complements the experience of our management team. After our initial business combination, we envision our strategy may include additional mergers and acquisitions with a focus on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We are leveraging our management team’s network of potential proprietary and public transaction sources where we believe a combination of our relationships, knowledge and experience in the life sciences sector and broader healthcare and health-related industries could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses to improve their overall value.
We utilize the network and industry experience of our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, and leverage our association with Kennedy Lewis in seeking an initial business combination and executing our acquisition strategy. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and their affiliates have developed a broad network of relationships in the healthcare industry across subsectors that we believe will further complement our sourcing pipeline of acquisition opportunities.
These networks provide our management team with a robust flow of acquisition opportunities. In addition, target business candidates are brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, which may include investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises.
Competitive Advantages
We capitalize on the following competitive advantages in our pursuit of a target company:
Proactive and Proprietary Transaction Sourcing. Our management team believes that its market reputation, proactive approach to sourcing transactions, and extensive network of relationships provide proprietary investment opportunities. Kennedy Lewis’ deep industry expertise across the life sciences, healthcare and health-related spectrum and throughout the capital structure often make it an attractive partner for companies seeking capital solutions. Our management team believes that it has an established record of generating proprietary investment opportunities resulting from Kennedy Lewis’ novel sourcing strategies. The team leverages multiple sourcing channels including proprietary relationships with venture capital equity sponsors, seasoned operators and management teams, and key opinion leaders. Additionally, given the long track record and reputation of our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, Mr. Richard Gumer, in the life sciences sector as well as his broad and diverse network, there is significant potential to source new opportunities that may not be broadly marketed.
Execution and Structuring Capability. Our management team believes that its industry expertise and reputation allow it to source and complete transactions possessing structural attributes that create an attractive investment thesis. These types of transactions are typically complex and require creativity, industry knowledge and expertise, rigorous due diligence, and extensive negotiation and documentation. The Kennedy Lewis Life Sciences team has deep experience investing in healthcare assets throughout a company’s life cycle. The complexities of life science companies, ranging from clinical, regulatory and commercialization strategies to healthcare payment mechanics, are well understood by the management team and provide for a broad opportunity set. Our management team believes that by focusing its investment activities on these types of transactions, it is able to identify acquisition opportunities that have attractive risk/reward profiles based on their valuations and structural characteristics.
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Broad Experience Across Public and Private Markets. Our management team and Kennedy Lewis have extensive experience in public and private market investing and in sourcing and structuring private transactions. Currently, Kennedy Lewis’ entire life sciences portfolio is comprised of proprietarily-sourced and privately negotiated transactions with privately held companies. We believe that this versatility of experience and deep understanding of both public and private markets allows us to both identify companies that could be successful public market candidates and prepare them to make the transition to strong publicly-traded companies.
Post-acquisition Added Value. Our management team members have many years of experience across all subsectors of the healthcare industry resulting in broad expertise and an extensive network of relationships and resources. After consummation of the initial business combination, we anticipate assisting the target company in several areas, including: (i) strategic and financial goals and projections, (ii) capital markets advice and financing alternatives, (iii) identification and recruitment of senior management and (iv) identification and analysis of potential strategic acquisitions.
Industry Opportunity
While we may acquire a business in any industry, our focus is in the life sciences subsector of the healthcare industry in the United States and other developed countries. We believe the healthcare industry is attractive for a number of reasons:
Large Target Market. The healthcare industry represents an enormous target market. In 2020, total U.S. national health expenditure exceeded $4.1 trillion, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has estimated that total healthcare spending will approach 20% of total U.S. Gross Domestic Product by 2028. The number of private companies in the healthcare industry is significant. The market dynamics of the healthcare industry are similar in Europe and other developed countries.
Broad Universe of Potential Targets. We are focusing our investment effort across the healthcare industry, including medical devices, diagnostics, and life sciences tools and instrumentation. We believe that our investment and operating expertise in healthcare across multiple industry verticals gives us a large, addressable universe of potential targets. The diversity of the target universe and the number of largely uncorrelated sub-sectors maximizes that likelihood that the management team will be able to identify and execute an attractive transaction.
Limited Competition. Our management team believes that the complexity of the healthcare industry acts as a barrier to entry, requiring investors to have significant sector-specific knowledge and expertise to identify and appropriately analyze investment opportunities. Technical and scientific knowledge, an understanding of the reimbursement environment and regulatory landscape, complex valuation methodologies, specialized accounting treatments, and regulatory and political considerations may deter competition from generalist firms.
Growth Trends. Total global healthcare expenditures have grown at a pace above the rate of inflation in the recent past, and this growth is projected to continue over the years to come propelled by long term demographic trends including an aging population, increased prevalence of chronic disease and improved access to healthcare. While the size of healthcare spending has grown and will, we believe, continue to grow, this expense has put significant pressure on payors, including federal and state governments as well as individuals. This dynamic has offered opportunities to services companies that can both control cost and improve the overall quality of healthcare. Furthermore, events like the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to increasing dislocation and rapid evolution across the healthcare landscape.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines.
Large Market Opportunity. We seek to acquire one or more businesses that operate in large global addressable markets. We believe operating in these market segments will create the opportunity for significant growth, including in those markets with embedded or underexploited growth opportunities, and will attempt to identify an acquisition target that may benefit from synergistic add-on acquisitions, new product markets and geographies, increased production capacity, expense reduction and increased operating leverage.
Technology-Driven Business Model. We seek to acquire one or more businesses that have business models driven by innovative technology that is protected through strong intellectual property, including those in the medical devices, diagnostics, and life sciences tools and instrumentation sectors.
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Strong Potential Competitive Position. We focus on acquisition targets that have the potential to develop a leading, growing or significant niche market position in their respective industries. We analyze the strengths and weaknesses of potential target businesses relative to their competitors. We seek to acquire one or more businesses that we believe have the ability to demonstrate advantages such as improvements to quality of care or significant measurable cost savings when compared to their competitors, which may help to increase their market share and profitability.
Experienced Management Team. We seek to acquire one or more businesses with a complete and experienced management team that provides a platform for us to further develop the acquired company. We seek to partner with a potential target’s management team and expect that the operating and financial abilities of our executive team and board will complement the acquired company’s existing capabilities.
Benefit from Being a Public Company. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that will benefit from being publicly traded and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital and the public profile that is associated with being a publicly traded company.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that from time to time our management may deem relevant.
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
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 prior owners of the target business, 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 it 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, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
To the extent we effect our initial 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.
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In evaluating a prospective target business, we conduct a thorough due diligence review which encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us.
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 initial 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.
Sourcing of Potential Initial Business Combination Targets
Certain members of our management team have spent significant portions of their careers working with businesses in the healthcare industry and have developed a wide network of professional services contacts and business relationships in that industry. The members of our board of directors also have significant executive management and public company experience with healthcare and healthcare-related companies and bring additional relationships that further broaden our industry network.
This network has provided our management team with a flow of referrals that have resulted in numerous transactions. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team provides us with an important source of acquisition opportunities. In addition, target business candidates are brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banks, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises.
Members of our management team directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants 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.
In addition, 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, including private funds under the management of Kennedy Lewis and their respective portfolio companies, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Corporate Information
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 stockholder 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 January 12, 2026, the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least
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$1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the Market Value (as defined below) of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to emerging growth company will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination in the amount of $277,507,185 as of December 31, 2021, 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 leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations other than the pursuit of our initial business combination, until we complete our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering, the sales of the private placement warrants, our equity, 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 equity 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 or used for redemptions of our Class A 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 may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
Our process of identifying acquisition targets leverage our sponsor’s and our management team’s industry experiences, proven deal sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships in numerous industries, including executives and management teams, private equity groups and other institutional investors, large business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers and other investment market participants, restructuring advisers, consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. We believe that the collective experience, capability and network of our sponsor, our directors and officers, combined with their individual and collective reputations in the investment community, help to create prospective business combination opportunities.
Target business candidates are brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses are also brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an
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unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read the prospectus of our initial public offering 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 of which they become aware 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.
We also expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors. While we have not and do not anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, 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 an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be 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 then-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, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law.
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
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 fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into 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 of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination 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 it 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.
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
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will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we conduct a thorough due diligence review, which encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the consummation 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 initial 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. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial 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 members of management team 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 additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
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.
Type of Transaction |
| Whether Stockholder Approval is Required |
|
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 Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
● | we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding; |
● | any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (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 common shares 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. |
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
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 or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the consummation 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 or public warrants in 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.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgment 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. 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 any such purchases of shares could 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) 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 consummation of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the consummation of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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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 (in the case of our Class A common stock) 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 our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the stockholder meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
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 shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Consummation of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. As of December 31, 2021, the amount in the trust account was 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 fees we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the consummation of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, directors and each member of our management team have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares in connection with (i) the consummation of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering.
Limitations on Redemptions
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 to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A 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 Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
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 consummation 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 applicable law
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or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking stockholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share 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 shares of outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq rules.
If we hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination, 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 our 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 our initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holder present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering, in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 10,781,251, or 37.5%, of the 28,750,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted). These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will complete our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. In addition, our sponsor, directors and each member of our management team, have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is not required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we do not 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 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 our 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 initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A 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.
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In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete our initial 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 to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “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 our Class A 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 our Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Consummation of our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering (“Excess Shares”) without our prior consent. 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 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial 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 initial business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using DWAC System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the initial vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for 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 a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred
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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 historically used by some blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, some 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 company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming stockholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us. 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 consummation of our initial 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 proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until January 12, 2023.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will have until January 12, 2023 to complete an initial business combination. If we have not completed an initial business combination by January 12, 2023, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the 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, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case 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 do not complete an initial business combination by January 12, 2023.
Our sponsor, directors and each member of our management team have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by January 12, 2023. However, if our sponsor, director or members of our management team acquire public shares in or after our initial public offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by January 12, 2023.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors 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 allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by January 12, 2023, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any
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(less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director, or any other person.
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 $549,993 of proceeds held outside the trust account as of December 31, 2021, plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, 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 seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public 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 party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC will not execute an agreement with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. 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. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our initial public 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, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, and our sponsor assert that it is unable to satisfy their indemnification obligations or that they have no indemnification obligations related to a
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particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so 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 less than $10.00 per share.
We seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have access to the amounts held outside the trust account ($549,993 as of December 31, 2021) with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000) but these amounts may be spent on expenses incurred as a result of being a public company or due diligence expenses on prospective business combination candidates. 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, however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such stockholder.
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 initial business combination by January 12, 2023 may be considered a liquidating 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 liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s 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 initial business combination by January 12, 2023, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), 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 liquidating distribution. If we do not complete our initial business combination by January 12, 2023, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 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 liquidating distributions, if any) 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.
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As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we 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, our sponsor 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, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our initial public 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, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency 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 or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public 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 (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by January 12, 2023, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by January 12, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of our initial business combination. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not completed an initial business combination by January 12, 2023, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. 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 stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s 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. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial 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, public companies 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 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.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business
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combination. The amount of time our officers devote in any time period varies based on the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, Class A 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 accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We have filed a registration statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder 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 January 12, 2026, the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the Market Value of the shares of our Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of
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our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
Item 1A.Risk Factors.
As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to include risk factors in this Report. However, below is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the company and its operations:
● | we are a blank check company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target; |
● | we may not be able to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame; |
● | our ability to identify a target and to consummate an initial business combination may be adversely affected by economic uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets, including as a result of the military conflict in Ukraine; |
● | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized; |
● | if the funds held outside of our trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until at least January 12, 2023, our ability to fund our search for a target business or businesses or complete an initial business combination may be adversely affected; |
● | our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, since we will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by January 12, 2023; |
● | we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
● | our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
● | we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of shareholders requesting redemption; |
● | we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time; |
● | you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination; |
● | trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy; |
● | the availability to us of funds from interest income on the trust account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the business combination; and |
● | our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management. |
● | there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial business combination, which could increase the costs associated with completing our initial business combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target; |
● | changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination; |
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● | we may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability; |
● | we may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the initial public offering, which may include acting as a financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the initial public offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination; |
● | we may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all; |
● | our warrants are accounted for as derivative liabilities and are recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination; |
● | since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire during or after our initial public offering), and because our sponsor, officers and directors may profit substantially even under circumstances in which our public stockholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination; |
● | changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations; |
● | the value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our common stock at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per share; and |
● | resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. |
For the complete list of risks relating to our operations, see the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our Registration Statement, our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021, our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on May 24, 2021, and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021 filed with the SEC on November 22, 2021.
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not applicable.
Item 2. | Properties. |
Our executive offices are located at 111 West 33rd Street, Suite 1910, New York, NY 10120, and our telephone number is (212) 782-3482. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to Kennedy Lewis for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
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Item 3. | Legal Proceedings. |
To the knowledge of our management team, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures. |
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. | Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. |
(a)Market Information
Our units, public shares and public warrants are each traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “KLAQU,” “KLAQ,” and “KLAQW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on January 8, 2021, and our public shares and public warrants commenced separate public trading on March 1, 2021.
(b)Holders
On March 30, 2022, there was 1 holder of record of our units, 1 holder of record of our shares of Class A common stock, 5 holders of our shares of Class B common stock and 2 holders of record of our warrants.
(c)Dividends
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. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
(d)Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans.
None.
(e)Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
(f)Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6. | [Reserved.] |
Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and related notes included herein.
Overview
We were incorporated in Delaware on August 26, 2020 for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more.
On January 12, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 28,750,000 units, including 3,750,000 units purchased by the underwriters pursuant to the over-allotment option granted by the Company, generating gross proceeds to the company of $287,500,000.Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 5,166,667 warrants to our sponsor, generating gross proceeds of approximately $7,750,000.
A total of $287,500,000, comprised of $281,750,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and $5,750,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants was placed in the trust account maintained by Continental, acting as trustee.
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Factors That May Adversely Affect Our Results of Operations
Our results of operations and our ability to complete an initial business combination may be adversely affected by various factors that could cause economic uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets, many of which are beyond our control. Our business could be impacted by, among other things, downturns in the financial markets or in economic conditions, increases in oil prices, inflation, increases in interest rates, supply chain disruptions, declines in consumer confidence and spending, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including resurgences and the emergence of new variants, and geopolitical instability, such as the military conflict in the Ukraine. We cannot at this time fully predict the likelihood of one or more of the above events, their duration or magnitude or the extent to which they may negatively impact our business and our ability to complete an initial business combination.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for our initial public offering and identifying a target company for our initial business combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held in the trust account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence in connection with our search for targets for our initial business combination.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had a net income of approximately $10 million, which included a gain from the change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $11.4 million and interest income on marketable securities held in trust account of $0.07 million, offset by a loss from operations of $0.83 million and warrant issuance cost of $0.7 million.
For the period from August 26, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of approximately $0.07 million, which comprised the loss from operations.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, we had cash outside the trust account of $549,993 available for working capital needs. All remaining cash held in the trust account is generally unavailable for our use, except interests earned on the funds held in the trust account and released to pay our taxes, prior to an initial business combination, and is restricted for use either in a business combination or to redeem public shares. As of December 31, 2021, none of the amount in the trust account was available to be withdrawn, except interests earned on the funds held in the trust account and released to pay our taxes.
We anticipate that the cash outside of the trust account as of December 31, 2021 will be sufficient to allow us to operate prior to January 12, 2023. Until consummation of our business combination, we will be using the funds not held in the trust account, and any additional working capital loans (as defined in Note 4 to our financial statements) from the initial stockholders, our officers and directors, or their respective affiliates (which is described in Note 4 to our financial statements), for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination.
If our estimates of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to the business combination. Moreover, we will need to raise additional capital through loans from our sponsor, officers, directors, or third parties. None of our sponsor, our officers or directors are under any obligation to advance funds to, or to invest in, us. If we are unable to raise additional capital, we may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of our business plan, and reducing overhead expenses. We cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to us on commercially acceptable terms, if at all.
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We have until January 12, 2023 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance of the financial statements. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after January 12, 2023.
Derivative Warrant Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480 and ASC 815-15. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is reassessed at the end of each reporting period.
We issued an aggregate of 14,750,000 warrants in connection with our initial public offering and private placement, which, are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. Accordingly, we recognize the warrants as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. Our warrant liability for the private placement warrants is based on a Black-Scholes-Merton model. In March 2021, the public warrants began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market. As such, the price for the public warrants is based on an unadjusted market price.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of the financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the period reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have not identified any critical accounting policies.
Warrant Liabilities
We account for the warrants issued in connection with our initial public offering in accordance with ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASC 815”), under which the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity classification and must be recorded as liabilities. As the warrants meet the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815, the warrants are measured at fair value at inception and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820 “Fair Value Measurement,” with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within us are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. As of December 31, 2021, 28,750,000 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption were presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock
We have two classes of common stock, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. The 14,750,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying the outstanding warrants were excluded from diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 because the warrants are contingently exercisable, and the contingencies have not yet been met. As a result, diluted net income per share of common stock is the same as basic net income per share of common stock.
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Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023. Management is currently evaluating the new guidance, but does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations
As of December 31, 2021, 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.
Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.
Through December 31, 2021, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities, activities relating to our initial public offering and since the initial public offering, the search for a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination. We have engaged in limited operations and have not generated any revenues. We have not engaged in any hedging activities since our inception on August 26, 2020. We do not expect to engage in any hedging activities with respect to the market risk to which we are exposed.
The net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in a U.S.-based bank account with Continental acting as trustee have been invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. |
This information appears following Item 16 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. |
None.
Item 9A.Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were not effective, due solely to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments such as warrants and redeemable shares issued. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Report present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented.
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Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) | pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company, |
(2) | provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and |
(3) | provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. |
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2021. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective, due to the material weakness described elsewhere in this Report.
Notwithstanding this material weakness, management has concluded that our audited financial statements included in this Report are fairly stated in all material respects in accordance with GAAP for each of the periods presented therein.
This Report does not include an attestation report of internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, with the exception below.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for the complex financial instruments. Our management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we have expanded and will continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards.
Item 9B.Other Information.
None.
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PART III
Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Directors and Executive Officers
As of the date of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows:
Name |
| Age |
| Position |
|
Doug Logigian | 40 | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors | |||
Richard Gumer | 65 | Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Director | |||
David Kho | 36 | Chief Operating Officer and Director | |||
James L. Bierman | 69 | Director | |||
Gregory D. Casciaro | 65 | Director | |||
Andrew A. Krakauer | 67 | Director | |||
Rafael Torres | 48 | Director |
The experience of our directors and executive officers is as follows:
Doug Logigian, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our board of directors since inception, has been a Partner and the President of Kennedy Lewis Investment Management LLC, an opportunistic credit manager (which we refer to as KLIM), since April 2020. Prior to that, he was at Blackstone, a private equity alternative investment management firm, from July 2006 to December 2019, where he most recently served as a Senior Managing Director and sat on the investment committee for distressed funds and special situations funds of GSO Capital Partners, a division of Blackstone. Mr. Logigian also served on Blackstone’s Capital Markets Committee and oversaw the operations of the trading desk and transacted in all of the asset classes in which GSO Capital Partners trafficked. Prior to that, Mr. Logigian worked as an Associate at Citibank where he was responsible for managing a book of high yield cash bonds and credit default swaps on the credit trading desk from September 2003 to July 2006. Mr. Logigian served on the Board of Directors for Seneca Mortgage Management, a real estate investment company that invests in mortgage servicing rights, from September 2013 to February 2019. Mr. Logigian received a B.A. degree in History with honors from Harvard University. Mr. Logigian is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his significant experience in capital markets and investment.
Richard Gumer, our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and director since our inception, has been the Partner since January 2022, and previously the Managing Director, Head of Life Sciences of KLIM from October 2018 to December 2021, where he is responsible for providing non-dilutive, growth capital to commercial-stage life sciences companies. From February 2013 to October 2018, he was the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Life Sciences Alternative Funding LLC, a company providing capital to commercial-stage life sciences companies (or LSAF). Prior to that, he was a Senior Advisor at Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners, a healthcare investment firm, and responsible for medical device and diagnostics investments from December 2010 to May 2012. Mr. Gumer served on several board of directors, including as the director and member of the executive committee and audit committee of Stimwave Technologies, Inc., a medical device company, from December 2019 to October 2020, as the director and member of the compensation committee of VisionCare Inc., a medical device company, from April 2016 to September 2019, as a director of Integrated Diagnostics Inc., a company conducting medical research and providing development services, from August 2017 to December 2018. He has an A.B. degree in Biochemistry from Brown University and an MBA degree in Finance from University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Gumer is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his significant experience in investment in life science and healthcare companies, as well as his service on the boards of directors of several private companies.
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David Kho, our Chief Operating Officer and director since inception, is currently a Managing Director of KLIM and previously served as its Director from December 2019 to December 2020 and Vice President from April 2019 to December 2019. He was a Vice President at Bridge Bank, a full-service commercial bank, responsible for originating and managing credits in the life sciences industry, from August 2018 to April 2019. Before joining Bridge Bank, he was a Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Yaras Group, an investment company, where he oversaw mergers and acquisitions from January 2018 to July 2018. Prior to that, he was a Vice President with LSAF, where he reviewed all new business opportunities and built all internal models from December 2014 to January 2018. From April 2016 to March 2018, he was a director of the board of VisionCare, Inc., a medical device company with an FDA-approved implant for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. He worked as a Vice President at Square 1 Bank, a full-service commercial bank, where he managed a loan portfolio of venture-backed medical device, diagnostics, biotechnology and healthcare IT/services companies, from September 2008 to December 2014. Mr. Kho has been a member of the board of directors of CardioFocus, Inc., a medical device innovator and manufacturer, since March 2022. Mr. Kho received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Kho is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in financing and mergers and acquisitions for healthcare companies.
James L. Bierman has served as one of our directors since January 2021. Mr. Bierman served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Owens & Minor, Inc., a Fortune 500 company and a distributor of medical and surgical supplies, from September 2014 to June 2015. Previously, he served in various other senior roles at Owens & Minor, including President and Chief Operating Officer from August 2013 to September 2014, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from March 2012 to August 2013, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from April 2011 to March 2012, and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from June 2007 to April 2011. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Bierman served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Quintiles Transnational Corp., a provider of pharmaceutical outsourcing services. Prior to joining Quintiles Transnational, Mr. Bierman was a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. Mr. Bierman currently serves on the board of directors of Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC), MiMedx Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDXG), Novan, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVN) and previously served on the boards of directors of Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE: OMI) and Team Health Holdings, Inc. (formerly TMH). Mr. Bierman earned his B.A. in History and Economics from Dickinson College and his M.B.A. at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Mr. Bierman is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience in finance, healthcare industry and his board experience with public companies.
Gregory D. Casciaro has served as one of our directors since January 2021. Mr. Casciaro has 40 years of medical device experience and has held leadership roles in both public and private companies. Currently, Mr. Casciaro is a board member at Tulavi Therapeutic Inc., a pharmaceutical company, Colospan Ltd., a medical device company, Cytokind Inc., a medical device company, and is a special advisor to RenalPro Medical Inc., a medical device company. Mr. Casciaro was a special advisor to the board of directors of Cardiac Dimensions, Inc., a medical device company developing products to treat heart failure, from March 2020 to May 2021. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of Cardiac Dimensions, Inc. from December 2015 to February 2020. From June 2010 to August 2014, Mr. Casciaro served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of AccessClosure, Inc., a medical device company that was acquired by Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH). From September 2004 to December 2009, Mr. Casciaro was the Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of the board of directors of XTENT, Inc., a medical device company that was acquired by Biosensors International Group, Ltd. (SGX: BIG). From February 2000 to August 2003, Mr. Casciaro served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Orquest Inc., a private company manufacturing and selling bio-therapeutic products to the orthopedic market which was acquired by DePuy Acromed, a division of Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). From January 1995 to December 1999, he was President, Chief Executive Officer and a director at General Surgical Innovations, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSII), a laparoscopic surgical equipment manufacturer that was acquired by United States Surgical, a division of Tyco Healthcare Group (NYSE: TYC). Prior to General Surgical Innovations, Mr. Casciaro held executive and management positions at Devices for Vascular Intervention, a division of Guidant Corporation (NYSE: GDT), from June 1991 to December 1994, and at North American Instrument Corporation from June 1982 to January 1991. Mr. Casciaro has been a member of the board of directors of QT Vascular Ltd. (SGX: QTV), a Singaporean-listed company engaged in the design, assembly and distribution of therapeutic solutions for the minimally invasive treatment of complex vascular diseases, since 2001. From September 2014 to October 2017, he was a member of the board of directors of Apama Medical Inc., a medical device company focused on atrial fibrillation technologies which was acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) in October 2017. Mr. Casciaro previously served as a director for AngioDynamics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANGO) from March 2004 to November 2008, Dextera Surgical from December 2014 to February 2018 and Kerberos Proximal Solutions from April 2005 to September 2006 when the company was acquired by Fox Hollow Technologies. Mr. Casciaro graduated from Marquette University with a B.S. in Business Administration. Mr. Casciaro is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive management experience with growth companies and in mergers and acquisitions in the medical device industry.
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Andrew A. Krakauer has served as one of our directors since January 2021. Prior to his retirement in October 2016, Mr. Krakauer was Chief Executive Officer of Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE: CMD), a provider of infection control products and services (“Cantel”). During his 12 years at Cantel, Mr. Krakauer served in various executive and senior level positions, including Chief Executive Officer from November 2014 to July 2016, President and Chief Executive Officer from March 2009 to November 2014, President from April 2008 to March 2009, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from August 2004 through April 2008. Mr. Krakauer also served as a member of Cantel’s board of directors from 2009 to 2016. Prior to joining Cantel, Mr. Krakauer was President of the Ohmeda Medical Division of Instrumentarium Corp. (which was acquired by General Electric Company in 2003), a provider of medical devices, from 1998 to 2004. Mr. Krakauer has been a director of Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE: TFX), a provider of specialty medical devices and technologies, since January 2018, and currently serves as a member of its Compensation Committee. Mr. Krakauer received his B.A. in Economics from State University of New York at Binghamton and his M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from The University of Chicago. Mr. Krakauer is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive senior executive management experience in the medical device industry.
Rafael Torres has served as one of our directors since January 2021. Mr. Torres is managing director at Altaris Capital Partners, an investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, since January 2022, and he was an operating partner at Altaris from May to December 2021. Prior to Altaris, Mr. Torres was has been senior vice president for strategy & corporate development at Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: VAR), a cancer treatment and solutions company, since May 2015, until its sale to Siemens Healthineers in April 2021. He has been a member of the executive leadership team and of the strategy and investment management committees. Prior to joining Varian Medical Systems, Mr. Torres served as senior managing director, global head of healthcare for GE Ventures from July 2011 to April 2015, where he was a member of its senior leadership committee. He was the managing director and head of healthcare at GE Equity from January 2006 to July 2011, where he led healthcare investing. Between November 2001 and December 2004, he worked at GE Healthcare in corporate development and acquisition integrations in Milwaukee, London and Princeton. Prior to GE Healthcare, he worked as a financial institutions analyst at Citibank N.A. from August 1995 and August 1998. Mr. Torres holds a B.A. in economics from the Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. Mr. Torres is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in healthcare industry and capital investment.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of seven members and is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. 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. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of James L. Bierman and Gregory D. Casciaro, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Andrew A. Krakauer and Rafael Torres, will expire at our second annual meeting of the stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Doug Logigian, Richard Gumer and David Kho, will expire at our third annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we complete our initial business combination.
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to nominate persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
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Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. James L. Bierman, Andrew A. Krakauer and Rafael Torres serve as members of our audit committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of James L. Bierman, Andrew A. Krakauer and Rafael Torres is independent under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. James L. Bierman serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that James L. Bierman qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
● | appointing, compensating and overseeing our independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | mutual reviewing and approving the annual audit plan for the company; |
● | overseeing the integrity of our financial statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; |
● | discussing the annual audited financial statements and unaudited quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
● | appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints (including anonymous complaints) we receive concerning accounting, internal accounting controls, auditing matters or potential violations of law; |
● | monitoring our environmental sustainability and governance practices; |
● | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
● | approving audit and non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | discussing earnings press releases and financial information provided to analysts and rating agencies; |
● | discussing with management our policies and practices with respect to risk assessment and risk management; |
● | reviewing any material transaction that has been approved in accordance with our Code of Ethics for our officers, and providing prior written approval of such material transaction; and |
● | producing an annual report for inclusion in our proxy statement, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. |
The audit committee is a separately designated standing committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act.
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Gregory D. Casciaro, Andrew A. Krakauer and Rafael Torres, and Gregory D. Casciaro serves as chairman of the compensation committee.
Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Gregory D. Casciaro, Andrew A.
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Krakauer and Rafael Torres is independent. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● | reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our executive officers, evaluating the performance of our executive officers in light of those goals and objectives, and setting compensation levels based on this evaluation; |
● | setting salaries and approving incentive compensation and equity awards, as well as compensation policies, for all other officers who file reports of their ownership, and changes in ownership, of the company’s common stock under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act (the “Section 16 Officers”), as designated by our board of directors; |
● | making recommendations to the board with respect to incentive compensation programs and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval; |
● | approving any employment or severance agreements with our Section 16 Officers; |
● | granting any awards under equity compensation plans and annual bonus plans to our Section 16 Officers; |
● | approving the compensation of our directors; and |
● | producing an annual report on executive compensation for inclusion in our proxy statement, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. |
The charter also provides 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.
Director Nominations
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 listing rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq listing 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 will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are James L. Bierman, Gregory D. Casciaro, Andrew A. Krakauer and Rafael Torres. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq listing 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 also considers 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 our board of directors 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.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters with the SEC. You are able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon
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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.
Item 11.Executive Compensation.
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Until the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse Kennedy Lewis, an affiliate of our sponsor, for office space and administrative support services provided to us in the amount of $10,000 per month. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates are 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 reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination are made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and completing an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to consummation of our initial business combination.
After the consummation of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 30, 2022, based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of common stock, by:
● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock; |
● | each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our common stock; and |
● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 35,937,500 shares of our common stock, consisting of (i) 28,750,000 shares of our Class A common stock and (ii) 7,187,500 shares of our Class B common stock, issued and outstanding as of March 30, 2022. On all matters to be voted upon holders of the shares of Class A common stock and shares of Class B common stock vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the shares of Class B common stock are convertible into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis.
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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 Report.
Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock |
| |||||||||
Approximate |
| ||||||||||
Percentage |
| ||||||||||
Number of | Number of | of Outstanding |
| ||||||||
Shares | Approximate | Shares | Approximate | Shares of |
| ||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial | Beneficially | Percentage | Beneficially | Percentage | Common |
| |||||
Owner (1) |
| Owned |
| of Class |
| Owned(2) |
| of Class |
| Stock |
|
Current Directors and Executive Officers: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Doug Logigian |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — | |
Richard Gumer |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — | |
David Kho |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — | |
James L. Bierman |
| — |
| — |
| 30,000 |
| * |
| * | |
Gregory D. Casciaro |
| — |
| — |
| 30,000 |
| * |
| * | |
Andrew A. Krakauer |
| — |
| — |
| 30,000 |
| * |
| * | |
Rafael Torres |
| — |
| — |
| 30,000 |
| * |
| * | |
All executive officers and directors as a group (7 individuals) |
| — |
| — |
| 120,000 |
| * |
| * | |
Five Percent or More Holders: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
KL Sponsor LLC (3) |
| — |
| — |
| 7,067,500 |
| 98.3 | % | 19.7 | % |
Citadel Advisors LLC (4) |
| 1,763,212 |
| 6.1 | % | — |
| — |
| 4.9 | % |
Aristeia Capital, L.L.C.(5) |
| 1,709,499 |
| 5.9 | % | — |
| — |
| 4.8 | % |
Glazer Capital, LLC (6) |
| 1,693,506 |
| 5.9 | % | — |
| — |
| 4.7 | % |
Barclays PLC (7) |
| 1,493,611 |
| 5.2 | % | — |
| — |
| 4.2 | % |
Linden Capital L.P. (8) |
| 1,462,189 |
| 5.2 | % | — |
| — |
| 4.1 | % |
Empyrean Capital Overseas Master Fund, Ltd. (9) |
| 1,450,000 |
| 5.0 | % | — |
| — |
| 4.0 | % |
* | less than 1% |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o KL Acquisition Corp, 111 West 33rd Street, Suite 1910, New York, NY 10120. |
(2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B common stock. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination. |
(3) | KL Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the shares of Class B common stock reported herein. Kennedy Lewis Capital Partners Master Fund II LP is the sole member of our sponsor and Kennedy Lewis Management LP is the non-member manager of our sponsor. KLM GP LLC is the general partner of Kennedy Lewis Management LP. David Chene and Darren Richman are the principals of KLM GP LLC, and have joint voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares of Class B common stock held by our sponsor. Each of Messrs. Chene and Richman disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
(4) | Based on a Schedule 13G/A jointly filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022 by Citadel Advisors LLC (“Citadel Advisors”), Citadel Advisors Holdings LP (“CAH”), Citadel GP LLC (“CGP”), Citadel Securities LLC (“Citadel Securities”), Citadel Securities Group LP (“CALC4”), Citadel Securities GP LLC (“CSGP”) and Mr. Kenneth Griffin with respect to the shares owned by Citadel Multi-Strategy Equities Master Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands company (“CM”), and Citadel Securities. Citadel Advisors is the portfolio manager for CM. CAH is the sole member of Citadel Advisors. CGP is the general partner of CAH. CALC4 is the non-member manager of Citadel Securities. CSGP is the general partner of CALC4. Mr. Griffin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of CGP, and owns a controlling interest in CGP and CSGP. Each of Citadel Advisors, CAH and CGP may be deemed to beneficially own, and have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to, 1,596,622 shares. Each of Citadel Securities, CALC4, and CSGP may be deemed to beneficially own, and have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to, 166,590 shares. Mr. Griffin may be deemed to beneficially own, and have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to, 1,763,212 shares. The address of the principal business office of Mr. Griffin and each of the identified entities is 131 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603. |
33
(5) | Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022, shares are held by one or more private investment funds, which Aristeia Capital, L.L.C. is the investment manager of, and has voting and investment control with respect to the securities described herein. The address of Aristeia Capital, L.L.C.’s principal business office is One Greenwich Plaza, 3rd Floor, Greenwich, CT 06830. |
(6) | Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022, the shares are held by certain funds and managed accounts to which Glazer Capital, LLC serves as investment manager and Paul J. Glazer serves as the Managing Member of Glazer Capital, LLC. The address of the business office of each person is 250 West 55th Street, Suite 30A, New York, New York 10019. |
(7) | Based on a Schedule 13G jointly filed with the SEC on February 11, 2022 by Barclays PLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Capital Inc., the shares being reported by Barclays PLC, as a parent holding company, are owned, or may be deemed to be beneficially owned, by Barclays Bank PLC. Barclays Bank PLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barclays PLC. The address of the principal business office of Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC is 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP, England. The address of the principal business office of Barclays Capital Inc. is 745 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10019. |
(8) | Based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 4, 2022, these shares are held for the account of Linden Capital L.P. and one or more separately managed accounts (the “Managed Accounts”). Linden GP LLC is the general partner of Linden Capital L.P. and, in such capacity, may be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by Linden Capital L.P. Linden Advisors LP is the investment manager of Linden Capital L.P. and trading advisor or investment advisor for the managed accounts. Siu Min (Joe) Wong is the principal owner and controlling person of Linden Advisors LP and Linden GP LLC. In such capacities, Linden Advisors LP and Mr. Wong each may be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by each of Linden Capital L.P. and the Managed Accounts. Linden Capital L.P. and Linden GP LLC share voting and dispositive power over 1,368,619 shares. Linden Advisors LP and Mr. Wong share voting and dispositive power over 1,462,189 shares. The business address of Linden Capital L.P. is Victoria Place, 31 Victoria Place, 31 Victoria Street, Hamilton HM10, Bermuda. The business address of each of Linden Advisors LP, Linden GP LLC and Mr. Wong is 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022. |
(9) | Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 25, 2021, shares are owned by Empyrean Capital Overseas Master Fund, Ltd. (“ECOMF”). Empyrean Capital Partners, LP serves as investment manager of ECOMF. Amos Meron serves as the managing member of Empyrean Capital, LLC, the general partner of ECP. Each of ECOMF, ECP and Mr. Meron has shared voting and dispositive power over these shares. The business address of ECOMF, ECP and Mr. Meron is c/o Empyrean Capital Partners, LP, 10250 Constellation Boulevard, Suite 2950, Los Angeles, CA 90067. |
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Changes in Control
None.
34
Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
In August 2020, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. In December 2020, our sponsor returned to us, at no cost, an aggregate of 1,437,500 founder shares, which we cancelled, resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares outstanding and held by our sponsor. In December 2020, our sponsor agreed to transfer 30,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at the original per share purchase price. The founder shares (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
On January 12, 2021, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor purchased 5,166,667 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.50 per whole warrant, generating gross proceeds to us of $7,750,000. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
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 will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 111 West 33rd Street, Suite 1910, New York, NY 10120. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee due to Kennedy Lewis, an affiliate of our sponsor, for office space and administrative support services, commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq. Upon consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. As of December 31, 2021, we had not paid Kennedy Lewis for the use of office space.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals are 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 reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and determines 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.
Prior to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering. As of January 12, 2021, we had borrowed $251,340 under such promissory note. These loans were non-interest bearing, unsecured and were due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the closing of our initial public offering, which occurred on January 12, 2021. The note was repaid on March 25, 2021 out of the offering proceeds that was allocated to the payment of offering expenses not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
35
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our 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 pursuant to which our sponsor is entitled to certain registration rights with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors has adopted a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee shall be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction.
Director Independence
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 company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined James L. Bierman, Gregory D. Casciaro, Andrew A. Krakauer and Rafael Torres are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our audit committee is entirely composed of independent directors meeting Nasdaq’s additional requirements applicable to members of the audit committee.
Item 14.Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q and 10-K for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from August 26, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 totaled approximately $53,134 and $25,000, respectively. The aggregate fees of Marcum related to audit services in connection with our initial public offering totaled approximately $50,000. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from August 26, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020, we did not pay Marcum any audit-related fees.
Tax Fees. We did not pay Marcum for tax services, planning or advice for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from August 26, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020.
All Other Fees. We did not pay Marcum for any other services for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from August 26, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020.
36
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
PART IV
Item 15.Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Report: |
(1) | Financial Statements |
| PAGE |
F-2 | |
|
|
F-3 | |
|
|
F-4 | |
|
|
F-5 | |
|
|
F-6 | |
|
|
F-7 |
(2) | Financial Statements Schedule |
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes beginning on F-1 on this Report.
(3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Item 16.Form 10-K Summary.
Not applicable.
37
KL ACQUISITION CORP
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| Page |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID # | F-2 |
|
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F-3 | |
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F-4 | |
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F-5 | |
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F-6 | |
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F-7 |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
KL Acquisition Corp
Opinion on the Financial Statement
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of KL Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 26, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, , and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statement”). In our opinion, the financial statement presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the result of its operations and its cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination and the Company’s cash and working capital as of December 31, 2021 are not sufficient to complete its planned activities. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
This financial statement is the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statement based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statement is free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statement, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statement. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statement. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
March 31, 2022
F-2
KL ACQUISITION CORP
BALANCE SHEETS
| December 31, 2021 |
| December 31, 2020 | |||
Assets | ||||||
Current assets: | ||||||
Cash | $ | | $ | — | ||
Prepaid expenses |
| |
| — | ||
Deferred offering costs associated with IPO | — | | ||||
Total current assets | | | ||||
Investments held in Trust Account | | — | ||||
Other non-current assets | | — | ||||
Total assets | $ | | $ | | ||
Liabilities, Redeemable Common Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit |
|
|
|
| ||
Current liabilities: | ||||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | | $ | | ||
Franchise tax payable | | | ||||
Sponsor loans | — | | ||||
Total current liabilities | | | ||||
Warrant Liabilities |
| |
| — | ||
Deferred underwriters’ discount |
| |
| — | ||
Total liabilities |
| |
| | ||
|
|
|
| |||
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) |
|
|
|
| ||
Common stock subject to possible redemption, | | — | ||||
|
|
|
| |||
Stockholders’ deficit: |
|
|
|
| ||
Preferred stock, $ |
|
| ||||
Class A common stock, $ |
| — |
| — | ||
Class B common stock, $ |
| |
| | ||
Additional paid-in capital |
| — |
| | ||
Accumulated deficit |
| ( |
| ( | ||
Total stockholders’ deficit |
| ( |
| ( | ||
Total liabilities, redeemable common stock and stockholders’ deficit | $ | | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
KL ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the period | ||||||
from August 26, | ||||||
2020 (inception) | ||||||
For the year ended | through | |||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||
Formation and operating costs | $ | | $ | | ||
Loss from operations | ( | ( | ||||
Other income (loss) |
|
| ||||
Interest Income | — | — | ||||
Interest income earned on Trust | | — | ||||
Unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrants | | — | ||||
Warrant issuance costs | ( | — | ||||
Total other income (loss) | | — | ||||
Net income (loss) | $ | | $ | ( | ||
|
| |||||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock |
| | — | |||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share, Class A common stock | | $ | — | |||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B common stock |
| |
| | ||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share, Class B common stock | | ( |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
KL ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Additional | Total | ||||||||||||||||||
Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | Paid-in | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Capital |
| Deficit |
| Deficit | ||||||
Balance as of August 26 , 2020 (Inception) | | $ | | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | |||||||
Issuance of common stock to Sponsor |
| — | — | | | | — | | |||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2020 | — | $ | — | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||
Excess of cash received over fair value of private placement warrants | — | — | — | — | | — | | ||||||||||||
Remeasurement of Class A common stock subject to redemption | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
Net income |
| — |
| — | — | — |
| — |
| |
| | |||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2021 |
| — | $ | — | | $ | | $ | — | $ | ( | $ | ( |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
KL ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the period | ||||||
from August 26, | ||||||
For the year | 2020 (inception) | |||||
ended | through | |||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||
| 2021 |
| 2020 | |||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||
Net income (loss) | $ | | $ | ( | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
| ||||
Interest earned on trust account | ( | — | ||||
Offering costs allocated to warrants | | — | ||||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | ( | — | ||||
Formation costs paid by Sponsor loan | — | | ||||
Changes in current assets and current liabilities: |
|
| ||||
Prepaid assets | ( | — | ||||
Franchise tax payable |
| |
| | ||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | | — | ||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
| ( |
| — | ||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||
Investment of cash into trust account | ( | — | ||||
Net cash used in investing activities | ( | — | ||||
|
|
|
| |||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
|
|
|
| ||
Proceeds from Initial Public Offering, net of underwriters’ discount | | — | ||||
Proceeds from private placement | | — | ||||
Repayment of promissory note to related party |
| ( |
| — | ||
Payments of offering costs |
| ( |
| — | ||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
| |
| — | ||
|
| |||||
Net Change in Cash |
| |
| — | ||
Cash — Beginning |
| — |
| — | ||
Cash — Ending | $ | | $ | — | ||
|
|
|
|
| ||
Supplemental Disclosure of Non-cash Financing Activities: |
|
|
|
| ||
Deferred underwriters' discount payable charged to additional paid-in capital | $ | | $ | — | ||
Initial value of warrant liabilities | $ | | $ | — | ||
Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange of issuance of Class B common stock | $ | — | $ | | ||
Deferred offering costs included in accrued expenses | $ | — | $ | | ||
Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor loan | $ | — | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
KL ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations
Organization and General
KL Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on August 26, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2021, relates to the Company's formation, the initial public offering ("IPO") described below and the Company's search for targets for its initial Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the 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 IPO.
The Company’s sponsor is KL Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”).
Financing
The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on January 7, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On January 12, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of
Transaction costs amounted to $
Trust Account
Following the closing of the IPO on January 12, 2021, an amount of $
F-7
Initial Business Combination
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business Combination.
The Company’s Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least
The Company will provide its public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially $
The shares of common stock subject to redemption is recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the IPO, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $
The Company will have 24 months from the closing of the IPO (with the ability to extend with stockholder approval) to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will redeem
The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares (as defined below) and public shares in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares and private placement shares if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The Company’s Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $
Liquidity
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had cash outside the Trust Account of $
F-8
and is restricted for use either in a Business Combination or to redeem public shares. As of December 31, 2021, none of the amount in the Trust Account was available to be withdrawn as described above.
If the Company’s estimates of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating Business Combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to the Business Combination. Moreover, the Company will need to raise additional capital through loans from its Sponsor, officers, directors, or third parties. None of the Sponsor, the Company’s officers or directors are under any obligation to advance funds to, or to invest in, the Company. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of its business plan, and reducing overhead expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all.
The Company has until January 12, 2023 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance of the financial statements. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after January 12, 2023.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is continuing to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company's financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) have been made that are necessary to present fairly the financial position, and the results of its operations and its cash flows.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart the Company's Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that 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 election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
F-9
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2021, funds held in the Trust Account include $
The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account is comprised of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities, or a combination thereof. The Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in income from investments held in Trust Account in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2021,
F-10
Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock
We have two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. We have not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of
The table below presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net income per share for each class of common stock:
December 31, | |||
| 2021 | ||
Class A Common Stock |
|
| |
Net income allocable to Class A common stock | $ | | |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | | ||
Basic and diluted net income per Class A common stock | |||
Class B Common Stock |
| ||
Net income allocable to Class B common stock | $ | | |
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted | | ||
Basic and diluted net income per Class B common stock | |
Offering Costs
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A - “Expenses of Offering”. Offering costs consist principally of professional and registration fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the IPO and that were charged to temporary equity upon the completion of the IPO. Accordingly, on December 31, 2021, offering costs totaling $
Stock based Compensation
The Company complies with ASC 718 Compensation — Stock Compensation regarding founder shares acquired by directors of the Company at prices below fair value. The acquired shares shall vest upon the Company consummating an initial Business Combination (the “Vesting Date”). If prior to the Vesting Date, the director ceases to be a director, the shares will be forfeited. The founder shares owned by the director (1) may not be sold or transferred, until one year after the consummation of a Business Combination, (2) not be entitled to redemption from the funds held in the Trust Account, or any liquidating distributions. The Company has 24 months from the date of the IPO to consummate a Business Combination, and if a Business Combination is not consummated, the Company will liquidate and the shares will become worthless.
The shares were issued in December 16, 2020 (“Grant Date”), and the shares vest, not upon a fixed date, but upon consummation of an initial Business Combination. Since the approach in ASC 718 is to determine the fair value without regard to the vesting date, the Company has determined the valuation of the Class B shares as of the Grant Dates. The valuation resulted in a fair value of $
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Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet.
Derivative Warrant Liabilities
The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815-15. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period.
The Company accounts for its
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740 Income Taxes (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.
ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statements recognition and measurement of a tax position 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. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition.
The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were
The Company has identified the United States as its only “major” tax jurisdiction.
The Company may be subject to potential examination by federal and state taxing 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 federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023. Management is currently evaluating the new guidance, but does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
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Note 3 — Initial Public Offering
In connection with the IPO, the Company sold
All of the
If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or to recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur. Immediately upon the closing of the IPO, the Company recognized the remeasurement from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable common stock resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
As of December 31, 2021, the shares of common stock reflected on the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
Gross proceeds from IPO |
| $ | |
Less: |
|
| |
Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants |
| ( | |
Common stock issuance costs |
| ( | |
Plus: |
|
| |
Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value |
| | |
Contingently redeemable common stock | $ | |
Note 4 — Private Placement
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On December 29, 2020, the Sponsor paid $
The Sponsor has agreed that, subject to certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until the earlier of (A)
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trading days within any
Stock based Compensation
On December 16, 2020 the Company’s sponsor transferred a total of
The Company complies with ASC 718 Compensation — Stock Compensation regarding founder shares acquired by directors of the Company at prices below fair value. The acquired shares shall vest upon the Company consummating an initial Business Combination (the “Vesting Date”). If prior to the Vesting Date, the director ceases to be a director, the shares will be forfeited. The founder shares owned by the director (1) may not be sold or transferred, until one year after the consummation of a Business Combination, (2) not be entitled to redemption from the funds held in the Trust Account, or any liquidating distributions. The Company has 24 months from the date of the IPO to consummate a Business Combination, and if a Business Combination is not consummated, the Company will liquidate and the shares will become worthless.
The Company has determined the valuation of the Class B shares as of the Grant Date. The valuation resulted in a fair value of $
Promissory Note — Related Party
On August 26, 2020, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $
Administrative Support Agreement
Commencing on the date of the IPO, the Company has agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $
Working Capital Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the initial stockholders or an affiliate of the initial stockholders or certain of the Company’s directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $
Note 6 — Commitments & Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed at the effectiveness of the Company registration statement for the IPO. The holders of at least 15% of all the then issued and outstanding number of these securities are entitled to make up to
F-14
to consummation of a Business Combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
On January 12, 2021, the Company paid the underwriters an underwriting discount of $
Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue a total of
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue a total of
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue a total of
Holders of Class B common stock have the right to elect all of the Company’s directors prior to a Business Combination. Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of stockholders except as required by law. In connection with the consummation of the Company’s IPO on January 12, 2021, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option to the fullest extent comprising
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon the consummation of a Business Combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis,
Note 8 — Income Tax
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
December 31, | |||
| 2021 | ||
Deferred tax asset |
|
| |
Organizational costs/Startup expenses | $ | | |
Federal net operating loss | $ | | |
Total deferred tax asset | $ | | |
Valuation allowance | $ | ( | |
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance | $ | — |
F-15
The income tax provision consists of the following:
December 31, | |||
| 2021 | ||
Federal |
|
| |
Current | $ | — | |
Deferred |
| ( | |
State |
|
| |
Current |
| — | |
Deferred |
| — | |
Change in valuation allowance |
| | |
Income tax provision | $ | — |
As of December 31, 2021, the Company has $
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, the change in the valuation allowance was $
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2021,
Statutory federal income tax rate |
| | % |
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit |
| — | % |
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
| ( | % |
Warrant issuance costs |
| | % |
Change in valuation allowance |
| | % |
Other |
| ( | % |
Income tax provision |
| — | % |
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction in various state and local jurisdictions and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities.
Note 9 — Warrants
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants become exercisable on the later of (a)
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A 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 Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue a share of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than
business days after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its commerciallyF-16
reasonable 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 or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the issuance of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $
Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants (except with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at a price of $ |
● | upon not less than |
● | if, and only if, the reported last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for any trading days within a |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if the Company are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. However, in this case, the Company will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of the Company’s Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $
Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at $ |
● | if, and only if, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $ |
● | if the Reference Value is less than $ |
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
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In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $
The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until
Note 10 — Recurring Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
Substantially all of the Company's trust assets on the balance sheet consist of U. S. Money Market funds which are classified as cash equivalents. Fair values of these investments are determined by Level 1 inputs utilizing quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets.
Under the guidance in ASC 815-40 the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment. As such, the Warrants must be recorded on the balance sheet at fair value. This valuation is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each re-measurement, the warrant valuation will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations.
The Company’s warrant liability for the Private Placement Warrants is based on a valuation model utilizing inputs from observable and unobservable markets with less volume and transaction frequency than active markets. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrant liability classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.
The Company’s warrant liability for the Public Warrants is based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. The fair value of the Public Warrant liability is classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.
F-18
The following table presents information about the Company's assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Level 1 |
| Level 2 |
| Level 3 | ||||
Investment held in the Trust Account | $ | | $ | — | $ | — | |||
Public Warrants | $ | | $ | — | $ | — | |||
Private Placement Warrants | $ | — | $ | — | $ | |
At December 31, 2020, the Company had
The Company utilized a Black-Scholes-Merton model to value the Private Placement Warrants at December 31, 2021 and a Monte Carlo simulation at January 12, 2021. The Company’s Private Placement Warrant liability is based on a valuation model utilizing management judgment and pricing inputs from observable and unobservable markets with less volume and transaction frequency than active markets. Significant deviations from these estimates and inputs could result in a material change in fair value. In February 2021, the Public Warrants began trading in the open market and were reclassified to Level 1.
The aforementioned warrant liabilities are not subject to qualified hedge accounting.
The key inputs into the valuation models were as follows at initial measurement of January 12, 2021 and at December 31, 2021:
At January 12, 2021 | |||||||
Input |
| (Initial Measurement) |
| At December 31, 2021 | |||
Stock price | $ | | $ | | |||
Strike price | $ | | $ | | |||
Term (in years) | |
| | ||||
Volatility | | % | | % | |||
Risk-free rate | | % | | % | |||
Dividend yield | | % |
| | % |
The following table provides a reconciliation of changes in fair value liability of the beginning and ending balances for the Company's Warrants classified as Level 3:
Fair value as of January 1, 2021 | $ | — | |
Initial measurement on January 12, 2021 |
| | |
Public Warrants reclassified to level 1(1) | ( | ||
Change in fair value |
| ( | |
Fair Value at December 31, 2021 | $ | |
(1) | Assumes the Public Warrants were reclassified on March 31, 2021. |
Note 11 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
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EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No. |
| Description |
|
1.1 |
| ||
3.1 |
| ||
3.2 |
| ||
4.1 |
| ||
4.2 |
| ||
4.3 |
| ||
4.4 |
| ||
4.5 |
| ||
10.1 |
| ||
10.2 |
| Letter Agreement, dated January 7, 2021, by and among the Company and KL Sponsor LLC. (3) | |
10.3 |
| Promissory Note, dated as of July 23, 2020 issued to KL Sponsor LLC. (1) | |
10.4 |
| ||
10.5 |
| ||
10.6 |
| ||
10.7 |
| ||
10.8 |
| ||
10.9 |
| ||
14 | |||
31.1 |
| ||
31.2 |
| ||
32.1 |
| ||
32.2 |
|
101.INS |
| Inline XBRL Instance Document.* |
101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.* | |
101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.* | |
101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.* | |
101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.* | |
101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.* | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (Embedded as Inline XBRL document and contained in Exhibit 101).* |
* | Filed herewith. |
** | Furnished herewith. |
(1) | Incorporated by reference to the company’s Form S-1, filed with the SEC on December 17, 2020. |
(2) | Incorporated by reference to the company’s Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on December 30, 2020. |
(3) | Incorporated by reference to the company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on January 12, 2021. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
March 31, 2022 | KL Acquisition Corp | |
|
|
|
| By: | /s/ Doug Logigian |
| Name: | Doug Logigian |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name |
| Position |
| Date |
|
|
| ||
/s/ Doug Logigian |
| Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors |
| March 31, 2022 |
Doug Logigian |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
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/s/ Richard Gumer |
| Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Director |
| March 31, 2022 |
Richard Gumer |
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
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/s/ David Kho |
| Chief Operating Officer and Director |
| March 31, 2022 |
David Kho |
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/s/ James L. Bierman |
| Director |
| March 31, 2022 |
James L. Bierman |
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/s/ Gregory D. Casciaro |
| Director |
| March 31, 2022 |
Gregory D. Casciaro |
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/s/ Andrew A. Krakauer |
| Director |
| March 31, 2022 |
Andrew A. Krakauer |
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/s/ Rafael Torres |
| Director |
| March 31, 2022 |
Rafael Torres |
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