10-K/A 1 d270733d10ka.htm 10-K/A 10-K/A
Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-K/A

(Amendment No. 2)

 

 

 

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

 

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

For the transition period from                  to                 

 

 

H.I.G. ACQUISITION CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Cayman Islands   001-39639   98-1556204

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

1450 Brickell Avenue, 31st Floor

Miami, FL 33131

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (305) 379-2322

Not Applicable

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

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

 

Title of each class

 

Trading

Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-third of one redeemable warrant   HIGA.U   New York Stock Exchange
Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units   HIGA   New York Stock Exchange
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units   HIGA WS   New York Stock Exchange

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  ☐    No  ☒

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  ☐    No  ☒

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.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

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).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

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

 

Large accelerated filer      Accelerated filer  
Non-accelerated filer      Smaller reporting company  
     Emerging growth company  

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

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  ☒    No  ☐

As of June 30, 2020, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the registrant’s securities were not publicly traded and therefore, the registrant cannot calculate the aggregate market value of its ordinary shares held by non-affiliates as of such date. The registrant’s units began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on October 22, 2020. The registrant’s ordinary shares and warrants began separately trading on December 11, 2020.

As of December 29, 2021, 36,394,500 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, and 9,098,625 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, were issued and outstanding.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

     3  

PART I

       1  

Item 1.

  Business      1  

Item 1A.

  Risk Factors      23  

Item 1B.

  Unresolved Staff Comments      60  

Item 2.

  Properties      60  

Item 3.

  Legal Proceedings      60  

Item 4.

  Mine Safety Disclosures      60  

PART II

       61  

Item 5.

 

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity

Securities

     61  

Item 6.

  Selected Financial Data      62  

Item 7.

  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations      63  

Item 7A.

  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk      67  

Item 8.

  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data      67  

Item 9.

  Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure      67  

Item 9A.

  Controls and Procedures      68  

Item 9B.

  Other Information      70  

PART III

       70  

Item 10.

  Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance      70  

Item 11.

  Executive Compensation      80  

Item 12.

  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters      80  

Item 13.

  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence      82  

Item 14.

  Principal Accountant Fees and Services      84  

PART IV

    

Item 15.

  Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules      F-1  

 

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

References throughout this Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” the “Company” or “our company” are to H.I.G. Acquisition Corp. unless the context otherwise indicates.

This Amendment No. 2 (“Amendment No. 2”) to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A amends the Annual Report on Form 10-K of H.I.G. Acquisition Corp. for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on May 24, 2021 (“First Amended Filing”).

Restatement Background

The Company has followed Accounting Standards Codification Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity,” (“ASC 480”) in accounting for its redeemable Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Public Shares”). This included recording the Public Shares in permanent equity on its balance sheet. However, the Company maintained shareholders’ equity of at least $5,000,001 as the Company will not redeem Public Shares that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.

In September 2021, the Company’s management re-evaluated and ultimately concluded that the classification of $5,000,001 in permanent equity was not appropriate and that the Public Shares should be reclassified as temporary equity. In connection with the preparation of the financial statements as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 that were included in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on November 5, 2021 (the “Q3 Form 10-Q”), the Company concluded that it would change its accounting and reflect the full amount of all redeemable Public Shares in temporary equity. This was a change from the Company’s previous accounting practice whereby it maintained shareholders’ equity of at least $5,000,001 as the Company will not redeem Public Shares that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. In connection with the change in presentation for the Public Shares subject to possible redemption, the Company also revised its earnings per share to allocate net income (loss) evenly to all Public Shares and Class B ordinary shares.

On December 14, 2021, the Company’s management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors (the “Audit Committee”) concluded that the Company’s previously issued (i) audited balance sheet as of October 23, 2020, (the “Post-IPO Balance Sheet”) as previously restated in the First Amended Filing, (ii) audited financial statements included in the First Amended Filing, (iii) unaudited interim financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2021 included in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on May 24, 2021, (iv) unaudited interim financial statements as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 included in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on August 16, 2021, and (v) unaudited interim financial statements as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 included in the Q3 Form 10-Q (collectively, the “Affected Periods”), in each case, should be restated to classify all of the Public Shares as temporary equity and should no longer be relied upon. As a result, the Company is restating its financial statements for the Affected Periods herein for the Post-IPO Balance Sheet and the Company’s audited financial statements included in the First Amended Filing and in a Form 10-Q/A for the unaudited condensed financial statements for the periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

The restatement does not have an impact on its cash position and cash held in the trust account (the “Trust Account”) established in connection with the initial public offering (the “IPO”).

The Company’s management has concluded that a material weakness had developed in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for complex financial instruments and that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as a result. The Company’s remediation plan with respect to such material weakness is described in more detail in Item 9A of Part II hereof.

 

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The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported is superseded by the information in this Amendment No. 2, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed report should no longer be relied upon.

 

The restatement is more fully described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein.

In addition, as required by Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, new certifications by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer are filed as exhibits (in Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 32.1 and 32.2) to this Amendment No. 2 under Item 15 of Part IV hereof.

Internal Control and Disclosure Controls Considerations

Following the conclusion that the classification of $5,000,0001 in permanent equity was not appropriate and that the Public Shares should be reclassified as temporary equity, and in connection with the restatement, the Company’s management has re-evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s management has concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting were not effective as of December 31, 2020, due to the material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting related to the accounting for complex financial instruments.

The material weakness is more fully described in Item 9A: Controls and Procedures, contained herein.

For the convenience of the reader, this Amendment No. 2 sets forth the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company as of and for the period ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on March 30, 2021 (the “Original Filing”), as amended by the First Amended Filing, and as amended to reflect the restatement in connection with the reclassification of the Public Shares as temporary equity. No attempt has been made in this Amendment No. 2 to update other disclosures presented in the Original Filing or the First Amended Filing, except as required to reflect the effects of the restatement. The following items have been amended as a result of the restatement:

 

 

Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors

 

 

Part II - Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

 

 

Part II - Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

 

 

Part IV - Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

Except as described above, no other information included in the Original Filing or the First Amended Filing is being amended or updated by this Amendment No. 2, and accordingly, this Amendment No. 2 does not reflect or purport to reflect any information or events occurring after the filing dates of the Original Filing or the First Amended Filing or modify or update those disclosures affected by subsequent events. Accordingly, this Amendment No. 2 should be read in conjunction with the First Amended Filing and the Company’s other filings with the SEC.

This Amendment No. 2 does not reflect adjustments for events occurring after March 30, 2021, the date of the filing of the Original Filing, or events occurring after May 24, 2021, the date of the filing of the First Amended Filing, except to the extent they are otherwise required to be included and discussed herein and did not substantively modify or update the disclosures herein other than as required to reflect the adjustments described above. This Amendment No. 2 should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC since the date of filing of the Original Filing and all of the Company’s filings after the date hereof.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

This Report, 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 of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”). Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s and board of director’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this Report may include, for example, statements about:

 

 

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

 

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

 

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses;

 

 

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;

 

 

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

 

 

our pool of prospective target businesses;

 

 

our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic;

 

 

the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;

 

 

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

 

 

the lack of a market for our securities;

 

 

the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;

 

 

the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; and

 

 

or our financial performance following our initial public offering.

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. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 

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Risk Factor Summary

We are a newly incorporated company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of this Report. Such risks include, but are not limited to:

 

 

We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

 

 

Past performance by H.I.G. Capital, our management team, our board of directors or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.

 

 

Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.

 

 

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.

 

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

 

 

The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

 

 

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

 

 

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

 

 

We may engage the underwriters or one of their affiliates to provide additional services to us. The underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions from our initial public offering that will be released from the trust only on the completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriters to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us.

 

 

The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

 

 

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.

 

 

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.

 

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We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.

 

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants.

 

 

If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

 

 

You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

 

 

NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

 

 

You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.

 

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.

 

 

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

 

 

If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

 

If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 24 months following the closing of our initial public offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.

 

 

The other risks and uncertainties discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors and elsewhere in this Report.

 

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

We are a blank check company recently incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this Report as our initial business combination. We have not entered into any definitive acquisition agreement with any potential business combination target.

Our sponsor is an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative asset manager active in private equity, growth equity, credit and real asset strategies. Through our affiliation with H.I.G. Capital, we intend to capitalize on the ability of H.I.G. Capital’s multi-sector platform. Given H.I.G. Capital’s global reach and experience across industries, we believe our team has the required investment, operational, diligence and capital raising expertise, as well as relationships with financing, deal sourcing and advisory counterparties to effect a business combination with an attractive target and to position it for long-term success in the public markets.

We intend to identify and acquire a business that complements the experience and expertise of our management team, our board of directors and H.I.G. Capital. We believe that we are well positioned to capitalize on the significant volume of transaction opportunities that H.I.G. Capital consistently generates but is not currently pursuing via its existing strategies and vehicles. H.I.G. Capital has in the past declined to pursue potential investment opportunities that offered attractive risk-adjusted returns that would have been relevant to our acquisition strategy because those opportunities were not within size parameters of H.I.G. Capital’s existing funds. H.I.G. Capital’s deep industry experience and historical success of value creation in businesses position us well to identify, evaluate, and manage these larger businesses. By leveraging the management team’s and our board of director’s extensive operating expertise, we believe we can identify critical “value creation” drivers needed to help companies realize their full potential.

H.I.G. Capital was founded in 1993 by Sami Mnaymneh and Tony Tamer, each of whom are currently Co-CEOs of H.I.G. Capital. As of March 1, 2021, H.I.G. Capital managed approximately $44 billion of capital under management, or aggregate capital commitments of private funds and accounts, across multiple investment fund strategies, including private equity, growth equity, credit and real assets. With offices in the U.S. (Miami, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Stamford, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta), Europe (London, Paris, Hamburg, Luxembourg, Madrid and Milan) and Latin America (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and Bogota), H.I.G. Capital’s approximately 425 dedicated investment professionals bring a depth of experience and skills across a broad range of industries and transaction types.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. Capital has executed over 1,000 investments and managed more than 380 companies worldwide. Over its 28-year history, H.I.G. Capital has maintained a successful investment track record across multiple investment cycles and changing macroeconomic environments, including the September 11 attacks and the financial crisis of 2008. H.I.G. Capital identifies intrinsic “value creation” drivers needed to help companies realize their full potential, including implementing impactful operational efficiency improvements, significantly scaling the business through acquisitions, strategically repositioning the business, and investing capital and other resources to increase capabilities and expand market penetration. By identifying, executing and integrating accretive acquisitions and financing them efficiently, H.I.G. Capital’s investment professionals work to help businesses further cement their market leadership position. H.I.G. Capital’s investment professionals collaborate with management to optimize the go-to-market strategy and cost structure, assist in diversifying into ancillary products and markets and divest non-core businesses. H.I.G. Capital’s investment professionals collaborate with management to streamline and prioritize strategic initiatives and establish detailed and consistent frameworks to track the progress of such initiatives.

 

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H.I.G. Capital’s strong multi-decade track record of generating industry-leading returns is a function of its systematic investment selection process centered around its investment committees, which review all of H.I.G. Capital’s deals across all strategies, applying consistent criteria to evaluate risks and upsides in every investment and benefitting from years of accumulated pattern-recognition experience of H.I.G. Capital’s key decision makers: firm co-founders Mr. Mnaymneh and Mr. Tamer and firm co-presidents Rick Rosen and Brian Schwartz. The investment our blank check company will eventually make will be subjected to the same rigorous review process led by the same key individuals who stand at the heart of H.I.G. Capital’s success to date.

Our Management

Brian Schwartz serves as our Chief Executive Officer and on our board of directors. Mr. Schwartz is Co-President of H.I.G. Capital. He joined H.I.G. Capital in 1994. In his current position, along with Co-President Rick Rosen, he helps run the day-to-day operations of the firm and sits on the investment committees for all H.I.G. Capital funds. Prior to this role, Mr. Schwartz held a number of leadership positions at the firm, as well as having led the acquisition of 25 platform investments in a variety of industries. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Schwartz worked in PepsiCo’s strategic planning group. His responsibilities included managing strategic acquisitions for PepsiCo and evaluating new business opportunities. Mr. Schwartz began his career with the investment banking firm of Dillon, Read and Co., where he split his time between the corporate finance group and certain private equity funds. Mr. Schwartz earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.S. with honors from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rob Wolfson serves as our President and on our board of directors. Mr. Wolfson is an Executive Managing Director and the Head of the H.I.G. Capital Advantage Buyout Fund (the “Advantage Fund”), as well as the Head of U.S. Healthcare. Mr. Wolfson joined H.I.G. Capital in 2005. Prior to leading the Advantage Fund, Mr. Wolfson spent almost 12 years as a Managing Director leading transactions across multiple H.I.G. Capital strategies. Mr. Wolfson has worked with companies in a variety of industries, with a focus on healthcare, business services, and technology. In addition to the responsibilities mentioned above, Mr. Wolfson brings investment and operating experience across many industries. Prior to H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Wolfson was an executive at IPWireless, a wireless infrastructure provider. Mr. Wolfson began his career as a consultant with LEK Consulting, a leading worldwide strategy consulting firm where he worked with Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and private equity portfolio companies. Mr. Wolfson earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Northwestern University.

Timur Akazhanov serves as our Chief Financial Officer. He is a Managing Director of the Advantage Fund, where he focuses on investing in telecommunications, media and technology sectors, as well as tech-enabled services sectors. Mr. Akazhanov has more than a decade of experience in private equity in a broad range of industries, including technology, services, education, industrials, media and healthcare. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Akazhanov was a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group at Blackstone for seven years, and before that worked at Bain Capital and McKinsey and Company. Mr. Akazhanov earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker and a Ford scholar, and his A.B. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard College.

Richard Siegel serves as our Vice President and General Counsel. He has been General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of H.I.G. Capital since 2005. He is responsible for all of the firm’s legal, regulatory and compliance matters worldwide. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Siegel was Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Ryder System, a Fortune 350 global transportation and logistics company, and General Counsel of a private investment firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Siegel began his legal career in the New York and Melbourne, Australia offices of Sullivan & Cromwell and served as a Judicial Clerk for Andrew G.T. Moore II, of the Delaware Supreme Court. Mr. Siegel received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and earned a B.S. in Finance, magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland.

With respect to the foregoing examples, past performance of H.I.G. Capital, the H.I.G. Capital funds and the H.I.G. Capital management team is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of H.I.G. Capital’s, the H.I.G. Capital funds’ or our and H.I.G. Capital’s management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. An investment in us is not an investment in H.I.G. Capital funds. No member of our management team or board of directors has any prior experience in operating special purpose acquisition companies.

 

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Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he, she or it will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. However, we do not expect these duties to present a significant conflict of interest with our search for an initial business combination. We believe this conflict of interest will be naturally mitigated, to some extent, by the differing nature of the acquisition targets H.I.G. Capital typically considers most attractive for H.I.G. Capital funds and the types of acquisitions that we expect to find most attractive. As a result of due diligence from the broader platform, we may become aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for the traditional investing activities of H.I.G. Capital but that is an attractive opportunity for us. In addition to the above, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specific amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

Business Strategy

While we will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, given the experience of our management team, our board of directors and H.I.G. Capital, our acquisition and value creation strategy is to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, build a company in the public markets that benefits from the expertise and capabilities of our management team, our board of directors and the H.I.G. Capital platform, and can thus present the best opportunity to create long-term shareholder value.

 

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Key components of our business strategy include:

Leverage the H.I.G. Capital Platform to Source Acquisition Targets

We plan to leverage H.I.G. Capital’s extensive deal-sourcing network built over the past 27 years. This sourcing network includes the relationships of its approximately 425 investment professionals located in nine countries, approximately 25 dedicated in-house sourcing professionals in its Business Development group, senior advisors, and a proprietary database of tens of thousands of deal sourcing intermediaries. We believe the power of the H.I.G. Capital platform provides access to investment opportunities which, in many instances, may not be available to others.

H.I.G. Capital’s robust sourcing model includes extensive relationships that senior investment professionals have with industry experts, M&A advisors, senior operating advisors, and executives built from long tenures in the industry. H.I.G. Capital’s established deal flow network also leverages a proprietary database of thousands of intermediaries that can provide unconventional sources of acquisition opportunities.

H.I.G. Capital’s business model allows professionals in the network to meaningfully collaborate across geographies and strategies, while leveraging the platform’s deep expertise in numerous industries. Senior investment professionals across all funds partner on coverage of industry verticals, which has historically driven increased deal flow, knowledge sharing and value creation. The platform results in what we believe is differentiated market intelligence and improved quality of due diligence. We believe that leveraging the cumulative informational resources available through H.I.G. Capital will be a competitive advantage in identifying quality acquisition targets.

Broad Experience Across Industries and Sectors

We believe that in today’s investing environment, deep in-house industry knowledge is essential in identifying promising investment opportunities and macroeconomic trends and building strong, effective partnerships with businesses. H.I.G. Capital has executed over 380 private equity transactions across a wide range of industries, including Software & Technology, Healthcare, Media & Telecom, Business Services, Industrials, Consumer, Food & Beverage, Chemicals, and Transportation & Logistics. We intend to apply this accumulated intellectual capital, as well as our network of former and current portfolio companies, for the purpose of selecting the best investment idea.

Utilize Operating Expertise to Partner with the Acquired Business to Drive Value Creation

We plan to capitalize on H.I.G. Capital’s extensive operational and strategic experience to enhance the business’ performance. We believe that this experience will enable us to recognize inherent value in the business and, in conjunction with management, create a comprehensive business plan to realize this value. We believe that H.I.G. Capital’s dedicated investment professionals have the relevant backgrounds and track records of designing and implementing effective strategic operating plans, including both operational performance improvement and topline growth, organically and through synergistic add-on acquisitions. Further, we believe that H.I.G. Capital’s experience with and access to debt and equity capital markets will enhance value creation opportunities at the target company through efficient capital structure management. In addition to H.I.G. Capital’s investment professionals, we will leverage the operational experience of over 200 former portfolio company executives, dedicated senior advisors, and senior in-house vertical resources across marketing, information technology, human capital and other functional areas. Upon identification of a business combination opportunity, our management team and our board of directors will draw on the operating expertise of H.I.G. Capital’s investment professionals and advisors to conduct effective due diligence, develop and implement accretive commercial and operational initiatives, and identify and execute accretive add-on acquisitions at the target company.

 

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Unique Investment Approval Process

All H.I.G. Capital investments are subject to a rigorous internal investment approval process that has been developed and fine-tuned over the course of 27 years and across over 380 private equity investments. We will follow the same process when we identify a target of interest. Over the course of a transaction, our team will meet with the same key decision makers that review H.I.G. Capital’s investments multiple times to present due diligence findings, transaction structure and valuation, and investment merits and risks. H.I.G. Capital’s investment professionals with relevant expertise will work closely with our team to understand and focus on the key issues, develop a transaction structure and valuation proposal. Ultimately, we will prepare a formal presentation to facilitate approval of the transaction, including valuation and terms. Final investment decision will be approved by a group of key decision makers comprised of Mr. Mnaymneh, Mr. Tamer, Mr. Rosen, Mr. Schwartz, Doug Berman, Executive Managing Director and the Head of H.I.G. Capital’s U.S. Private Equity, and Mr. Wolfson.

Key Investment Decision Makers

Sami Mnaymneh is a Founder and Co-CEO of H.I.G. Capital. He has directed the firm’s development since its founding in 1993 and approves all capital commitments made by H.I.G. Capital. Mr. Mnaymneh currently serves on the board of Columbia College and on the Dean’s Council of the Harvard Law School. Prior to founding H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Mnaymneh was a Managing Director with The Blackstone Group in New York. Prior to that, he was a Vice President in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley & Co., where he devoted a significant amount of his time to leveraged buyouts, serving as senior advisor to a number of prominent private equity firms. Over the course of his career, Mr. Mnaymneh has led over 75 transactions in a wide range of industries. Mr. Mnaymneh earned his J.D. and an M.B.A., with honors, from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Columbia University, where he graduated first in his class.

Tony Tamer is a Founder and Co-CEO of H.I.G. Capital. He has directed H.I.G. Capital’s development since its founding in 1993 and approves all capital commitments made by the firm. Mr. Tamer has led a number of successful investments at H.I.G. Capital in both the management buyouts and growth capital arenas. He has extensive experience working with and coaching early stage and middle-market companies. Prior to H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Tamer was partner at Bain & Company, where he developed business unit and operating strategies, implemented productivity improvement initiatives, and led acquisition and divestiture activities for a number of Fortune 500 clients. Mr. Tamer has extensive operating experience that he gained from marketing, engineering and manufacturing positions at Hewlett-Packard and Sprint Corporation. Mr. Tamer earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and his Masters in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University.

Rick Rosen is Co-President of H.I.G. Capital. In his current position, along with Co-President Brian Schwartz, he helps lead the day-to-day operations of the firm and sits on the investment committees for all H.I.G. Capital’s funds. Since joining H.I.G. Capital in 1998, Mr. Rosen has been involved in all aspects of the investment process; and has held leadership positions in several of H.I.G. Capital’s funds. He also currently heads H.I.G. Capital’s Middle Market Fund. Mr. Rosen has worked with companies in a variety of industries, with a focus on healthcare, business services, specialty chemicals, and niche manufacturing. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Rosen worked at General Electric Company and GE Capital. As part of their Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions teams, Mr. Rosen coordinated a variety of strategic acquisitions in the financial services, plastics, medical systems, electronics, and aerospace industries. Mr. Rosen earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his undergraduate degree with honors from Stanford University.

Brian Schwartz serves as our Chief Executive Officer and on our board of directors. Mr. Schwartz is Co-President of H.I.G. Capital. He joined H.I.G. Capital in 1994. In his current position, along with Co-President Rick Rosen, he helps run the day-to-day operations of the firm and sits on the investment committees for all H.I.G. Capital funds. Prior to this role, Mr. Schwartz held a number of leadership positions at the firm, as well as having led the acquisition of 25 platform investments in a variety of industries. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Schwartz worked in PepsiCo’s strategic planning group. His responsibilities included managing strategic acquisitions for PepsiCo and evaluating new business opportunities. Mr. Schwartz began his career with the investment banking firm of Dillon, Read and Co., where he split his time between the corporate finance group and certain private equity funds. Mr. Schwartz earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.S. with honors from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

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Douglas Berman is an Executive Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Capital’s U.S. Private Equity business. He joined H.I.G. Capital in 1996. In his current position, Mr. Berman oversees the day-to-day activities, and sits on the investment committees, of all of H.I.G. Capital’s U.S. private equity funds. Prior to this role, he was responsible for H.I.G. Capital’s Lower Middle Market buyout fund. Mr. Berman has also led the acquisition of more than 40 businesses for H.I.G. Capital across a wide range of industries. He began his career as a consultant at Bain & Company, where he managed a variety of projects for Fortune 1000 clients across the manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial services sectors. Mr. Berman earned his M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. with honors in Economics from the University of Virginia.

Rob Wolfson serves as our President and on our board of directors. Mr. Wolfson is an Executive Managing Director and the Head of the Advantage Fund, as well as the Head of U.S. Healthcare. Mr. Wolfson joined H.I.G. Capital in 2005. Prior to leading the Advantage Fund, Mr. Wolfson spent almost 12 years as a Managing Director leading transactions across multiple H.I.G. Capital strategies. Mr. Wolfson has worked with companies in a variety of industries, with a focus on healthcare, business services, and technology. In addition to the responsibilities mentioned above, Mr. Wolfson brings investment and operating experience across many industries. Prior to H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Wolfson was an executive at IPWireless, a wireless infrastructure provider. Mr. Wolfson began his career as a consultant with LEK Consulting, a leading worldwide strategy consulting firm where he worked with Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and private equity portfolio companies. Mr. Wolfson earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Northwestern University.

Acquisition Criteria

Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective targets for our initial business combination. We will 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. We intend to acquire one or more target businesses that we believe:

 

 

have a defensible core business with sustainable competitive advantages and differentiated value proposition. We seek to invest in stable, profitable and predictable businesses that command leading market positions in their particular industry segment, demonstrate a differentiated value proposition, and possess a sustainable competitive advantage in products, markets or distribution. We believe these market-leading businesses offer defensible barriers to entry and are not only generally more resilient to competitive pressures, but also have the capability to generate continued revenue and earnings growth through volume and price increases and operating leverage.

 

 

are in attractive, resilient and secularly growing end-markets. The global footprint of H.I.G. Capital facilitates timely identification of trends and provides early warning mechanisms to either increase or slow down investments in certain industries. These capabilities will help us identify businesses in stable, resilient end markets with capabilities to generate continued revenue and earnings growth in varying economic environments.

 

 

have unrealized strategic and operational upside. Our management team and board of directors have a track record of identifying intrinsic “value creation” drivers needed to help companies realize their full potential, including significantly scaling the business through synergistic acquisitions, strategically repositioning the business, implementing operational efficiency improvements, and expanding operations to establish a global presence.

 

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can generate compelling risk-adjusted returns. We intend to target large, high quality businesses with capital efficient models, which we believe will yield compelling risk-adjusted returns.

 

 

can operate successfully under the scrutiny of public markets. We intend to target companies with strong existing management teams, well-established internal processes and controls and compelling public investment theses, which are both prepared and well-suited for the public markets.

These criteria and guidelines 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 criteria and guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, criteria and guidelines that our management and board of directors may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria and guidelines in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this Report, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.

Our Acquisition Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. We will also utilize our management team’s and board of director’s operational and capital planning experience.

Our officers and directors may, and certain of our officers and directors do, directly or indirectly own our ordinary shares and/or private placement warrants following our initial public offering, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Initial Business Combination

So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, 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 the net 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 signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. 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 or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.

 

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We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders 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-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination 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 of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination 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. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.

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 and our board of directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our 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.

Other Considerations

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of our officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such 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.

In addition, certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he, she or it will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to

 

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pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.

Our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. However, we do not currently expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors, are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

While we believe that our structure and our management team’s and our board of director’s backgrounds make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.

Our executive offices are located at 1450 Brickell Avenue, 31st Floor, Miami, FL 33131, and our telephone number is (305) 379-2322. We maintain a corporate website at www.higacquisitioncorp.com. The information contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this Report.

 

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We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Law. As an exempted company, we have applied for and expect to receive a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved, If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

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 are taking advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of 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 our Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

Financial Position

As of December 31, 2020, we had $364.0 million held in the trust account, including $12.7 million of deferred underwriting fees in connection with our initial public offering and the underwriter’s partial exercise of their over-allotment option. With the funds available, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our 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.

 

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Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

General

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following our initial public offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of our initial public offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing or other sources. 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, 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 ordinary shares, 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-business combination 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.

Although our management and board of directors will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.

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.

Lack of Business Diversification

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our 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 and of our board of directors, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated

 

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with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team or of our board of directors 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 or of our board of directors will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination

We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

Under the NYSE’s listing rules, shareholder approval would typically be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

 

 

We issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then-outstanding (other than in a public offering);

 

 

Any of our directors, officers or substantial security holder (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 1% or more (or 5% or more if the related party involved is classified as such solely because such person is a substantial security holder); or

 

 

The issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.

The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

 

 

the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company;

 

 

the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote;

 

 

the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;

 

 

other time and budget constraints of the company; and

 

 

additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders.

 

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Permitted Purchases of Our Securities

If we seek shareholder 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 sponsor, directors, executive officers or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. 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 public shares or warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making 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.

In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. 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 transaction could be to (i) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (ii) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (iii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion 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 ordinary shares 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.

Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders 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 shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the shareholder meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors or their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

 

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Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. We expect any such purchases will be reported by such person 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 Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the 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. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. 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 completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its shares, if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and each member of our management team and of our board of directors have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.

Limitations on Redemptions

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 do not become 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 ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder 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 shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer

 

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(which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE, we will be required to comply with the NYSE rules.

If we held a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association

 

 

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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares, represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a shareholder meeting are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team and of our board of directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 13,647,939, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 36,394,500 public shares sold in the initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any such shareholder meeting.

If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

 

conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and

 

 

file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order 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 shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval

If we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders 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, our management or our board of directors to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder 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, our management or our board of directors at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ 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 shareholders 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 shareholders’ 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 shareholders 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 The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/ Withdrawal At Custodian) 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 shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve 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 shareholders 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 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.

 

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The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ 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 shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder 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 shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the shareholder 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 shareholder’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 initially scheduled 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 completion of our initial business combination.

If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.

If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we have only 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering to consummate an initial business combination. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest 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 shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.

 

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Our sponsor and each member of our management team and of our board of directors have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame).

Our sponsor, executive officers, directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders 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, 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, or any other person.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments following our initial public offering to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the amount held outside the trust account 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 shareholders upon our dissolution would be $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 shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (except our independent registered public accounting firm), 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 shareholders, 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

 

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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. The representatives of the underwriters in our initial public offering 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 public 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 tax obligations, 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 representatives of the underwriters 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 its 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 public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a 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 public share.

We will 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 (except our independent registered public accounting firm), 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 underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have access to the amount held outside the trust account 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). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders 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 shareholder.

 

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If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per public share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. 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 shareholders 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 shareholders are 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 our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder 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 consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder 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, 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 shareholders 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.

 

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Facilities

We currently maintain our executive offices at 1450 Brickell Avenue, 31st Floor, Miami, FL 33131. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Employees and Human Capital Resources

We currently have four executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

We registered our units, Class A ordinary shares 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 contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. 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, 2021 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 not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. 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.

Prior to the date of this Report, we 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.

 

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We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Law. As an exempted company, we applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

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 are taking advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of 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 our Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt 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 our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.

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 ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.

 

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks

Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.

We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote before we complete our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would not be required to seek shareholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, members of our management team and members of our board of directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

Our initial shareholders own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Our sponsor, members of our management team and members of our board of directors also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares, represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a shareholder meeting are voted in favor of the business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 13,647,939, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 36,394,500 public shares issued and outstanding to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor, each member of our management team and each member of our board of directors to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.

 

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The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

 

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The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout China and other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” A significant outbreak of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be adversely affected in a material way.

In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on our ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including increased market volatility or decreased market liquidity in third party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.

We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 may grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the continuing extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within such applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest 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),

 

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divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants.

If we seek shareholder 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 sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. 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 public shares or warrants in such transactions.

In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion 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 ordinary shares 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. 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.

If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, 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 describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.

 

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As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.

In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination. In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.

You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our public shareholders are entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to consummate an initial business within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder 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 are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder 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

 

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than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 24 months following the closing of our initial public offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team or of our board of directors to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.

As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $30,000 in cash held outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, will be sufficient to allow us to operate for 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate, and that our sponsor will provide working capital loans beyond a twelve month period from the issuance of the financial statements included in this Report. Of the funds available to us, we expect to use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.

 

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If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, its affiliates, members of our management team, members of our board of directors or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team, members of our board of directors nor their affiliates is under any obligation to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $4,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team or of our board of directors 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. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per public share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.

 

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If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.

If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, the proceeds 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 income taxes, if any, (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.

 

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We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination.

In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. As an exempted company, there is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or general meetings to elect directors. Until we hold an annual meeting of shareholders, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to elect directors and to discuss company affairs with management and our board of directors. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of shareholders) serving a three- year term.

Holders of Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any election of directors we hold prior to our initial business combination.

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. 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. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.

The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.

In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.

The grant of registration rights to our sponsor may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.

Pursuant to the registration and shareholder rights agreement, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares and the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the securities owned by our sponsor or its permitted transferees are registered.

 

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Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.

We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we are not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting firm or independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

 

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We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained therein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 950,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 95,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 913,605,500 and 85,901,375 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, if any. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.

We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redeeming the warrants or upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth herein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:

 

 

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;

 

 

may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares;

 

 

could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;

 

 

may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

 

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and

 

 

will not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.

 

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Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our sponsor will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.

The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding (excluding the private placement shares underlying the private placement warrants) upon completion of our initial public offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, any of its affiliates or any members of our management team or of our board of directors upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial shareholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.

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 consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our sponsor controls a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Upon closing of our initial public offering, our initial shareholders own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private placement shares underlying the private placement warrants). Accordingly, it may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our sponsor purchases any of our Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase its control. Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Report. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors and to remove directors prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

 

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Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged or may become engaged in other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as and may in the future serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key- man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers.

The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.

Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following our initial public offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

 

 

default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;

 

 

acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

 

 

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;

 

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our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;

 

 

our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares;

 

 

using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;

 

 

limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;

 

 

increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and

 

 

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.

The net proceeds from our initial public offering (including the exercise of the over-allotment) and the private placement of warrants provided us with up to $351.2 million that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $12.7 million of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and the estimated expenses of our initial public offering).

We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

 

solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or

 

 

dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our 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.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operation.

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.

In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. By definition, very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.

We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team and our board of directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.

We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

 

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In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.

In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a shareholder meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 65% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through our initial public offering, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.

The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a shareholder meeting of the company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to the rights of a company’s shareholders, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, meaning holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a shareholder meeting of the company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our ordinary shares; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be

 

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amended by a special resolution passed by not less than 90% of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at our shareholder meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially owned, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of our initial public offering, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary 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, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

Although we believe that the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet negotiated the acquisition of a target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment has made it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.

 

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Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.

We issued public warrants to purchase an aggregate 12,131,500 of our Class A ordinary shares as part of the units offered in our initial public offering and upon the exercise of the over-allotment and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering and the exercise of the over-allotment, we issued in a private placement an aggregate 6,185,933 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. In addition, if the sponsor, its affiliates or a member of our management team or of our board of directors makes any working capital loans, it may convert up to $4,500,000 of such loans into up to an additional 3,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redemption of our warrants.

To the extent we issue ordinary shares for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.

Unlike most blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statements disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“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.

 

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Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate a business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2021. 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 comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

Risks Relating to Our Sponsor and Management Team

After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.

It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post- combination business.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management, director or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management, including our board of directors, of the target business will remain in place. While we closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.

 

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Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. In addition, pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement, our sponsor, upon consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.

We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.

Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

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 pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.

In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.

 

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Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.

We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

 

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Since our sponsor, executive officers, and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may have acquired during or may acquire after our initial public offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

On September 3, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.001 per share, to cover certain expenses on our behalf in consideration of 19,406,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. On September 28, 2020, our sponsor effected a surrender of 6,468,750 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 19,406,250 to 12,937,500. On October 15, 2020, our sponsor effected a surrender of 3,593,750 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 12,937,500 to 9,343,750, such that the total number of founder shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering. On December 4, 2020, our sponsor automatically surrendered 245,125 founder shares to the Company for no consideration, triggered by the expiration of the option of the underwriter of the initial public offering to purchase additional units, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 9,343,750 to 9,098,625. Each of our independent directors currently owns 35,000 of the Class B ordinary shares noted above, which were transferred from our sponsor to them in September 2020. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, as of the initial public offering, our sponsor consummated a private placement and purchased an aggregate of 5,666,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per warrant or $8.5 million in the aggregate. On November 25, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option, and the closing of the issuance and sale of the additional 3,894,500 over- allotment units occurred on December 1, 2020. The issuance by the Company of the over-allotment units at a price of $10.00 per unit resulted in total gross proceeds of $38.9 million. On December 1, 2020, simultaneously with the issuance and sale of the over-allotment units, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 519,267 private placement warrants, generating gross proceeds of $0.8 million. If we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering nears, which is the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination.

Our management and our board of directors may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management and board of directors will not be able to maintain control of the target business.

 

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We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s and our board of director’s area of expertise.

We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s and our board of director’s area of expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management and our board of directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination target, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in the initial public offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s and our board of director’s expertise, our management’s and our board of director’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this report regarding the areas of our management’s and our board of director’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management and our board of directors may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

Risks Relating to our Securities

Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.

Our corporate affairs and the rights of shareholders are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are also subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.

We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the

 

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Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.

A market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.

The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

Because each unit contains one-third of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.

Each unit contains one-third of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants were issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses.

Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.

We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.

We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.

 

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In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.

Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.

Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.

 

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We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this Report, or defective provision, (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 65% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

We have not registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants and causing such warrants to expire worthless.

We have not registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state

 

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securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in our initial public offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.

General Risk Factors

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting of complex financial instruments including for warrants we issued in connection with our initial public offering in October 2020.

Additionally, we re-evaluated our application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to our accounting classification of the Class A ordinary shares. Our management and our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate previously issued financial statements for the Affected Periods, respectively, to classify all Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in temporary equity.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation of those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

As a result of this material weakness, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of our derivative warrant liabilities, change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, additional paid-in capital, accumulated deficit and related financial disclosures for the Affected Periods. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to the accounting for complex financial instruments, see “Note 2—Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements” to the accompanying financial statements, as well as Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report.

To respond to this material weakness, we have devoted, and plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements, we plan to enhance these processes to better evaluate our research and understanding of the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our consolidated financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to our accounting for a Class A ordinary shares we issued in connection with the October 2020 initial public offering, see “Note 2—Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements” to the accompanying consolidated financial statements, as well as Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.

 

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Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect on our business. Failure to timely file will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short form registration statements on Form S-3, which may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares to effect an acquisition. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock. We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our consolidated financial statements.

We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting of complex financial instruments.

Our management and our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued financial statements for the Affected Periods. See “—We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.” As part of the restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.

As a result of such material weakness, the restatements, the changes in accounting for the warrants, the change in the reclassification of the Public Shares and other matters raised, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatements and material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Amendment No. 2, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a business combination.

Our Warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our Warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.

On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on warrants that have certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers or warrants which do not meet the criteria to be considered indexed to an entity’s own stock, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our Warrants. As a result of the SEC Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 12,131,500 Public Warrants and 6,185,934 Private Placement Warrants, and determined that the Warrants should be reclassified as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.

As a result, included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 contained elsewhere in this Form 10-K/A are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our Warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging —Contracts on an Entity’s Own Equity”, provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our Warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.

 

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Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors, upon the listing of our shares on the NYSE, the NYSE may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

After completion of our initial public offering, only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the election of directors. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a ‘controlled company’ and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:

 

 

we have a board that includes a majority of ‘independent directors,’ as defined under the rules of the NYSE;

 

 

we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and

 

 

we have nominating and corporate governance committees of our board that are comprised entirely of independent directors each with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.

We have no operating history and are subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement if we do not complete an initial business combination by October 23, 2022. As such, there is a risk that we will be unable to continue as a going concern if we do not consummate an initial business combination by the applicable deadline. If we are unable to effect an initial business combination by the deadline, we will be forced to liquidate.

We are a blank check company, and as we do not have an operating history and are subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement, there are a risk that we will be unable to continue as a going concern if we do not consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022. There can be no assurance that we will complete a business combination by this time. If we do not complete its initial business combination by October 23, 2022, 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 (less taxes payable and 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 Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the we Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be less than $10.00 per share. We expect to consummate a business combination prior to October 23, 2022 and do not currently intend to take any action to extend the company’s life beyond the October 23, 2022 business combination deadline.

 

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We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management and our board of directors.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions will include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our Class B ordinary shares, which have been issued to our sponsor, are entitled to vote on the election of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and our board of directors and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

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

 

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that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

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 ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants who or that is (i) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (ii) a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust, if (a) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons (as defined in the Code) have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (b) it has a valid election in effect under Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person (a “U.S. Holder”), such U.S. holder may be subject to certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception. Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.

Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders 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. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of $18,292.68 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.

 

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If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

 

 

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

 

 

restrictions on the issuance of securities,

each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

 

 

registration as an investment company with the SEC;

 

 

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

 

reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. An investment in our securities is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We have no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

We were formed on September 2, 2020 under the laws of the Cayman Islands and have no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

 

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Past performance by H.I.G. Capital, our management team, our board of directors or their affiliates is not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, H.I.G. Capital, our management team or our board of directors, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance of H.I.G. Capital, our management team, our board of directors or their affiliates is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (2) of success with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of H.I.G. Capital, our management team or our board of directors as being indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. Our management and board of directors have no prior experience in operating special purpose acquisition companies.

NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are currently listed on the NYSE. Although we expect to continue to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum listing standards set forth in the NYSE listing standards, our securities may not be, or may not continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders).

Additionally, our units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE.

For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $4.0 million. We may not be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

 

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

 

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

 

a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

 

 

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

 

a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

 

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You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.

Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means that since our units were immediately tradable and we have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would have prohibited the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.

If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per- share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses 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 shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management (including our board of directors) 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 (including our board of directors) 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 (including our board of directors) to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management (including our board of directors) is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a letter agreement, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce

 

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the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per 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 tax obligations, 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 underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, 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 its 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.

The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

The net proceeds of our initial public offering, over-allotment and certain proceeds from the sales of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $363,945,000 is held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay income taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $363,945,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per 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 tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a 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 and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

 

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We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.

We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries

If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.

If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:

 

 

costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations;

 

 

rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

 

 

complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

 

 

laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;

 

 

exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;

 

 

tariffs and trade barriers;

 

 

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

 

 

local or regional economic policies and market conditions;

 

 

unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;

 

 

longer payment cycles;

 

 

tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

 

 

currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

 

 

rates of inflation;

 

 

challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

 

 

cultural and language differences;

 

 

employment regulations;

 

 

underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;

 

 

corruption;

 

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protection of intellectual property;

 

 

social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;

 

 

regime changes and political upheaval;

 

 

terrorist attacks and wars; and

 

 

deterioration of political relations with the United States.

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If our management and board of directors following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.

Following our initial business combination, our management and board of directors may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.

The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.

Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.

In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.

 

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We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

We currently maintain our executive offices at 1450 Brickell Avenue, 31st Floor, Miami, FL 33131. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

To the knowledge of our management and board of directors, 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, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are each traded on the NYSE under the symbols “HIGA,” “HIGA.U” and “HIGA.WS,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on October 21, 2020. Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on December 11, 2020.

(b) Holders

On December 31, 2020, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares, five holders of our Class B ordinary shares and three holders of our warrants.

(c) Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares 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. If we increase the size of our initial public offering, we will effect a share capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of our initial public offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private placement shares underlying the private placement warrants) upon the consummation of our initial public offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with a 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) Performance Graph

Not applicable.

(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings.

On September 3, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.001 per share, to cover certain expenses on our behalf in consideration of 19,406,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. On September 28, 2020, our sponsor effected a surrender of 6,468,750 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 19,406,250 to 12,937,500. On October 15, 2020, our sponsor effected a surrender of 3,593,750 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 12,937,500 to 9,343,750. On December 4, 2020, our sponsor automatically surrendered 245,125 founder shares to the company for no consideration, triggered by the expiration of the option of the underwriter of the issuer’s initial public offering to purchase additional units, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 9,343,750 to 9,098,625. This total includes the transfer of an aggregate 140,000 founder shares, which were transferred from our sponsor to certain of our directors in September 2020.

 

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On October 23, 2020, the Company consummated its initial public offering of 32,500,000 units, generating gross proceeds of $325 million. On November 25, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option, and the closing of the issuance and sale of the additional 3,894,500 over-allotment units occurred on December 1, 2020. The issuance by the Company of the over-allotment units at a price of $10.00 per unit resulted in total gross proceeds of $38.9 million.

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, the Company consummated the private placement of 5,666,667 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $8.5 million (Note 5). On November 25, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and on December 1, 2020, purchased an additional 3,894,500 over-allotment units, generating gross proceeds of approximately $38.9 million. On December 1, 2020, simultaneously with the issuance and sale of the over-allotment units, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 519,267 private placement warrants, generating gross proceeds of $0.8 million. (See Note 5).

Upon the closing of the initial public offering, the over-allotment, and the private placements, $363.9 million ($10.00 per unit) of the net proceeds of the initial public offering and certain of the proceeds of the private placements were placed in a trust account established for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders.

Use of Proceeds

On October 23, 2020, we consummated the initial public offering of 32,500,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $325.0 million. The underwriter was granted a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the initial public offering to purchase up to 4,875,000 additional units to cover over- allotments, if any, at $10.00 per unit. On November 25, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over- allotment option and on December 1, 2020, purchased an additional 3,894,500, generating gross proceeds of approximately $38.9 million.

In connection with the initial public offering and the over-allotment, we incurred offering costs of approximately $20.7 million, inclusive of approximately $7.3 million in upfront underwriting commissions and $12.7 million in deferred underwriting commissions. Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of preparation fees related to the initial public offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the initial business combination, if consummated) and the initial public offering expenses, $363.9 million of the net proceeds from our initial public offering, the over-allotment and certain of the proceeds from the private placements of the private placement warrants (or $10.00 per unit sold in the initial public offering) was placed in a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The net proceeds of the initial public offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants are held in the trust account and invested as described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See Note 4 to the financial statements.

There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the initial public offering and private placements as is described in the Company’s final prospectus related to the initial public offering.

(g) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

None.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Not applicable.

 

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

References to the “Company,” “H.I.G. Acquisition Corp.,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to H.I.G. Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

In this Amendment No. 2 (“Amendment No. 2”) to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of H.I.G. Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, we are restating our (i) audited balance sheet as of October 23, 2020, (as previously restated in the First Amended Filing and (ii) audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020, and for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020.

We have re-evaluated our application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to our accounting and classification of the Public Shares, issued as part of the units sold in the IPO on October 23, 2020. Historically, a portion of the Public Shares was classified as permanent equity to maintain shareholders’ equity greater than $5 million on the basis that we will not redeem our Public Shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, as described in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. Pursuant to such re-evaluation, our management has determined that the Public Shares include certain provisions that require classification of all of the Public Shares as temporary equity regardless of the net tangible assets redemption limitation contained in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. In addition, in connection with the change in presentation for the Public Shares, management determined it should restate earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of shares share pro rata in the income and losses of our Company.

As a result of the foregoing, on December [ ], 2021, the Audit Committee of the Company, in consultation with its management, concluded that its previously issued (i) audited balance sheet as of October 23, 2020, as previously restated in the First Amended Filing and (ii) Financial Statements for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, as previously restated in the First Amended Filing, should be restated and should no longer be relied upon.

The restatement does not have an impact on our cash position and cash held in the Trust Account.

In connection with the classification error described above and the resulting material weakness in internal control over financial reporting, our management reassessed the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures for the periods affected by the restatement. As a result of that reassessment, we determined that our disclosure controls and procedures for such periods were not effective with respect to our internal controls around the proper accounting and classification of complex financial instruments. For more information, see Item 9A included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported for these periods is superseded by the information in this Amendment No. 2, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed reports should no longer be relied upon.

The restatement is more fully described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein.

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated on September 2, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. We have not entered into any definitive acquisition agreement with any potential business combination target.

Our sponsor is H.I.G. Acquisition Advisors, LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. Our registration statement for the initial public offering became effective on October 20, 2020. We consummated the initial public offering of 32,500,000 units on October 23, 2020. Each unit consisted of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to

 

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purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $325.0 million. We granted the underwriters in the initial public offering a 45-day option to purchase up to 4,875,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any. On November 25, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and on December 1, 2020, purchased an additional 3,894,500 over-allotment units, generating gross proceeds of approximately $38.9 million, and incurred additional offering costs of approximately $2.1 million in underwriting fees (inclusive of approximately $1.4 million in deferred underwriting fees).

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering on October 23, 2020, we completed the first closing of the private placement of an aggregate 5,666,667 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant to the sponsor, generating proceeds of $8.5 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the over-allotment on December 1, 2020, we consummated the second closing of the private placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 519,267 private placement warrants by the sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.8 million.

Upon the closing of the initial public offering, the over-allotment and the private placements, approximately $363.9 million ($10.00 per unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the initial public offering, the over- allotment and the private placements were placed in the trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and invested in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, as determined by us, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the trust account as described below.

Our management and our board of directors have broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the initial public offering, the over-allotment and the sale of private placement warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a business combination.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering, or October 23, 2022 (the “Combination Period”), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income 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 shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Going Concern Consideration

As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $30,000 in our operating bank accounts and working capital of approximately $970,000. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its acquisition plans.

Through December 31, 2020, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through a payment of $25,000 from our sponsor to pay for certain offering costs in exchange for issuance of the founder shares, a loan under a promissory note of approximately $237,000 from our sponsor, and the net proceeds from the consummation of the private placements not held in the trust account. We fully repaid the balance of the promissory note on October 23, 2020. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an initial business combination, our officers, directors and initial shareholders may, but are not obligated to, provide us with loans the Company may require (“Working Capital Loans”). As of December 31, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.

 

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We have until October 23, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination. We do not have sufficient liquidity to meet or anticipated obligations until this date. In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that we have access to Working Capital Loans (as defined in Note 5) from our sponsor that are sufficient to fund our working capital needs for at least one year from the issuance of these financial statements.

Based on the foregoing, management and our board of directors do not believe that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors to meet our liquidity needs through the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, we will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial business combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination.

Results of Operations

Our entire activity from inception up to December 31, 2020 was in preparation for our initial public offering and, since the consummation of our initial public offering, the search for a prospective target business. We will not be generating any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial business combination, at the earliest. For the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of approximately $9.6 million, which consisted of approximately $8.7 million loss from changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities, approximately $0.6 million of financing costs—derivative liabilities, general and administrative expenses of approximately $299,000, administrative expenses to a related party of the sponsor of approximately $24,000 (of which the outstanding balance was $24,000 as of December 31, 2020), partly offset by approximately $6,000 of net gain from investments held in the trust account.

As a result of the restatement described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein, we allocated approximately $0.6 million of offering costs to the warrant liabilities which has been recognized as expense. In addition, we classify the Warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering and Private Placement as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrant to fair value at each reporting period. These liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. For the periods from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the change in fair value of warrants was an increase of $8.7 million.

Contractual Obligations

Registration Rights

The holders of founder shares, private placement warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

We granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the final prospectus relating to the initial public offering to purchase up to 4,875,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On December 1, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option.

 

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The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $7.3 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the initial public offering and over-allotment. In addition, $0.35 per unit, or approximately $12.7 million in the aggregate will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that we complete a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares 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 our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events, Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.

Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share

Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding shares subject to forfeiture. We have not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the initial public offering and the private placements to purchase an aggregate of 18,317,434 of our Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method.

Our statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for ordinary shares subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income (loss) per share. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class A ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on cash, cash equivalents and investments held in the trust account, net of amounts available to be withdrawn from the trust account to pay our income taxes, for the periods presented, by the weighted average number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Net loss per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class B ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the net loss, less income attributable to Class A ordinary shares, by the weighted average number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding for the period.

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 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.

We issued 12,131,500 Warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares to investors in our Initial Public Offering and issued 6,185,934 Private Placement Warrants. All of our outstanding Warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The fair value of Warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement were initially measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model and subsequently, the fair value of the Private Placement warrants have been estimated by reference to the trading price of the Public warrants. The fair value of Warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering have subsequently been measured based on the listed market price of such warrants.

 

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Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Our management and board of directors do not believe that there are any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, that would have a material effect on our financial statements.

JOBS Act

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”) contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, the financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

On October 23, 2020, and December 1, 2020, the net proceeds of the initial public offering and over- allotment, respectively, included in the trust account, were invested in cash and may be invested in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds that meet certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, that 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.

We have not engaged in any hedging activities since our inception and we do not expect to engage in any hedging activities with respect to the market risk to which we are exposed.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Reference is made to Pages F-1 through F-18 comprising a portion of this Report.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

 

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Item 9a. Controls and Procedures

Restatements Background

We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting of complex financial instruments including for warrants we issued in connection with our initial public offering in October 2020. As a result, the Warrants were recorded as liabilities on the balance sheet and measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, with changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations. This was reflected in the First Amended Filing.

The Company has followed ASC 480 in accounting for its Public Shares. This included recording the Public Shares in permanent equity on its balance sheet. However, the Company maintained shareholders’ equity of at least $5,000,001 as the Company will not redeem Public Shares that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. In September 2021, the Company’s management re-evaluated and ultimately concluded that the classification of $5,000,001 in permanent equity was not appropriate and that the Public Shares should be reclassified as temporary equity. In connection with the preparation of the financial statements as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 that were included in the Company’s Q3 Form 10-Q, the Company concluded that it would change its accounting and reflect the full amount of all redeemable Public Shares in temporary equity. This was a change from the Company’s previous accounting practice whereby it maintained shareholders’ equity of at least $5,000,001 as the Company will not redeem Public Shares that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. In connection with the change in presentation for the Public Shares subject to possible redemption, the Company also revised its earnings per share to allocate net income (loss) evenly to all Public Shares and Class B ordinary shares.

On December 14, 2021, the Company’s management and the Audit Committee concluded that the Company’s previously issued financial statements for the Affected Periods, in each case, should be restated to classify all of the Public Shares as temporary equity and should no longer be relied upon. As a result, the Company is restating its financial statements for the Affected Periods herein for the Post-IPO Balance Sheet and the Company’s audited financial statements included in the First Amended Filing and in a Form 10-Q/A for the unaudited condensed financial statements for the periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this annual report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”) evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020, pursuant to Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that, due to the events that led to the First Amended Filing and to this Amendment No. 2, a material weakness exists related to our accounting for complex financial instruments and the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis.

Effective disclosure controls and internal control are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.

Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our disclosure controls and procedures and 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.

 

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If we identify any new material weakness in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.

We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

This annual report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.

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.

 

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Item 9B. Other Information

None.

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Directors and Executive Officers

As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our directors and officers are as follows:

 

Name

   Age     

Position

Brian Schwartz

     53      Chief Executive Officer and Director

Rob Wolfson

     48      President and Director

Timur Akazhanov

     39      Chief Financial Officer

Richard Siegel

     55      Vice President and General Counsel

Andreas Beroutsos

     55      Director

William E. Mitchell

     76      Director

Christopher O’Connell

     54      Director

Sidney Taurel

     72      Director

Brian Schwartz serves as our Chief Executive Officer and on our board of directors. Mr. Schwartz was appointed chairman of our board of directors by our board of directors. Mr. Schwartz is Co-President of H.I.G. Capital. He joined H.I.G. Capital in 1994. In his current position, along with Co-President Rick Rosen, he helps run the day-to-day operations of the firm and sits on the investment committees for all H.I.G. Capital funds. Prior to this role, Mr. Schwartz held a number of leadership positions at the firm, as well as having led the acquisition of 25 platform investments in a variety of industries. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Schwartz worked in PepsiCo’s strategic planning group. His responsibilities included managing strategic acquisitions for PepsiCo and evaluating new business opportunities. Mr. Schwartz began his career with the investment banking firm of Dillon, Read and Co., where he split his time between the corporate finance group and certain private equity funds. Mr. Schwartz earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.S. with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. We believe Mr. Schwartz’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his substantial experience in building and managing businesses and in identifying and executing acquisition opportunities.

Rob Wolfson serves as our President and on our board of directors. Mr. Wolfson is an Executive Managing Director and the Head of the Advantage Fund, as well as the Head of U.S. Healthcare. Mr. Wolfson joined H.I.G. Capital in 2005. Prior to leading the Advantage Fund, Mr. Wolfson spent almost 12 years as a Managing Director leading transactions across multiple H.I.G. Capital strategies. Mr. Wolfson has worked with companies in a variety of industries, with a focus on healthcare, business services, and technology. In addition to the responsibilities mentioned above, Mr. Wolfson brings investment and operating experience across many industries. Prior to H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Wolfson was an executive at IPWireless, a wireless infrastructure provider. Mr. Wolfson began his career as a consultant with LEK Consulting, a leading worldwide strategy consulting firm where he worked with Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and private equity portfolio companies. Mr. Wolfson earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Northwestern University. We believe Mr. Wolfson’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive investment and management experience across a variety of industries.

Timur Akazhanov serves as our Chief Financial Officer. He is a Managing Director of the Advantage Fund, where he focuses on investing in telecommunications, media and technology sectors, as well as tech- enabled services sectors. Mr. Akazhanov has more than a decade of experience in private equity in a broad range of industries, including technology, services, education, industrials, media and healthcare. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Akazhanov was a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group at Blackstone for seven years, and before that worked at Bain Capital and McKinsey and Company. Mr. Akazhanov earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker and a Ford scholar, and his A.B. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard College.

 

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Richard Siegel serves as our Vice President and General Counsel. He has been General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of H.I.G. Capital since 2005. He is responsible for all of the firm’s legal, regulatory and compliance matters worldwide. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital, Mr. Siegel was Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Ryder System, a Fortune 350 global transportation and logistics company, and General Counsel of a private investment firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Siegel began his legal career in the New York and Melbourne, Australia offices of Sullivan & Cromwell and served as a Judicial Clerk for Andrew G.T. Moore II, of the Delaware Supreme Court. Mr. Siegel received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and earned a B.S. in Finance, magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland.

Andreas Beroutsos has been a member of our board of directors since October 2020. Mr. Beroutsos is the Managing Director, Investments, and senior group executive for strategic new businesses at BW Group, a global maritime group involved in shipping, floating gas and offshore energy infrastructure and production, and clean energy, a position he has held since 2020. Mr. Beroutsos was a member of the board of OSX-listed BW LPG, an energy transportation company associated with the BW Group, from 2013 until 2020. In his 13 years as a private equity investor, Mr. Beroutsos has been a senior partner at HRS Management LLC; and the executive vice president and senior portfolio manager for private equity & infrastructure at Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), a leading Canadian institutional investor. At CDPQ, Mr. Beroutsos served on the management committee, client committee, and cross-asset-class investment-risk committee; and was the chair of the private equity and infrastructure investment committees. Prior to CDPQ, Mr. Beroutsos led private investments at multi- strategy fund Eton Park Capital Management. Earlier in his career, Mr. Beroutsos spent 17 years at McKinsey & Co., where he became a senior partner, global leader of the private equity practice, co-leader of the financial institutions practice, head of global recruiting and member of the committee that elected the senior partners of the firm. Mr. Beroutsos has been a member of the board of directors of PetSmart, Inc., a pet supplies company, since 2015. In 2013, Mr. Beroutsos was selected by European and Greek authorities to serve on the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, overseeing the recapitalization of Greek banks. Additionally, Mr. Beroutsos has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards. He holds M.B.A. and B.A. degrees, both with high distinction, from Harvard University. We believe Mr. Beroutsos’ qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive experience as a board member of, and investor in, large companies and experience overseeing large portfolios of individual companies.

William E. Mitchell has been a member of our board of directors since October 2020. Mr. Mitchell is a founder and managing partner at Sequel Venture Partners, a position he has held since 2010. Mr. Mitchell is also a partner with Sage Partners, a consulting firm comprised of experienced senior executives specializing in corporate governance and venture acceleration. Prior to this, Mr. Mitchell was the chairman and chief executive officer of Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 125 company and a provider of distribution and supply chain services to the technology sector. Prior to his role at Arrow Electronics, Mr. Mitchell held senior executive roles at various technology companies. In the last five years, Mr. Mitchell was on the board of many publicly-traded companies, including Humana Inc., a healthcare company (2009-2019); Veritiv Corporation, an industrial packaging company (2014-2020); Spansion, Inc., a flash memory supplier (2012-2016); Rogers Corp., a diversified provider of advanced materials solutions (1994-2017); and The Brown-Forman Corp (2009-2016), a manufacturer of adult alcoholic beverages. Mr. Mitchell is currently on the board of Trace3, a private IT and engineering company; and Clover Wireless, a provider of aftermarket services to the communications industry. Mr. Mitchell has served on various other public, private, for profit, and not for profit boards of directors in the past. Mr. Mitchell received his master of science in engineering from the University of Michigan and his B.S. in engineering from Princeton University. We believe Mr. Mitchell’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his over 30 years of executive leadership experience and over 20 years of experience as a board member of numerous public, private and non-profit companies, including experience chairing audit, nominating and compensation committees of those boards.

 

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Christopher O’Connell has been a member of our board of directors since October 2020. Mr. O’Connell was most recently the president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Waters Corporation, a publicly-traded company which develops, manufactures and distributes innovative analytical technologies, software and professional services for a broad range of life science, food & environmental and industrial customers globally, from 2015 until 2020. Prior to this, Mr. O’Connell was an executive vice president and president of the restorative therapies group of Medtronic plc, a publicly-traded medical technology, services and solutions company. Mr. O’Connell served on Medtronic’s executive committee for nine years. Prior to his roles as executive vice president and president of the restorative therapies group, Mr. O’Connell held numerous other positions at Medtronic, where he spent 21 years of his career. Mr. O’Connell serves on two boards at Northwestern University and is also on the board of Ron Burton Training Village, a youth leadership and character training academy. Mr. O’Connell received his M.B.A. from Harvard University and B.A. from Northwestern University. We believe Mr. O’Connell’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his experience as a director and chief executive officer of a public company and due to his extensive executive leadership experience in different industries.

Sidney Taurel has been a member of our board of directors since October 2020. Mr. Taurel is the chairman of the board of Pearson plc, a provider of digital education products and services, where he is a member of the nomination & governance and remuneration committees, a position he has had since 2016. Mr. Taurel is also the chairman emeritus at Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical company, a position he has held since 2009. Mr. Taurel began working for Eli Lilly in 1971. He was named president of Eli Lilly International Corporation in 1986, executive vice president of the Pharmaceutical Division in 1991, executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Company in 1993, and president and chief operating officer in 1996. He was named chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company in 1998 and chairman in 1999. Mr. Taurel retired as chief executive officer in early 2008 and as chairman in late 2008. Mr. Taurel is a member of the board of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), a computer company, a position he has held since 2001, where he is a member of the directors and corporate governance committee. In the last five years, Mr. Taurel was also on the board of the publicly traded company McGraw Hill Financial, Inc. (now S&P Global Inc.), a business and financial information company (1996-2016). Mr. Taurel also served as a senior advisor in the private equity and investment banking sector, has received three U.S. presidential committee appointments in the past and is an officer in the French Legion of Honor. Mr. Taurel is a member of the Board of Overseers at Columbia Business School. Mr. Taurel received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and his undergraduate degree from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris, France. We believe Mr. Taurel’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive executive leadership experience, experience as a chairman and member of boards of several public companies in diverse industries and experience with nomination and governance committees on public company boards.

Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

Our board of directors 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 shareholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE 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 the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Rob Wolfson and William Mitchell, will expire at our first annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Andreas Beroutsos and Christopher O’Connell, will expire at our second annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Brian Schwartz and Sidney Taurel, will expire at our third annual meeting of shareholders.

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.

 

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Pursuant to an agreement entered into upon the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.

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 appoint, persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

Director Independence

NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors determined that Andreas Beroutsos, William Mitchell, Christopher O’Connell and Sidney Taurel are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a nominating committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 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 the NYSE require that the compensation committee and the nominating committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.

Audit Committee

We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. William Mitchell, Andreas Beroutsos and Christopher O’Connell serve as members of our audit committee. Our board of directors determined that each of William Mitchell, Andreas Beroutsos and Christopher O’Connell are independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. William Mitchell serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors determined that William Mitchell will qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.

The audit committee is responsible for:

 

 

meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems;

 

 

monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm;

 

 

verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law;

 

 

inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

 

 

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;

 

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determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work;

 

 

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;

 

 

monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of our initial public offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of our initial public offering; and

 

 

reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval.

Nominating Committee

We have established a nominating committee of our board of directors. The members of our nominating committee are Andreas Beroutsos, William Mitchell, Christopher O’Connell and Sidney Taurel, and Andreas Beroutsos serves as chairman of the nominating committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a nominating committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors determined that each of Andreas Beroutsos, William Mitchell, Christopher O’Connell and Sidney Taurel are independent.

The nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, our board of directors, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.

Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees

The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified a charter adopted by us, generally provide that persons to be nominated:

 

 

should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service;

 

 

should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and

 

 

should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders.

The nominating committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.

Compensation Committee

We have established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Christopher O’Connell, Andreas Beroutsos and William Mitchell, and Christopher O’Connell serves as chairman of the compensation committee.

 

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Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors determined that each of Christopher O’Connell, Andreas Beroutsos and William Mitchell are independent. We adopted a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:

 

 

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;

 

 

reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers;

 

 

reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;

 

 

implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

 

 

assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

 

 

approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees;

 

 

producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

 

 

reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

The charter 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 the NYSE and the SEC.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.

Code of Ethics

We adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. A copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

Conflicts of Interest

Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:

 

 

duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;

 

 

duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;

 

 

directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;

 

 

duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;

 

 

duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and

 

 

duty to exercise independent judgment.

 

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In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.

As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.

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 Cayman Islands law. 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.

Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations or other material management relationships:

 

Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

Brian Schwartz    H.I.G. Capital, LLC    Asset Management    Co-President
   Investment Committees of H.I.G. Capital, LLC funds    Asset Management    Committee Member
   Certain H.I.G. Capital Committees Certain    Asset Management    Committee Member
   Portfolio Companies of H.I.G. Capital, LLC    Asset Management    Board Member
Rob Wolfson    H.I.G. Capital, LLC    Asset Management    Executive Managing Director; Head of H.I.G. Advantage Fund; Head of U.S. Healthcare
   Investment Committees of H.I.G. Capital, LLC funds    Asset Management    Committee Member
   Certain H.I.G. Capital Committees Certain    Asset Management    Committee Member
   Portfolio Companies of H.I.G. Capital, LLC    Asset Management    Board Member
   Certain family real estate LLCs    Real Estate    Member-Manager

 

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Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

   Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy    Education Institution    Advisory Board Member
Timur Alkazhanov    H.I.G. Capital, LLC    Asset Management    Managing Director of Advantage Fund
   H.I.G. Capital, LLC    Asset Management    General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
   Certain H.I.G. Capital Committees    Asset Management    Committee Member
   Certain Portfolio Companies of H.I.G. Capital, LLC    Asset Management    Board Member
   Outreach360    Non-Profit Organization    Board Member
Andreas Beroutsos    BW Group    Maritime Transportation and Energy Company    Managing Director
   Cadeler A/S    Offshore Wind Turbine Transportation and Installation    Board Member
   Certain BW Group Private Affiliates    Renewable Energy and Organic Fertilizers    Board Member
   Navigator Holdings Ltd.    Gas Transportation    Board Member
   PetSmart, Inc.    Pet Supplies Company    Board Member
William E. Mitchell    Trace3    Technology Company    Board Member
   Sequel Venture Partners    Asset Management    Founder & Managing Partner
   UCLA Technology Development Group    Education and Technology Non-Profit    Chairman
   C-Combinator    Sargassum Harvesting and Product Company    Advisory Board Member
  

4L Ultimate Topco Corp.

d/b/a Clover Wireless

   Communications Company    Board Member
   Sage Partners    Consulting Firm    Partner
Christopher O’Connell    Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences    Education Institution    Board of Visitors Member
   Northwestern University’s Chemistry of Life Processes Institute    Education Institution    Board of Advisors Member
   Ron Burton Training Village    Non-Profit Leadership Academy    Board Member
Sidney Taurel    Eli Lilly & Company    Pharmaceutical Company    Chairman Emeritus
   International Business Machines Corporation    Computer Company    Emeritus Board Member

 

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Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

   Pearson plc    Education and Publishing Company    Chairman
   Columbia Business School    Education Institution    Board of Overseers Member
   Taurel Associates LP    Investment Partnership    Partner
   EuroCapital Investors LLC    Investment Company    Chief Operating Officer
   Kathryn and Sidney Taurel Foundation Inc.    Family Foundation    Officer President
   Taurel Family Management Company    Family Real Estate Company    President
   Taurel Family Holdings, LLLP    Family Real Estate Company    Limited Partner

Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:

 

 

Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs.

 

 

Our sponsor subscribed for founder shares and purchased private placement warrants in a transaction that closed simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering.

Additionally, our sponsor has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Except as described herein, our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Except as described herein, the private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because certain of our executive officers and directors will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.

Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates.

 

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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of our officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such 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.

We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares, represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a shareholder meeting are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team and of our board of directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.

Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.

Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.

 

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Item 11. Executive Compensation

Executive Officer and Director Compensation

None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities were first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the amount of $10,000 per month. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to 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 consummating 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 their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.

After the completion 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 shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders 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 and our board of directors 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 and board of director’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management and of our board of directors 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 ordinary shares as of March 15, 2021 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares, by:

 

 

each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares;

 

 

each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our ordinary share; and

 

 

all our executive officers and directors as a group.

 

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In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 36,394,500 Class A ordinary shares (which includes Class A ordinary shares that are underlying the units) and 9,098,625 Class B ordinary shares outstanding as of March 15, 2021. Voting power represents the combined voting power of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares owned beneficially by such person. On all matters to be voted upon, the holders of the Class A ordinary shares and the Class B ordinary shares vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The table below does not include the Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants held by our sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this Report.

 

     Class B ordinary shares     Class A ordinary shares  

Name of Beneficial Owners(1)

   Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
     Approximate
Percentage of
Class
    Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
     Approximate
Percentage
of Class
 

H.I.G. Acquisition Advisors, LLC (our sponsor)

     8,958,625        98.5     —          —    

Directors and Officers

          

Brian Schwartz(2)

     8,958,625        98.5     —          —    

Rob Wolfson(2)

     8,958,625        98.5     —          —    

Timur Akazhanov

     —          —         —          —    

Richard Siegel

     —          —         —          —    

Andreas Beroutsos

     —          —         35,000        *

William E. Mitchell

     —          —         35,000        *

Christopher O’Connell

     —          —         35,000        *

Sidney Taurel

     —          —         35,000        *

All directors and officers as a group (8 individuals)

     9,098,625        100     140,000        *

Other Beneficial Holders

          

Integrated Core Strategies (US) LLC(3)

     —          —         2,925,000        9.0

Linden Capital L.P. (4)

     —          —         3,000,000        9.2

BlueCrest Capital Management Limited(5)

     —          —         2,500,000        7.7

Sculptor Capital LP(6)

     —          —         1,989,785        5.5

Arena Capital Advisors, LLC—CA(7)

     —          —         2,194,503        6.3

Glazer Capital, LLC(8)

     —          —         2,290,249        6.3

 

*

Less than one percent.

(1)

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 1450 Brickell Avenue, 31st Floor, Miami, FL 33131.

(2)

The shares reported above are held in the name of our sponsor. Our sponsor is controlled by a board of managers that consists of Messrs. Schwartz and Wolfson.

(3)

Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by Integrated Core Strategies (US) LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ICS”), Riverview Group LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“RG”), ICS Opportunities, Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (“ICSO”), Millennium International Management L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“MIM”), Millennium Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“MI”), Millennium Group Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“MGM”), and Israel Englander, the managing member of Millennium Group Management and a United States citizen (“Mr. Englander”), based solely on the Schedule 13G filed jointly by ICS, RG, ICSO, MIM, MI, MGM, and Mr. Englander, with the SEC on January 21, 2021. The business address of each of ICS, RG, ICSO, MIM, MI, MGM, and Mr. Englander is 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10103.

(4)

Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by Linden Capital L.P., a Bermuda limited partnership (“LCLP”), Linden GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“LGP”), Linden Advisors LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“LALP”), and Siu Min Wong, the principal owner and controlling person of LALP and LGP and a Chinese and United States Citizen (“Mr. Wong”), based solely on the Schedule 13G filed by LCLP, LGP, LALP, and Mr. Wong on February 8, 2021. The principal business address for LCLP is Victoria Place, 31 Victoria Street, Hamilton HM10, Bermuda. The principal business address for each of LALP, LGP, and Mr. Wong is 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, New York 10022.

 

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(5)

Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by BlueCrest Capital Management Limited, a Channel Islands company (“BCCM”) and Michael Platt, the principal, director, and control person of BCCM and a United States Citizen (“Mr. Platt”), based solely on the Schedule 13G filed by BCCM and Mr. Platt on October 30, 2020. The principal business address for BCCM and Mr. Platt is Ground Floor, Harbour Reach, La Rue de Carteret, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, JE2 4HR.

(6)

Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by Sculptor Capital LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“SCLP”), Sculptor Capital Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (“SCHC”), Sculptor Capital Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“SCM”), Sculptor Master Fund, Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (“SMF”), and Sculptor Special Funding, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“SSF”), based solely on the Schedule 13G filed by SCLP, SCHC, SCM, SMF, and SSF on January 26, 2021. The principal business address for SCLP, SCHC, SCM, SMF, and SSF is 9 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019.

(7)

Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by Arena Capital Advisors, LLC—CA, a Delaware limited liability corporation (“ACA”), Arena Short Duration High Yield Fund, LP—Series A, a Delaware limited partnership (“AF-A”), Arena Short Duration High Yield Fund, LP—Series B, a Delaware limited partnership (“AF-B”), Arena Short Duration High Yield Fund, LP—Series C, a Delaware limited partnership (“AF-C”), Arena Short Duration High Yield Fund, LP—Series E, a Delaware limited partnership (“AF-E”), Arena Capital Fund, LP—Series 8, a Delaware limited partnership (“ACF-8), and Arena VII, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“AVII”), based solely on the Schedule 13G filed by ACA, AF-A, AF-B, AF-C, AF-E, ACF-8, and AVII on February 4, 2021. The principal business address for CA, AF-A, AF-B, AF-C, AF-E, ACF-8, and AVII is 12121 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1010, Los Angeles, CA 90025.

(8)

Includes Class A ordinary shares beneficially held by Glazer Capital, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“GC”) and Paul J. Glazer, the Managing Member of GC and a United States Citizen (“Mr. Glazer”), based solely on the Schedule 13G filed by BCCM and Mr. Platt on February 16, 2021. The principal business address for GC and Mr. Glazer is 1450 Brickell Avenue, 31st Floor, Miami, FL.

Our sponsor, officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.

Changes in Control

None.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

On September 3, 2020, the sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.001 per share, to cover certain of our expenses in consideration of 19,406,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. On September 28, 2020, our sponsor effected a surrender of 6,468,750 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 19,406,250 to 12,937,500. On October 15, 2020, our sponsor effected a surrender of 3,593,750 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 12,937,500 to 9,343,750, such that the total number of founder shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering. On December 4, 2020, our sponsor automatically surrendered 245,125 founder shares to the company for no consideration, triggered by the expiration of the option of the underwriter of the initial public offering to purchase additional units, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding from 9,343,750 to 9,098,625.

Each of our independent directors currently owns 35,000 of the Class B ordinary shares noted above, which were transferred from our sponsor to them in September 2020. These 140,000 shares were not be subject to forfeiture upon the partial exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. The founder shares (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.

 

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Our sponsor, pursuant to a written agreement, purchased an aggregate of 5,666,667 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.50 per whole warrant in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, the Company consummated the private placement of 5,666,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, putting our sponsor’s interest at $8.5 million. On December 1, 2020, simultaneously with the issuance and sale of the over-allotment units, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 519,267 private placement warrants to the sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $0.8 million.

As more fully discussed in the section of this Annual Report entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she 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 1450 Brickell Avenue, 31st Floor, Miami, FL 33131. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services, commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, has been or will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

Prior to the consummation of the initial public offering, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and were due at the earlier of January 31, 2021 and the closing of our initial public offering. The loan was fully repaid upon the closing of the initial public offering out of the offering proceeds 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 may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $4,500,000 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, its affiliates, our management team or our board of directors 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.

 

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After our initial business combination, members of our management team and our board of directors 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 shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. 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 shareholder 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 entered into a registration and shareholder 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 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, and, upon consummation of our initial business combination, to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.

Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions

The audit committee of our board of directors 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

NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that Andreas Beroutsos, William Mitchell, Christopher O’Connell and Sidney Taurel are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

The following is a summary of fees paid to WithumSmith+Brown, PC, for services rendered.

Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 financial statements, reviews of our quarterly financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by WithumSmith+Brown, PC for audit fees, inclusive of required filings with the SEC for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 including the services rendered in connection with our initial public offering, totaled $76,735.

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 the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” For the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, WithumSmith+Brown, PC did not render such services.

Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. For the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, WithumSmith+Brown, PC did not render such services.

 

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All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. For the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, WithumSmith+Brown, PC did not render any of these other services.

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).

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report:

(1) Financial Statements

(2) Exhibits

We hereby file as part of this Annual Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

3.1    Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.(2)
4.1    Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.(2)
4.2    Description of Registrant’s Securities.*
10.1    Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Company and the Sponsor.(2)
10.2    Investment Management Trust Account Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Company.(2)
10.3    Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement among the Company, the Sponsor and certain other equityholders named therein.(2)
10.4    Letter Agreement among the Company, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors.(2)
10.5    Administrative Services Agreement between the Company and the Sponsor.(2)
10.6    Promissory Note, dated as of September 3, 2020, between the Registrant and the Sponsor. (1)
10.7    Securities Subscription Agreement, dated September 3, 2020, between the Registrant and the Sponsor.(1)
10.8    Form of Indemnification Agreement.(1)
31.1    Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
31.2    Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
32.1    Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350**
32.2    Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350**
101.INS    XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CAL    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
101.DEF    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
101.LAB    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
101.PRE    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

 

*

Filed herewith

**

Furnished herewith

(1)

Incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on September 28, 2020

(2)

Incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on October 26, 2020.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

Not applicable.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

      H.I.G. ACQUISITION CORP.
     

/s/ Brian D. Schwartz

December 29, 2021     Name:   Brian D. Schwartz
    Title:   Chief Executive Officer
      (Principal Executive Officer)

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

/s/ Brian D. Schwartz

   Chief Executive Officer and Director   December 29, 2021
Brian D. Schwartz    (Principal Executive Officer)  

/s/ Timur Akazhanov

   Chief Financial Officer   December 29, 2021
Timur Akazhanov    (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)  

/s/ Rob Wolfson

   President and Director   December 29, 2021
Rob Wolfson     

/s/ William E. Mitchell

   Director   December 29, 2021
William E. Mitchell     

/s/ Andreas Beroutsos

   Director   December 29, 2021
Andreas Beroutsos     

/s/ Christopher O’Connell

   Director   December 29, 2021
Christopher O’Connell     

/s/ Sidney Taurel

   Director   December 29, 2021
Sidney Taurel     

 

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Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

The following documents are filed as part of this report:

(1) Financial Statements (As Restated)

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2  

Financial Statements:

  

Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2020 (As Restated)

     F-3  

Statement of Operations for the period from September  2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (As Restated)

     F-4  

Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (As Restated)

     F-5  

Statement of Cash Flows for the period from September  2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (As Restated)

     F-6  

Notes to Financial Statements (As Restated)

     F-7  

 

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of

HIG Acquisition Corp

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of HIG Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Restatement of Financial Statements

As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the 2020 financial statements have been restated to correct certain misstatements.

Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination by October 23, 2022 then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution 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

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. 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 audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are 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 audit 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 audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, 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 statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.

New York, New York

May 21, 2021, except for the effects of the restatement disclosed in Note 2, as to which the date is December 29, 2021

 

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H.I.G. ACQUISITION CORP.

BALANCE SHEET

(As Restated - See Note 2)

December 31, 2020

 

Assets

  

Current assets:

  

Cash

   $ 30,103  

Prepaid expenses

     1,096,949  
  

 

 

 

Total current assets

     1,127,052  

Investments held in Trust Account

     363,951,287  
  

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 365,078,339  
  

 

 

 

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

  

Liabilities

  

Current liabilities:

  

Accounts payable

   $ 58,206  

Accrued expenses

     98,579  
  

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     156,785  

Deferred underwriting commissions

     12,738,075  

Derivative warrant liabilities

     23,995,840  
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     36,890,700  

Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6)

  

Class A ordinary shares; 36,394,500 shares subject to possible redemption at $10.00 per share

     363,945,000  

Shareholders’ Equity

  

Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —    

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 950,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding (excluding 36,394,500 shares subject to possible redemption)

     —    

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 40,000,000 shares authorized; 9,098,625 shares issued and outstanding

     910  

Additional paid-in capital

     —    

Accumulated deficit

     (35,758,271
  

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

     (35,757,361
  

 

 

 

Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

   $ 365,078,339  
  

 

 

 

 

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H.I.G. Acquisition Corp.

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

As Restated - See Note 2

For The Period From September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020

 

General and administrative expenses

   $ 299,362  

Administrative expenses - related party

     23,871  
  

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (323,233

Other income (expenses)

  

Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities

     (8,739,000

Financing costs - derivative warrant liabilities

     (586,610

Net gain from investments held in Trust Account

     6,287  
  

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (9,642,556
  

 

 

 

Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares

     22,696,153  
  

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A ordinary shares

   $ (0.30
  

 

 

 

Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares

     9,023,430  
  

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B ordinary shares

   $ (0.30
  

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

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H.I.G. ACQUISITION CORP.

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

For the Period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020

 

     Ordinary Shares      Additional
Paid-In

Capital
    Accumulated
Deficit
    Shareholders’
Equity
 
     Class B  
     Shares      Amount  

Balance as of September 2, 2020 (inception)

     —        $  —        $ —       $ —       $ —    

Issuance of ordinary shares to Sponsor

     9,098,625        910        24,090       —         25,000  

Accretion of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption

     —          —          (24,090     (26,115,715     (26,139,805

Net loss

     —          —          —         (9,642,556     (9,642,556
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2020

     9,098,625      $ 910      $ —       $ (35,758,271   $ (35,757,361
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

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H.I.G. ACQUISITION CORP.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

For the Period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

  

Net loss

   $ (9,642,556

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

  

General and administrative expenses paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares

     25,000  

Net gain from investments held in Trust Account

     (6,287

Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities

     8,739,000  

Financing costs - derivative warrant liabilities

     586,610  

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

  

Prepaid expenses

     (1,096,949

Accounts payable

     58,206  

Accrued expenses

     13,579  
  

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     (1,323,397
  

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

  

Cash deposited in Trust Account

     (363,945,000
  

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (363,945,000
  

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

  

Repayment of note payable to related party

     (236,755

Proceeds received from initial public offering, gross

     363,945,000  

Proceeds received from private placement

     9,278,900  

Offering costs paid

     (7,688,645
  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

     365,298,500  
  

 

 

 

Net change in cash

     30,103  

Cash - beginning of the period

     —    
  

 

 

 

Cash - end of the period

   $ 30,103  
  

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities:

  

Offering costs included in accrued expenses

   $ 85,000  

Payment of offering costs through note payable - related party

   $ 236,755  

Deferred underwriting commissions

   $ 12,738,075  

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

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H.I.G. ACQUISITION CORP.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Organization and General

H.I.G. Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on September 2, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”).

As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) and, since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The Company’s sponsor is H.I.G. Acquisition Advisors, LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Initial Public Offering was declared effective on October 20, 2020. The Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 32,500,000 units (the “Units”) on October 23, 2020. Each Unit consisted of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $325.0 million. The Company granted the underwriters in the Initial Public Offering (the “Underwriters”) a 45-day option to purchase up to 4,875,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any. On November 25, 2020, the Underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and on December 1, 2020, purchased an additional 3,894,500 Units (the “Over-Allotment Units”), generating gross proceeds of approximately $38.9 million, and incurred additional offering costs of approximately $2.1 million in underwriting fees (inclusive of approximately $1.4 million in deferred underwriting fees) (the “Over- Allotment”).

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering on October 23, 2020, the Company completed the first closing of the private placement (the “Private Placement”) and sold an aggregate 5,666,667 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant, and together, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of $8.5 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on December 1, 2020, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 519,267 Private Placement Warrants by the sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.8 million.

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Over-Allotment and the Private Placements, approximately $363.9 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering, the Over-Allotment and the Private Placements were placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and invested in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, the Over-Allotment and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80%

 

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of the net assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a 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 1940, as amended, (the “Investment Company Act”).

The Company will provide the holders of its Class A ordinary shares (the “Public Shareholders”), par value $0.0001, sold in the Initial Public Offering (the “Public Shares”), with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). These Public Shares have been classified as temporary equity in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) 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 $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination, only if a majority of the ordinary shares, represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a shareholder meeting are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against or vote at all for the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor and each member of the Company’s management team have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of the initial Business Combination and the Company does not conduct redemptions in connection with the Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, without the prior consent of the Company.

The Company’s Sponsor, executive officers, directors and any director nominees, if applicable, agree not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (a) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or October 23, 2022 (the “Combination Period”) or (b) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.

 

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If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company 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 the Company to pay its income 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 Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

The Sponsor and each member of the Company’s management team has agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor or members of the Company’s management team acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution in the Trust Account will be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the 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 other similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds 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 the Company’s tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

Going Concern Consideration

As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $30,000 in our operating bank accounts and working capital of approximately $970,000. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its acquisition plans.

Through December 31, 2020, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through a payment of $25,000 from our sponsor to pay for certain offering costs in exchange for issuance of the founder shares, a loan under a promissory note of approximately $237,000 from our sponsor, and the net proceeds from the consummation of the private placements not held in the trust account. We fully repaid the balance of the promissory note on October 23, 2020. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an initial business combination, our officers, directors and initial shareholders may, but are not obligated to, provide us with loans the Company may require (“Working Capital Loans”). As of December 31, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.

In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until October 23, 2022 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 of the Company. Management has determined that the liquidity condition and 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. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after October 23, 2022.

 

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Basis of presentation

The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

As described in Note 2—Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements the Company’s financial statements for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, (collectively, the “Affected Period”), are restated to correct the misapplication of accounting guidance related to the Company’s Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in temporary equity in the Company’s previously issued audited financial statements for such periods.

Emerging growth company

As an emerging growth company, the Company 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 of 2002, 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 shareholder 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 an emerging growth 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 statement with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

 

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NOTE 2 —RESTATEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Company has followed ASC 480 in accounting for its Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption. This included recording the Public Shares in permanent equity on its balance sheet. However, the Company maintained shareholders’ equity of at least $5,000,001 as the Company will not redeem Public Shares that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.

In September 2021, the Company’s management re-evaluated and ultimately concluded that the classification of $5,000,001 in permanent equity was not appropriate and that the Class A ordinary shares should be reclassified as temporary equity. In connection with the preparation of the financial statements as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 that were included in the Company’s Q3 Form 10-Q, the Company concluded that it would change its accounting and reflect the full amount of all redeemable Class A ordinary shares in temporary equity. This was a change from the Company’s previous accounting practice whereby it maintained shareholders’ equity of at least $5,000,001 as the Company will not redeem Class A ordinary shares that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. In connection with the change in presentation for the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, the Company also revised its earnings per share to allocate net income (loss) evenly to all Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares.

On December 14, 2021, the Company’s management and the Audit Committee concluded that the Company’s previously issued financial statements for the Affected Periods, in each case, should be restated to classify all of the Class A ordinary shares as temporary equity and should no longer be relied upon. As a result, the Company is restating its financial statements for the Affected Periods herein for the Post-IPO Balance Sheet and the Company’s audited financial statements included in the First Amended Filing and for the unaudited condensed financial statements for the periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021, which will be amended in separate Form 10-Q/A filings. See Note 1 regarding the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern as a result of the restatements.

Impact of the Restatement

The impact of the restatement on the balance sheet, statement of operations and statement of cash flows for the Affected Periods is presented below.

 

    As of October 23, 2020  
Balance Sheet   As Reported     Restatement
Adjustment
    As Restated  

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

  $ 294,579,620     $ 69,365,380     $ 363,945,000  

Shareholders’ equity (deficit)

     

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value

    1,736       (1,736     —    

Additional paid-in capital

    5,662,890       (5,662,890     —    

Accumulated deficit

    (665,558     (63,700,754     (64,366,312
    As of December 31, 2020  
Balance Sheet   As Reported As Previously
Restated in the First
Amended Filing
    Restatement
Adjustment
    As Restated  

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

  $ 323,187,630     $ 40,757,370     $ 363,945,000  

Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit)

     

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value

    408       (408     —    

Additional paid-in capital

    14,641,247       (14,641,247     —    

Accumulated deficit

    (9,642,556     (26,115,715     (35,758,271
    For the Period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through
December 31, 2020
 
Statement of Operations   As Reported As Previously
Restated in the First
Amended Filing
    Restatement
Adjustment
    As Restated  

Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares

    34,280,343       (11,584,190     22,696,153  

Basic and diluted net income per ordinary share, Class A

  $ —       $ (0.30   $ (0.30

Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares

    8,684,834       338,596       9,023,430  

Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share, Class B

  $ (1.11   $ 0.81     $ (0.30

 

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     For the Period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020  
Statement of Cash Flows    As Reported As Previously
Restated in the First
Amended Filing
     Restatement
Adjustment
     As Restated  

Initial value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

   $ 332,161,540      $ (332,161,540    $  —    

NOTE 3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with 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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly 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. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $363,951,287 in cash equivalents.

Concentration of credit risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000, and investments held in Trust Account. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

Investments Held in the Trust Account

The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account can be 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 sheet 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 net gain from investments held in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information, other than for investments in open-ended money market funds with published daily net asset values (“NAV”), in which case the Company uses NAV as a practical expedient to fair value. The NAV on these investments is typically held constant at $1.00 per unit.

Fair Value Measurement

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.

 

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In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

As of December 31, 2020, the carrying values of cash, accounts payable, and accrued expenses, which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximate the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet. As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account is comprised entirely of investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities. The Company uses NAV as a practical expedient to record the fair value for its investments in money market funds with published NAV.

The fair value of warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering were initially and subsequently measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants. Beginning as of December 31, 2020, the fair value of Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants have been measured based on the listed market price of the Public Warrants

 

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Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering

Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting, underwriting commissions and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with derivative warrant liabilities are expensed as incurred and presented as non-operating expenses in the statement of operations. Offering costs associated with the Class A ordinary shares were charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Of the total offering costs of the Initial Public Offering, approximately $0.6 million is included in financing cost -derivative warrant liabilities in the statement of operations and $20.2 million is included in shareholders’ equity.

Class A Ordinary Shares subject to possible redemption

Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares 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, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events, Accordingly, at December 31, 2020, 36,394,500 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption at the redemption amount were presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.

Net income (loss) per ordinary share

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and Private Placements to purchase an aggregate of 18,317,434 shares of Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted income (loss) per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.

The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income per share, basic and diluted for Class A ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the pro rata allocation of net loss to Class A shares of $6,899,489 for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 by the weighted average number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Net income per share basic and diluted for Class B ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the pro rata allocation of net loss to Class B shares of $2,743,067 for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 by the weighted average number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding for the period.

Derivative Warrant liabilities

The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge its exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. Management evaluates all of the Company’s financial instruments, including issued warrants to purchase its Class A ordinary shares, 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 issued 12,131,500 warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares to investors in the Company’s Initial Public Offering and simultaneously issued 6,185,934 Private Placement Warrants. All of the Company’s outstanding warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The fair value of warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering were initially measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants and subsequently measured by reference to the listed trading prices of the Public Warrants.

 

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Income taxes

FASB ASC Topic 740 “Income Taxes” prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.

There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. 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 pronouncements

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

NOTE 4. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

On October 23, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 32,500,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $325.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $18.6 million, inclusive of approximately $11.4 million in deferred underwriting commissions. The underwriter is granted a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 4,875,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at $10.00 per Unit. On November 25, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and on December 1, 2020, purchased an additional 3,894,500 Over-Allotment Units, generating gross proceeds of approximately $38.9 million, and incurring additional offering costs of approximately $2.1 million in underwriting fees (inclusive of approximately $1.4 million in deferred underwriting fees).

Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, and one-third of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).

NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Founder Shares

On September 3, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain expenses on behalf of the Company in exchange for issuance of 19,406,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, (the “Founder Shares”). On September 28, 2020, the Sponsor effected a surrender of 6,468,750 Founder Shares to the Company for no consideration. On October 15, 2020, the Sponsor effected a surrender of 3,593,750 Founder Shares to the Company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding to 9,343,750 shares. All shares and associated per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect all shares surrendered. The Sponsor agreed to forfeit up to 1,218,750 Founder Shares to the extent that the over- allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Founder Shares will represent 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. The underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option on November 25, 2020; thus, only 245,125 shares of Class B ordinary shares were forfeited in conjunction with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment. The Sponsor transferred to four independent directors of the Company an aggregate of 35,000 Founder Shares each, for a total of 140,000 shares, in September 2020.

The Sponsor and the Company’s directors and executive officers have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (a) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination and (b) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

 

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Private Placement Warrants

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering on October 23, 2020, the Company completed the Private Placement of an aggregate of 5,666,667 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of $8.5 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on December 1, 2020, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 519,267 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.8 million.

Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable by the Company and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, subject to limited exceptions.

The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.

Related Party Loans

On September 3, 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan is non-interest bearing and payable upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company borrowed approximately $237,000 under the Note. The Company repaid this Note in full on October 23, 2020.

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors 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 may repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans may 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 the 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 $4.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

Administrative Services Agreement

On October 23, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred approximately $24,000 for these services which is included in Administrative expenses — related party on the accompanying statement of operations. There was approximately $24,000 outstanding balance under the agreement as of December 31, 2020.

 

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NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Registration and Shareholder Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provide that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 4,875,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On November 25, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and on December 1, 2020, purchased an additional 3,894,500 Over- Allotment Units, generating gross proceeds of approximately $38.9 million, and incurring additional offering costs of approximately $2.1 million in underwriting fees (inclusive of approximately $1.4 million in deferred underwriting fees).

The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $7.3 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and Over-Allotment. In addition, $0.35 per unit, or approximately $12.7 million in the aggregate will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management continues 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 partner 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 7. DERIVATIVE WARRANT LIABILITIES

Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty (20) business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement provided that if the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

 

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The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants for cash (except with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

 

 

in whole and not in part;

 

 

at a price of $0.01 per warrant;

 

 

upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and

 

 

if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, it may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

Except as set forth below, none of the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Public Warrants:

 

 

in whole and not in part;

 

 

at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares based on the agreed redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares;

 

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if, and only if, the closing price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per Public Share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and

the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted), the Private Placement Warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants, as described above.

The “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).

If the Company has not completed the initial 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.

NOTE 8. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 preference shares with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of December 31, 2020, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.

Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 950,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2020, there were 36,394,500 Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding, including 34,718,347 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption.

Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 95,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On September 3, 2020, the Company issued 19,406,250 Class B ordinary shares to the Sponsor. On September 28, 2020, the Sponsor effected a surrender of 6,468,750 Class B ordinary shares to the Company for no consideration. On October 15, 2020, the Sponsor effected a surrender of 3,593,750 Class B ordinary shares to the Company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding to 9,343,750 shares. All shares and associated per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the share surrenders. Of the 9,343,750 shares outstanding, up to 1,218,750 shares were subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the holders of Founder Shares prior to the Initial Public Offering will collectively own approximately 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares. The underwriters partially exercised their over- allotment option on December 1, 2020; thus, 245,125 shares of Class B ordinary shares were forfeited in conjunction with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment. (See Note 5).

Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Except as described below, holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as required by law.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares, provided, however, that such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions if the Company does not consummate an initial Business Combination, at the time of the initial Business Combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of the Initial Public Offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any private placement warrants issued to the Sponsor, its affiliates or any member of the management team upon conversion of Working Capital Loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.

 

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NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The following table presents information about the Company’s financial assets and financial liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2020 by level within the fair value hierarchy:

 

December 31, 2020                     

Description

   Quoted Prices in Active
Markets
(Level 1)
     Significant Other
Observable Inputs
(Level 2)
     Significant Other
Unobservable Inputs
(Level 3)
 

Assets:

        

Investments held in Trust Account

   $ 363,951,287      $ —      $ —  

Liabilities:

        

Derivative warrant liabilities - Public

   $ 15,892,270      $ —      $ —  

Derivative warrant liabilities - Private

   $ —      $ 8,103,570      $  —  

Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2, and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period. The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement in December 2020, when the Public Warrants were separately listed and traded. The estimated fair value of the Private Warrants transferred to a Level 2 measurement by referring to the market price of the Public Warrants.

The fair value of the Public Warrants issued in connection with the Public Offering and Private Placement Warrants were initially measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The fair value of Public Warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering have been measured based on the listed market price of such warrants, a Level 1 measurement, since December 2020. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants has subsequently been measured by reference to the trading price of the Public Warrants For the period ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized a charge to the statement of operations resulting from a decrease in the fair value of liabilities of approximately $8.7 million presented as change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities on the accompanying statement of operations.

The estimated fair value of the Private Placement Warrants, and the Public Warrants prior to being separately listed and traded, is determined using Level 3 inputs. Inherent in a Monte Carlo simulation are assumptions related to expected stock-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The Company estimated the volatility of its Class A ordinary shares warrants based on implied volatility from the Company’s traded warrants and from historical volatility of select peer company’s Class A ordinary shares that matches the expected remaining life of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants. The expected life of the warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term. The dividend rate is based on the historical rate, which the Company anticipates remaining at zero.

The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements inputs at their measurement:

 

     As of October 23, 2020  

Volatility

     15.7

Stock price

   $ 9.72  

Expected life of the options to convert

     1.50  

Risk-free rate

     0.55

Dividend yield

     0.0

 

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The change in the fair value of the derivative warrant liabilities measured with Level 3 inputs for the period from September 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 is summarized as follows:

 

Derivative warrant liabilities at September 2, 2020 (inception)

   $ —  

Issuance of Public and Private Warrants - Level 3 measurements

     15,256,840  

Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities with Level 3 inputs

     8,739,000  

Transfer of Public Warrants to Level 1

     (15,892,270

Transfer of Private Warrants to Level 2

     (8,103,570
  

 

 

 

Derivative warrant liabilities at December 31, 2020 with Level 3 inputs

   $ —  
  

 

 

 

NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued and has concluded that other than the restatement discussed in Note 2, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.

 

 

F-21