As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 12, 2020.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
__________________________
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
__________________________
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
__________________________
Delaware |
6770 |
85-3356658 |
||
(State or other jurisdiction of |
(Primary Standard Industrial |
(I.R.S. Employer |
__________________________
2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2870
(215) 701-9555
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
__________________________
John M. Butler
President and Chief Executive Officer
INSU Acquisition Corp. III
2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2870
(215) 701-9555
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
__________________________
Copies to:
Mark E. Rosenstein |
Douglas S. Ellenoff, Esq. Stuart Neuhauser, Esq. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Floor New York, New York 10105 (212) 370-1300 |
__________________________
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of the registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box: £
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering: £
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering: £
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering: £
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer |
£ |
Accelerated filer |
£ |
|||||
Non-accelerated filer |
S |
Smaller reporting company |
S |
|||||
Emerging Growth company |
S |
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 to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. £
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered |
Amount to be |
Proposed |
Proposed |
Amount of |
||||||||
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $.0001 par value, and |
23,000,000 |
$ |
10.00 |
$ |
230,000,000 |
$ |
25,093 |
|
||||
Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the Units(2)(4) |
23,000,000 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
(3) |
||||
Warrants included as part of the Units(2)(4) |
6,666,667 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
(3) |
||||
Total |
|
$ |
230,000,000 |
$ |
25,093 |
|
____________
(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o). See “Underwriting.”
(2) Includes 3,000,000 units, and 3,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 1,000,000 warrants underlying such units, which may be issued on exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover overallotments, if any.
(3) No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g).
(4) Pursuant to Rule 416, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS |
(Subject to Completion) Dated November 12, 2020 |
$200,000,000
INSU Acquisition Corp. III
20,000,000 Units
INSU Acquisition Corp. III is a blank check company that will seek to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. We are offering 20,000,000 units. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one whole share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the consummation of our initial business combination or 12 months from the completion of this offering, and will expire five years after the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or our liquidation, as described in this prospectus. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover overallotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below, including interest earned on the trust account (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding shares of Class A common stock that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to as our public shares, subject to the limitations described in “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination.” If we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering, we will redeem the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
Our sponsor, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC and Dioptra Advisors III, LLC, have agreed that they will purchase an aggregate of 540,000 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $5,400,000. Each placement unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The placement units will be sold in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.
Our initial holders purchased 7,846,667 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 1,000,000 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s overallotment option is exercised). We refer to these shares of Class B common stock as the founder shares throughout this prospectus. The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, holders of our Class B common stock and holders of our Class A common stock will vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on Nasdaq under the symbol “IIIIU”. Subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions described in “Description of Securities — Units”, the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless , acting as representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we anticipate the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “IIII” and “IIIIW,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” under the federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 26 of this prospectus. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in offerings conducted pursuant to Rule 419 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Per Unit |
Total |
||||||
Public offering price |
$ |
10.00 |
$ |
200,000,000 |
|
||
Underwriting discount(1) |
$ |
0.60 |
$ |
12,000,000 |
|
||
Proceeds to us (before expenses) |
$ |
9.40 |
$ |
188,000,000 |
(2) |
____________
(1) The representative has agreed to defer until consummation of our initial business combination $8.0 million of its underwriting commissions (or $9.8 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), which equals 4.0% of the gross proceeds from the units sold to the public, excluding any units purchased pursuant to the underwriters’ overallotment option, and 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the units sold to the public pursuant to the underwriters’ overallotment option. This amount will be placed in the trust account and will be released to the representative only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. See the section titled “Underwriting” for a description of the compensation payable to the representative.
(2) Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and a simultaneous private placement of units described in “Use of Proceeds,” $200 million ($10.00 per share), or $230 million ($10.00 per share) if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full, will be deposited into a trust account in the United States maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. For a description of the trust account and the use of the funds in such account and interest generated thereby, see “Use of Proceeds” and “Proposed Business.”
The underwriters are offering the units on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units against payment on or about , 2020.
The date of this prospectus is , 2020
Page |
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1 |
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26 |
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58 |
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59 |
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63 |
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64 |
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66 |
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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
67 |
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72 |
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97 |
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109 |
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112 |
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115 |
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128 |
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134 |
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141 |
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141 |
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141 |
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F-1 |
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operation and prospects may have changed since that date.
i
This summary provides an overview of selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our securities. You should carefully read the prospectus in its entirety before investing in our securities, including the information discussed under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 26 and our financial statements and notes thereto that appear elsewhere in this prospectus. Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, all the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their overallotment option.
As used in this prospectus:
• references to “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to INSU Acquisition Corp. III;
• references to our “sponsor” are collectively to Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and Dioptra Advisors III, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC will participate in the private placement. The manager of each entity is Cohen & Company, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company affiliated with members of our management team;
• references to “initial holders” or “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares immediately prior to this offering;
• references to “founder shares” are to 7,846,667 shares of our Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders, which includes an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the overallotment option is not exercised by the underwriters;
• references to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers;
• references to our “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• references to “public stockholders” refer to the holders of our public shares, which may include members of our management team if and to the extent they purchase public shares, provided that any such holder’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;
• references to “private placement” refer to the private placement of 540,000 units being purchased by our sponsor, which will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit for a total purchase price of $5,400,000;
• references to “placement units” are to the 540,000 units being purchased by our sponsor in the private placement, each placement unit consisting of one placement share and one-third of one placement warrant;
• references to “placement shares” are to an aggregate of 540,000 shares of our Class A common stock included within the placement units being purchased by our sponsor in the private placement; and
• references to “placement warrants” are to warrants to purchase an aggregate of 180,000 shares of our Class A common stock included within the placement units being purchased by our sponsor in the private placement.
Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. We effected a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split in October 2020, resulting in our initial stockholders holding an aggregate of 7,846,667 founder shares.
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General
We are a newly formed blank check company that will seek to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities and activities relating to this offering. We have not identified any acquisition target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any discussions, directly or indirectly, with respect to identifying any acquisition target. We have generated no revenues to date and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues at the earliest until we consummate our initial business combination.
We currently intend to concentrate our efforts on identifying businesses providing insurance or insurance related services, with particular emphasis on insurance distribution businesses, regulated insurance or reinsurance businesses, and insurance related technology businesses. We are not, however, required to complete our initial business combination with an insurance business. While we may pursue a business combination outside of that industry, we believe a focus on the insurance sector best combines the expertise and experience of our management team with a sector that offers attractive investment opportunities.
We broadly define the insurance sector (or insurance related services and companies) to include, but not be limited to:
• Insurance distribution companies, including retail agents, insurance brokers or managing general agencies;
• Insurance and/or reinsurance carriers, in any sector including property-casualty and life and health;
• Insurance run-off managers;
• Service providers, including claims or cost management, business processing, premium payment facilitation, data and technology providers, and asset managers; and
• InsureTech (defined below) companies, including those focused on using technology to maximize savings and efficiency, launch growth opportunities and innovate new risk selection processes.
We will seek to capitalize on the significant insurance experience and contacts of John M. Butler, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel G. Cohen, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, and the other members of our Board of Directors, to identify, evaluate, acquire and operate a target business. If we elect to pursue an investment outside of the insurance industry, our management’s expertise related to that industry may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding that industry might not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. Our management and Board of Directors have extensive experience in the financial services industry generally, and the insurance industry in particular, as well as extensive experience in operating financial services companies and/or insurance businesses in a public company environment as managers, operators, principals, investors, advisors or directors, with extensive experience in sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, structuring and executing transactions in the insurance sector.
Cohen & Company Inc., the parent of Cohen & Company, LLC, the manager of our sponsor, managed approximately $2.63 billion as of June 30, 2020 in fixed income assets in a variety of assets classes including U.S. and European trust preferred securities, subordinated debt and corporate loans. It has experience funding small and medium-sized insurance companies in the U.S., Bermuda and Europe, with over $4.2 billion invested across 208 insurance companies from 2002 through March 31, 2020. Cohen & Company’s extensive diligence process has led to historically low rates of default on the insurance components of its managed portfolios, resulting in average annual default rates of approximately 0.34%, expected recovery rates of 22% and average annual loss rates of approximately 0.27% from 2002 through June 30, 2020.
Our Chairman served as Chairman of Insurance Acquisition Corp., or INSU I, a former blank check company which raised $150.7 million in its initial public offering in March 2019 and completed its initial business combination when it merged with affiliates of Shift Technologies, Inc. in October 2020, which we refer to as the INSU I Acquisition. See “Management — INSU I” for information regarding INSU I and the INSU I Acquisition. Our Chairman currently serves as Chairman of INSU Acquisition Corp. II, or INSU II, a blank check company
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formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with a primary focus in the insurance, reinsurance, or insurance related services sectors which raised $230 million in its initial public offering in September 2020. See “Management — INSU II” for information regarding INSU II.
Also, our Chairman served as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech Acquisition Corp., or FinTech I, a former blank check company which raised $100.0 million in its initial public offering in February 2015 and completed its initial business combination when it acquired FTS Holding Corporation in July 2016, which we refer to as the FinTech I Acquisition. See “Management — FinTech I” for information regarding FinTech I and the Fintech I Acquisition. Our Chairman also served as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech Acquisition Corp. II, or FinTech II, a blank check company which raised $175.0 million in its initial public offering in January 2017 and completed its initial business combination when it acquired Intermex Holdings II in July 2018, which we refer to as the FinTech II Acquisition. See “Management — FinTech II” for information regarding FinTech II and the Fintech II Acquisition. In addition, our Chairman served as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech Acquisition Corp. III, or FinTech III, a blank check company which raised $345.0 million in its initial public offering in November 2018 and completed its initial business combination with Paya, Inc. in October 2020, which we refer to as the FinTech III Acquisition. See “Management — FinTech III” for information regarding FinTech III and the FinTech III Acquisition. Our Chairman currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech Acquisition Corp. IV, or FinTech IV, a blank check company which raised $230.0 million in its initial public offering in September 2020. See “Management — FinTech IV” for information regarding FinTech IV. We believe that potential sellers of target businesses will view the fact that our Chairman has successfully closed multiple business combinations with vehicles similar to our company as a positive factor in considering whether or not to enter into a business combination with us. However, past performance by our Chairman is not a guarantee of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate.
Mr. Cohen, with over 20 years of experience in financial services and financial technology, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC, and serves as the President and Chief Executive of the European Business of Cohen and Company, Inc. (NYSE: COHN), a financial services company with approximately $2.63 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020, and as President, a director and the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen and Company Inc.’s indirect majority owned subsidiary, Cohen & Company Financial Limited (formerly known as EuroDekania Management Limited), a Financial Conduct Authority regulated investment advisor and broker dealer focusing on the European capital markets (“CCFL”). Mr. Cohen previously served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC. Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Cohen and Company, Inc. from December 2009 to September 2013 and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors from October 2006 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the executive Chairman of Cohen and Company, Inc. from October 2006 to December 2009. In addition, Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC from 2001 to September 2013, as the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from October 2008 to September 2013, and as Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from December 2009 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC (formerly C&Co/PrinceRidge Partners LLC), the Company’s indirect broker dealer subsidiary (“JVB”), from July 2012 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen is also a founder, the former Chief Executive Officer and the current Chairman of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), which we refer to as Bancorp, a financial holding company with over $6.2 billion of total assets as of June 30, 2020. Bancorp’s principal subsidiary is The Bancorp Bank, a state chartered bank that provides a wide range of commercial and retail banking products and services to both regional and national markets. Mr. Cohen currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of FinTech IV (NASDAQ: FTIV). Mr. Cohen also currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of INSU Acquisition Corp. II (NASDAQ: INAQ). Mr. Cohen served as Chairman of INSU I until the INSU I Acquisition, as Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of FinTech I until the FinTech I Acquisition, as Chief Executive Officer and a director of FinTech II until the FinTech II Acquisition, and as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech III until the FinTech III Acquisition. He is also a past Chief Executive Officer of RAIT Financial Trust, which we refer to as RAIT, formerly a publicly traded real estate finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry, from December 2006 when it merged with Taberna Realty Finance Trust, to February 2009, and served as a trustee from the date RAIT acquired Taberna in February 2009 until his resignation from that position in February 2010. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Operation Officer of Resource America, Inc., formerly a publicly traded asset management company with interests in energy, real estate and financial services. Mr. Cohen was also a past director of Jefferson Bank of Pennsylvania, a commercial bank and subsidiary of JeffBanks, Inc., a publicly traded bank holding company, which we refer to as JeffBanks, acquired by Hudson United Bancorp in 1999.
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John M. Butler, with over 23 years of insurance experience, is our President and CEO. Mr. Butler joined Cohen & Company effective November 1, 2017, as Portfolio Manager and Head of Cohen & Company’s U.S. Insurance Asset Management Platform and Global ILS Program. Mr. Butler was President and Chief Executive officer of INSU I until the INSU I Acquisition, and he currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of INSU II.
Previously Mr. Butler worked for Twelve Capital, a European asset manager specializing in investment in the insurance sector where he served in various senior roles including Managing Partner & Head of Investment Management. In this role, Mr. Butler oversaw the investment of principally fixed income and insurance linked securities. Prior to this, Mr. Butler worked as Senior Underwriter managing the International Catastrophe and Terrorism reinsurance portfolios of Hannover Re Bermuda Ltd., where he was responsible for managing the company’s position as a lead reinsurer particularly in European and Asia-Pacific markets. Prior to this, Mr. Butler spent seven years with the White Mountains Insurance Group, both in Dublin and Bermuda, managing the underwriting of the international non-marine treaty portfolio. Earlier in his career, Mr. Butler worked for entities in the London reinsurance market, underwriting a broad range of business lines. Since June 2020, Mr. Butler has served as Vice Chair of the Board of TCI Re, a reinsurance company headquartered in Puerto Rico, and since February 2020, he has held an advisory board position with Kovrr Inc., an Israel based insurance cyber risk analytics technology company. Mr. Butler holds an honors degree in Law from the University of London, is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of the UK, a member of the Insurance Institute of Ireland and is qualified as a Chartered Insurer.
Our board of directors has collectively over 85 years of insurance industry experience, having served in a variety of roles including as managers, operators, principals, investors, advisors, bankers or directors. Their extensive experience includes sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, structuring and executing capital transactions with private and public insurance businesses, and members of our board of directors have worked as senior insurance practitioners carrying out technical underwriting, brokerage and general management functions at a senior level within large international companies. In addition, our board of directors also has substantial experience in the management of public financial sector companies.
We believe our management team has the skills and experience to identify, evaluate and consummate a business combination and is positioned to assist businesses we acquire. However, our management team’s network of contacts, and its investing and operating experience, do not guarantee a successful initial business combination. The members of our management team are not required to devote any significant amount of time to our business and are involved with other businesses. We cannot guarantee that our current officers and directors will continue in their respective roles, or in any other role, after our initial business combination, and their expertise may only be of benefit to us until we complete our initial business combination. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate.
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on the Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% fair market value test.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires
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less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial 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 of 1940, as amended, or the “Investment Company Act”. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial 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 stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
In addition to any potential business candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which will 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 are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, nor are we prohibited from partnering, submitting joint bids, or entering into any similar transaction with our sponsor, or an affiliate of our sponsor, in the pursuit of an initial business combination. If we seek to complete an initial business combination with such a company or we partner with our sponsor, or any of its affiliates in our pursuit of an initial business combination, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to fair market value that the business combination is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Certain of our directors currently have relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. However, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. We do not believe that any potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive
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compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this 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 common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the prior fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.
Our executive offices are located at 2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2870 and our telephone number is (215) 701-9555.
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The Offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also, among other things, the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section “Risk Factors” beginning on page 26 of this prospectus.
Securities offered |
20,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
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• one share of Class A common stock; and |
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• one-third of one redeemable warrant. |
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Proposed NASDAQ Capital Market symbols |
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Common Stock: “IIII” |
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Warrants: “IIIIW” |
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Trading commencement and separation of Class A common stock and warrants |
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Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K |
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Units: |
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Number of units outstanding before this offering |
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Number of placement units to be sold simultaneously with this offering |
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Number of units to be outstanding |
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Common stock: |
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Number of shares outstanding before this offering |
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Number of shares outstanding |
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Redeemable Warrants: |
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Number of warrants outstanding before this offering |
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Number of warrants outstanding |
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Exercisability |
Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock and only whole warrants are exercisable. |
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(1) The representative has agreed to defer all underwriting commissions in respect of any units sold pursuant to the underwriters’ exercise of their overallotment option and to have the amounts attributable to those commissions placed in the trust account and paid to the representative at the closing of our initial business combination. The sponsor will not purchase additional placement units if the underwriters’ exercise their overallotment option.
(2) Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option and the forfeiture by our initial stockholders of 1,000,000 founder shares. Our sponsor has committed to purchase, simultaneously with the completion of this offering, an aggregate of 540,000 placement units, each unit consisting of one placement share and one-third of one placement warrant. Holders of founder shares and placement shares will hold 27.0% of the outstanding common stock following this offering and the expiration of the underwriters’ overallotment option without exercise. The placement units are not subject to forfeiture but will be subject to transfer restrictions as described in “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units”.
(3) Consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 1,000,000 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture by holders of founder shares to the extent that the overallotment option is not exercised by the underwriters.
(4) Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option and the forfeiture by our initial stockholders of 1,000,000 founder shares.
(5) Comprised of 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units to be sold in this offering, 540,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the placement units to be sold in the private placement and 6,846,667 shares of Class B common stock (or founder shares). The Class B common stock is convertible into shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”
(6) Comprised of 6,666,667 public warrants included in the units to be sold in this offering and 180,000 placement warrants included in the private placement units to be sold in the private placement.
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Exercise price |
$11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustments as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock 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 share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by us and in the case of any such issuance to our sponsors or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial shareholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 50% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our 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, 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. |
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Exercise period |
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
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• 30 days after the consummation of our initial business combination, or |
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• 12 months from the completion of this offering; |
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provided that no warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of common stock is available, and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder. |
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We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we 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. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best 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 will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York time, five years after the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier upon our failure to consummate a business combination within 24 months of completion of the offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) or redemption or our liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
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Redemption of warrants |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as set forth in this prospectus with respect to the placement warrants): |
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• in whole and not in part; |
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• at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
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• upon a minimum of 30 days prior written notice of redemption, or the 30-day redemption period; and |
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• if, and only if, the last sale price of our Class A common stock (or the closing bid price of our Class A common stock in the event the shares of Class A common stock are not traded on any specific trading day) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third trading day before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
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We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in this offering. |
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If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. |
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None of the placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. |
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Election of directors; voting |
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Founder shares |
In October 2020, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC purchased 1,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. We effected a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split in October 2020, and, as a result, our initial holders hold 7,846,667 founder shares as of the date of this prospectus. The number of founder shares was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 25% of the aggregate of our founder shares, the placement shares and our issued and outstanding public shares after this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in the offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our sponsor at 25% of the aggregate of our founder shares, the placement shares and our issued and outstanding public shares after this offering. Up to 1,000,000 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised so that founder shares represent 25% of the aggregate of our founder shares, the placement shares and our issued and outstanding public shares after this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in the offering). None of our sponsor or our officers or directors intends to purchase any units in this offering. |
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The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
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• only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination; |
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• the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
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• our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed: (1) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, placement shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (2) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, placement shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption |
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of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares or placement shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window). If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares, any placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,306,667, or 31.5%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved; |
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• the founder shares are shares of Class B common stock that are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and • the holders of the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
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Transfer restrictions on founder shares |
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Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights |
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Placement units and underlying securities |
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The placement units are identical to the units sold in this offering except that the placement warrants, so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. |
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A portion of the purchase price of the placement units will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing $200 million (or $230 million if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the placement units will expire worthless. The placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the placement warrants are held by holders other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. |
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Transfer restrictions on placement units |
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Cashless exercise of placement warrants |
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Proceeds to be held in |
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Except for any interest income released to us to pay franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earlier of (i) the consummation of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) subject to applicable law; or (iii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of |
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our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option). The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders. |
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Anticipated expenses and funding sources |
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The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills 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 and that invest only in direct U.S. government obligations. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $200,000 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year); however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from such interest withdrawn from the trust account and: |
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• the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not held in the trust account, which initially will be approximately $575,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $825,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and |
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• any loans from our sponsor or one of its affiliates, provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we expect to repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of all loans made to us by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender at the time of the business combination. The units would be identical to the private placement units. |
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Conditions to consummating our initial business combination |
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Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on the Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% fair market value test. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. |
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We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial 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 stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. |
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Permitted purchases of public securities by our affiliates |
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approach a limited number of large holders of our securities that have voted against the business combination or sought redemption of their shares, or that have indicated an intention to do so, and engage in direct negotiations for the purchase of such holders’ positions. All holders approached in this manner would be institutional or sophisticated holders. There is no limit on the number of shares they may acquire. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or during a restricted period under Regulation M under the Exchange Act or in transactions that would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10(b)-5 under the Exchange Act. Although they do not currently anticipate paying any premium purchase price for such public shares, there is no limit on the price they may pay. They may also enter into transactions to provide such holders with incentives to acquire shares or vote their shares in favor of an initial business combination. No funds in the trust account may be used to effect purchases of shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. |
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Redemption rights for public stockholders upon consummation of our initial business combination |
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We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, 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. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. |
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We currently intend to conduct redemptions pursuant to a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons. |
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If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: |
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• 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. |
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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 shares of our Class A common stock 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 stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules), or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. |
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If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will: |
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• 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. |
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We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration. |
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If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares, placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 27.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,306,667, or 31.5%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. |
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination and, in any event, the terms of the proposed business combination may require our net tangible assets to be greater than $5,000,001. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or members of its management team, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the allocation of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. If the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly tendered plus the amount of any cash payments required pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available to us, taking into consideration the requirement that we maintain net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 or such greater amount depending on the terms of our potential business combination, we will not consummate the business combination and any shares of common stock tendered pursuant to the tender offer will be returned to the holders thereof following the expiration of the tender offer. |
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Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights |
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Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 20.0% of the shares sold in the offering if we hold stockholder vote |
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Redemption rights in connection |
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placement (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they may choose. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements as our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. |
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Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination |
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Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination |
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law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such completion window. |
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The initial holders, our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. The initial holders and our directors and officers have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the 24 month period. However, the initial holders and our directors and officers will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination within the 24 month period. |
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The representative has agreed to waive its rights to deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account if we do not consummate a business combination and subsequently liquidate and, in such event, the deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. |
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Our initial stockholders, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). |
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We will pay the costs of any liquidation from the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust, and up to $100,000 of the interest income on the trust account (net of any taxes payable), and the balance of loans from our sponsor or one of its affiliates for working capital purposes and to pay expenses to identify an acquisition target and consummate an initial business combination (up to a maximum of $750,000), although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purposes. |
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Limited payments to insiders |
There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
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• repayment of loans of up to $300,000 from our sponsor or one of its affiliates to fund organization costs and costs of this offering, which will be repaid upon closing of this offering from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement, and loans of up to $750,000 from our sponsor or one of its affiliates to fund costs to identify an acquisition target and consummate an initial business combination, which will be repaid upon the closing of a business combination (See “— Anticipated expenses and funding sources”). Up to $1,500,000 of these loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender at the time of the business combination. The units would be identical to the placement units sold in the private placement; |
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• payment to our sponsor for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services, in an amount equal to $20,000 per month; • at the closing of our initial business combination, a customary advisory fee to an affiliate of our sponsor, in an amount that constitutes a market standard advisory fee for comparable transactions and services provided; and • reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and consummating an initial business combination, provided that no proceeds of this offering held in the trust account may be applied to the payment of such expenses prior to the consummation of a business combination. |
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Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. |
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Audit Committee |
On or before the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will initially be composed of three independent directors to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to immediately take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
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Indemnification |
Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC has agreed that it will indemnify us to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or any claims by a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below $10.00 per public share, except for any claims by any third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account, regardless of whether such waiver is enforceable, and except for claims arising from our obligation to indemnify the underwriters of this offering pursuant to the underwriting |
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agreement for this offering. We have not independently verified whether Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, we have not asked it to reserve for such obligations and we believe that its only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will be able to satisfy those obligations. We believe the likelihood of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all third parties that provide products or services to us and prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. |
Risks
We have conducted no operations and have generated no revenues since our formation in October 2020. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and, at least until we consummate our initial business combination, we will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act and has certain terms and conditions that deviate from many blank check offerings. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings or to investors in many other blank check companies. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” within this prospectus and read this entire prospectus before investing in the units.
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Summary Financial Data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
October 22, |
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Balance Sheet Data: |
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|
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Working capital (deficiency) |
$ |
(13,293 |
) |
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Total assets |
$ |
12,733 |
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Total liabilities |
$ |
13,293 |
|
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Stockholder’s deficit |
$ |
(560 |
) |
If we do not consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), the proceeds held in the trust account, including the deferred underwriting commissions, and interest earned on the trust account (less interest released to us for the payment of taxes and up to $100,000 in interest for dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our initial holders have agreed, with respect to their founder shares and placement shares to waive their redemption rights if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within such 24-month period.
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below and all of the other information set forth in this prospectus before deciding to invest in our units. If any of the events or developments described below occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
We are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenue and, accordingly, you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenue. We will not commence operations until we obtain funding through this offering and consummate our initial business combination. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of acquiring one or more operating businesses in the insurance industry. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete a business combination. If we fail to complete a business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of October 22, 2020, we had no cash and a working capital deficit of $13,293. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, unless such vote is required by law or Nasdaq, which means we may consummate our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable state law or the rules of Nasdaq or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For example, Nasdaq rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we structure a business combination that requires us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we consummate.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any placement shares and public shares they hold in favor of our initial business combination. Holders of founder shares will own 27.0% of our common stock (including 540,000 placement shares held by our sponsor) immediately following completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if holders of founder shares agreed to vote their founder shares, placement shares and public shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
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Your ability 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, unless we seek stockholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Since our board of directors may consummate a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right to vote on the business combination unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your ability to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights with respect to a proposed business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make us unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may enter into a 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. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide all of our stockholders with an opportunity to redeem all of their shares in connection with the consummation of any initial business combination, although our sponsor, directors and officers and each holder of placement units has agreed to waive his, her or its respective redemption rights with respect to founder shares and placement shares, and in the case of the initial holders, public shares held by him, her or it in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than the amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, or less than the $5,000,001 minimum of tangible net assets which we are required to maintain, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination. Prospective targets would be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to consummate 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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our 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, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock result in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 stock.
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 increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
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The requirement that we maintain a minimum net worth or retain a certain amount of cash could increase the probability that we will be unable to complete a proposed business combination and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.
If, pursuant to the terms of our proposed business combination, we are required to maintain a minimum net worth or retain a certain amount of cash in trust in order to consummate the business combination, the ability of our public shareholders to cause us to redeem their shares in connection with such proposed transaction will increase the risk that we will not meet that condition and, accordingly, that we will not be able to complete the proposed transaction. If we do not complete a proposed business combination, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market. If you were to attempt to sell your stock in the open market at that time, the price you receive could represent a discount to the pro rata amount in our 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.
The requirement that we complete a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to consummate a business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option). Consequently, such target businesses may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete a business combination with it, we may be unable to identify another target business and complete a business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the 24 month period. Depending upon when we identify a potential target business, we may have only a limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into a business combination on terms that we might have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this 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 must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option). We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate a business combination within that time period. 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. If we have not consummated a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering, or earlier, at the discretion of our board pursuant to the expiration of a tender offer conducted in connection with a failed business combination, 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 all public shares then outstanding at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us for the payment of taxes or dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share and our warrants will expire worthless.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares of common stock from public stockholders, in which case they may influence a vote in favor of a proposed business combination that you do not support and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants.
If we seek stockholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers or their respective affiliates may purchase shares or warrants in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the consummation of our initial business combination. Our sponsor, directors, officers and their respective affiliates may also enter into transactions with stockholders and others to provide them with incentives to, among other things, acquire shares of our common stock or vote their shares in favor of an initial business combination. Our directors, officers or their affiliates will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or during a restricted period under Regulation M under the Exchange Act or in a transaction which would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10(b)-5 under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase would include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder 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 tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. Please see “Proposed Business — Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
You will not have any rights to or interest in funds from the trust account, except under limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the consummation of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), subject to applicable law; (iii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option); or (iv) otherwise upon our liquidation or in the event our board of directors resolves to liquidate the trust account and ceases to pursue the consummation of a business combination prior to the expiration of the 24 month period (our board of directors may determine to liquidate the trust account prior to such expiration if it determines, in its business judgment, that it is improbable within the remaining time that we will be able to identify an attractive business combination or satisfy regulatory and other business and legal requirements to consummate a business combination). In addition, if our plan to redeem our public shares if we
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are unable to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the date of this offering is not consummated for any reason, Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond 24 months before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any rights to the proceeds from our trust account with respect to their warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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.
The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted, and a significant outbreak of 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 continue to 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 materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, 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.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since we intend to use the net proceeds of this offering and the private placement to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5.0 million upon the completion of this offering and the private placement and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419 under the Securities Act. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete a business combination than would companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, offerings subject to Rule 419 would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us, except in connection with our consummation of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, a stockholder, or a “group” of stockholders, who are deemed to hold an aggregate of more than 20.0% of our common stock may not redeem any shares they hold that exceed such 20.0% amount.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to shares in excess of 20.0% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior written consent. We refer to such shares in excess of 20.0% or more of the shares sold in the offering as “Excess Shares”. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem any Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to consummate a 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
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not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we consummate our business combination. As a result, you would continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 20.0% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell them 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 a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, you may receive only $10.00 per share from our redemption of your shares, 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 industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the private placement, 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, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share from our redemption of our shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the private placement not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor to fund our search for an initial business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, only $575,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $825,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $825,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Our sponsor or one of its affiliates has committed to loan funds to us in such circumstances up to a maximum of $750,000. Any such loans 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 $1,500,000 of all loans made to us by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender at the time of the business combination. The units would be identical to the private placement units. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— 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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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Subsequent to consummation 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 our stock price, 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 examination will uncover all material risks that may be presented by a particular target business, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies the principal risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. As a result, from time to time following our initial business combination, we may be forced to write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. 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 securityholders who choose to remain securityholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such securityholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the initial business combination constituted an actionable material misstatement or omission.
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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Placing funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements or, even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, claims for fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving 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 without a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any available alternative. If we do not obtain a waiver from a third party, we will obtain the written consent of our sponsor before entering into an agreement with such third party.
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 management believes to be significantly superior to those of other consultants who would execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver and where our sponsor executes a written consent. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete a business combination within the required time frame, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with a business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a written agreement, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC 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, or a prospective target business with which we discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below $10.00 per share except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, if an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III has sufficient funds to satisfy
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its indemnity obligations, we have not asked it to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we believe that its only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will be able to satisfy these obligations.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
If proceeds in the trust account are reduced below $10.00 per public share and Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC 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 Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III 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 stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
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. 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 stockholders 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 stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’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.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, 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 stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, by making distributions to public stockholders before making provision for creditors, 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 for punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
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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 compliance with other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.
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 total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial 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 anticipated 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. This offering 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: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window; and (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders 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 consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. Please see “— 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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments, including in particular, reporting and other requirements under the Exchange Act. 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 result in fines, injunctive relief or similar remedies which could be costly to us or limit our ability to complete an initial business combination or operate the post-combination company successfully.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering may be considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 24th month if we do not consummate an initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers or investment bankers) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares if we do not consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering is not considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidation distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate a business combination.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate a business combination (unless required by Nasdaq), and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires that an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless directors are elected by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of a business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Even if an annual meeting was held for the purpose of electing directors prior to the consummation of a business combination, only holders of Class B common stock would be entitled to notice of such meeting and to vote at such meeting.
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We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock 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 except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, 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.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption 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 shares of Class A common stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our commercially reasonable best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in this offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable to exercise such public warrants but holders of our placement warrants may be able to exercise such placement warrants.
If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
There are circumstances in which the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. First, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Second, if our Class A common stock is at any time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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
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a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Third, if we call the public warrants for redemption, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (as defined in the next sentence) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and purchasers of placement units may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may reduce the market price of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the initial stockholders and their permitted transferees and purchasers of placement units can demand that we register the founder shares, placement shares, placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the placement warrants. This would include the 7,846,667 founder shares, 540,000 placement shares and 180,000 placement warrants. These registration rights will be exercisable at any time commencing upon the date that such shares are released from transfer restrictions (as discussed under “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units”). We will also grant registration rights to our sponsor or one of its affiliates in connection with the issuance of any working capital warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may reduce the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or their permitted transferees are registered.
Because we have not selected a particular business within the insurance industry or any other industry or any specific target businesses with which to pursue a business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations.
We will seek to consummate a business combination with an operating company in the insurance industry, but may also pursue acquisition opportunities in other business sectors or geographic regions, except that we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet identified or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, you have 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. If we consummate our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations of the entity with which we combine. Because we will seek to acquire businesses that potentially need financial, operational, strategic or managerial redirection, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially or operationally unstable 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. Accordingly, any securityholders who choose to remain securityholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. 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 an acquisition target.
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Past performance by our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
We may seek investment opportunities in sectors outside of our industry focus (which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise).
Although we currently intend to consummate a business combination in the insurance industry, we will consider a business combination outside this industry if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive investment opportunity for our company. If we elect to pursue an investment outside of the insurance industry, as INSU I elected to do in connection with its initial business combination, our management’s expertise in that industry would not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained herein regarding the insurance industry might not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into a 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 specific criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into a business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we consummate a 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. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or Nasdaq, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to obtain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm and, consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the target in our initial business combination is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we consummate our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. If we do not obtain an opinion, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions described herein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 60,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 32,613,333 and 3,153,333 (assuming in each case, that the underwriters have not exercised their overallotment option) authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon the conversion of the Class B common stock. Shares of Class B common stock are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we may not issue additional securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity, on any amendment to certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or on our initial business combination, or that would entitle holders thereof to receive funds from the trust account). We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions described herein. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote on any initial business combination.
The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
• could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of common stock 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; and
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, common stock and/or warrants.
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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not consummated, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate another target business and consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share from our redemption of our shares 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 consummate 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 due to a reduction in the funds available for expenses for relating to such efforts. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share from our redemption of their shares and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are dependent upon our officers and directors; the loss of any one or more of them could adversely affect our ability to complete a business combination.
Our operations depend upon the background, experience and contacts of our officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have consummated a business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. In addition, 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 the search for a business combination and their other business commitments. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the consummation of our business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged in other business endeavors and is not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business commitments require them to devote substantial amounts of time in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which make it more difficult for us to identify an acquisition target and consummate our business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors and Officers.”
Our success following our initial business combination likely will depend upon the efforts of management of the target business. The loss of any of the key personnel of the target’s management team could make it more difficult to operate the target profitably.
Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following a business combination, we can offer no assurance that any will do so. Moreover, as a result of the existing commitments of our key personnel, it is likely that we will retain some or all of the management of the target business to conduct its operations. The departure of any key members of the target’s management team could thus make it more difficult to operate the post-combination business profitably. Moreover, to the extent that we will rely upon the target’s management team to operate the post-combination business, we will be subject to risks regarding their managerial competence. While we intend to closely scrutinize the skills, abilities and qualifications of any individuals we retain after a business combination, our ability to do so may be limited due to a lack of time resources or information. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct and that they will have the skills, abilities and qualifications we expect.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with our initial business combination. 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 would be advantageous to us.
Our key personnel may decide to remain with the company after the consummation 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
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our securities for services they would render to us after the consummation of our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business and cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination would be advantageous to us. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Although we have no formal policy in place for vetting potential conflicts of interest, our board of directors will review any potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain a waiver of the corporate opportunity doctrine, which will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless (i) such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company (ii) such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue and (iii) the director or officer is permitted to refer the opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. The purpose for the surrender of corporate opportunities is to allow officers, directors or other representatives with multiple business affiliations to continue to serve as an officer of our company or on our board of directors. Our officers and directors may from time to time be presented with opportunities that could benefit both another business affiliation and us. In the absence of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our charter, certain candidates would not be able to serve as an officer or director. We believe we substantially benefit from having representatives, who bring significant, relevant and valuable experience to our management, and, as a result, the inclusion of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides us with greater flexibility to attract and retain the officers and directors that we feel are the best candidates.
However, 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. The different timelines of competing business combinations could cause our directors and officers to prioritize a different business combination over finding a suitable acquisition target for our 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 stockholders’ best interest, which could negatively impact the timing for a business combination.
For a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
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We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our executive officers, directors or existing stockholders, which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
We may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with holders of founder shares, or our officers and directors. Our officers and directors also serve as officers and board members of other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. The holders of founder shares and our officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to consummate a business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that the targeted affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Effecting our initial business combination — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and the transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more businesses affiliated with our executive officers, directors or holders of founder shares, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect 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 a business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’ management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we expected. Should the target’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.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon consummation of a business combination. The loss of an acquisition 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 consummation 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 us following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of an acquisition target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
We may partner, submit a joint bid or enter into a similar transaction with holders of founder shares or an affiliate in connection with our pursuit of, or in connection with, a business combination.
We are not prohibited from partnering, submitting a joint bid or entering into any similar transaction with holders of founder shares or their affiliates in our pursuit of a business combination. Although we currently have no plans to do so, we could pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Effecting our initial business combination — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and the transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of a business combination with any holder of founder shares or its affiliates, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest. Additionally, were we successful in consummating such a transaction, conflicts could invariably arise from the interest of the holder of founder shares or its affiliate in maximizing its returns, which may be at odds
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with the strategy of the post-business combination company or not in the best interests of the public stockholders of the post-business combination company. Any or all of such conflicts could materially reduce the value of your investment, whether before or after our initial business combination.
Since holders of our founder shares and placement units will lose some or all of their investment in us if we do not consummate a business combination, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular acquisition target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Our initial holders currently own 7,846,667 founder shares, which will be worthless if we do not consummate our initial business combination. Our sponsor has committed to purchase 540,000 placement units for an aggregate purchase price of $5,400,000. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the founder shares, placement shares or placement warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not consummate a business combination within the allotted 24-month period. If we do not consummate a business combination, our sponsor will realize a loss on the placement units it purchased. As a result, the personal and financial interests of certain of our officers and directors, directly or as members of our sponsor, in consummating an initial business combination, along with their flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective acquisition candidate, may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination that is not in the best interests of our stockholders. Consequently, the discretion of our officers and directors, in identifying and selecting a suitable target business combination may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular initial business combination are appropriate and in the best interest of our public stockholders.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our financial condition and the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or (apart from our sponsor’s or its affiliate’s commitment to loan us up to $750,000) otherwise to incur debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt in order to complete our initial business combination. 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 meet our debt service obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness, even if we make all principal and interest payments when due, if we breach covenants that require the maintenance of 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 and the lender demands payment;
• our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if any debt we incur contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain additional financing while the debt is outstanding;
• prohibitions of, or limitations on, our ability to pay dividends on our common stock;
• use of a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, as well as for 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 growth strategies and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
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We do not have a policy with respect to how much debt we may incur. To the extent that the amount of our debt increases, the impact of the effects listed above may also increase.
We may complete a business combination with only one business, which would result in our success being dependent solely on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may harm our operations and profitability.
We are not limited as to the number of businesses we may acquire in our initial business combination. However, we may effectuate a business combination with only one target business because of various factors, including the limited amount of the net proceeds of this offering, 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 consummating an initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks particular to the industry area in which the acquired business operates. 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:
• solely depend upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or
• depend 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.
We may attempt to consummate business combinations with multiple prospective targets simultaneously, which may hinder our ability to consummate an initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to acquire several businesses simultaneously that are owned by different sellers, we will need each seller 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 the initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, we may be unable to operate the combined business successfully, and you could lose some or all of your investment in us.
We may attempt to consummate 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 expected, or at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of the information developed during our due diligence examination, which may be limited. As a result, we could acquire a company that is not as profitable as we expected, or at all. Furthermore, the relative lack of information about a private company may hinder our ability to properly assess the value of such a company which could result in our overpaying for that company.
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If we effect our initial business combination with a business located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such business will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect our initial business combination with a business located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such business operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. The target business may not be able to enforce any of its material agreements or enforce remedies for breaches of those agreements in that jurisdiction. 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. Additionally, if we acquire a business located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States’ courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under federal securities laws.
We may not maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interest or assets of the target business or businesses. However, we may structure our initial business combination to acquire less than 100% of the equity interest or assets of the target business, but only if we (or any entity that is a successor to us in a business combination) acquire a majority of the outstanding voting securities or assets of the target. Even if we own a majority interest in the target, our stockholders prior to the 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 transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that we will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold will make it easier for us to consummate a business combination with which a substantial number of our stockholders do not agree.
We may be able to consummate a business combination even though a substantial number of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, if our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates have entered into privately negotiated agreements with public stockholders to acquire public shares. However, 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination, and the amount that we redeem may be further limited by the terms and conditions of our initial business combination. In such case, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares and the related initial business combination, and 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 certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and 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 certificate of incorporation will require the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, 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 certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity, on any amendment to certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or on our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own up to 25% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-initial business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete an initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination
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within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share on our redemption.
Because of the size of our initial business combination, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders 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 may be unable to obtain any necessary financing on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment has made it especially difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to consummate our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure or abandon the transaction and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share on our redemption. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to consummate 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 stockholders is required to provide any financing to us after a business combination.
Our initial stockholders will control the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own approximately 27.0% of our outstanding common stock, including placement shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, the founder shares, all of which are held by our initial stockholders, will entitle the holders to elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a majority of at least 90% of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the election of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a stockholder vote.
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Holders of founder shares and purchasers of placement units will control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon completion of this offering, holders of founder shares and purchasers of placement units will own 27.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (26.7% if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Holders of founder shares are not restricted from purchasing Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, which would increase their control. The holders of founder shares do not have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is divided into two classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a two-year term. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office at least until the consummation 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 have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, you should anticipate that holders of founder shares and purchasers of placement units will continue to exert control at least until the consummation of our initial business combination.
Our initial holders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.0032 per founder share and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our units including shares of our Class A common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. The initial holders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon completion of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 94.2%, or $9.42 per share (the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.65 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit). This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the shares of Class B common stock result in the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders 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. 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 or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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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 outstanding warrants (excluding any placement warrants held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees) at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price (or the closing bid price of our Class A common stock in the event the shares of our Class A common stock are not traded on any specific trading day) of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send proper notice of such redemption, provided that on the date we give notice of redemption and during the entire period thereafter until the time we redeem the warrants, we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you: (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination.
In this offering, we will be issuing warrants to purchase 6,666,667 shares of our Class A common stock (or up to 7,666,667 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) as part of the public units. In addition, on the closing date of this offering, we will sell 540,000 placement units to our sponsor, with each unit consisting of one placement share and one-third of one placement warrant, each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock. Prior to this offering, we issued an aggregate of 7,846,667 founder shares in a private placement. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, our sponsor or one of its affiliates has committed to loan us a maximum of $750,000 to fund working capital requirements or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Should these amounts be insufficient, our sponsor or one of its affiliates may fund our additional working capital requirements or finance transaction costs, as necessary. However, they are under no obligation to do so.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights.
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. Because, pursuant to the warrant agreement, the warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares, only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable
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in the aggregate for one-third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike many blank check companies, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock 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 share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by us and in the case of any such issuance to our sponsors or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial shareholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 50% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our 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, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Description of Securities —Warrants — Public Warrants” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of 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.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
• the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
• prior offerings of those companies;
• our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;
• a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
• our capital structure;
• an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;
• general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and
• other factors as were deemed relevant.
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
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There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
Although we intend to apply to have our securities listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, as of the date of this prospectus there is no market for our securities. Prospective stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior trading history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations, general market and economic conditions and forecasts, our general business condition and the release of our financial reports. Once listed on Nasdaq, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market for such securities can be established or sustained.
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We intend to apply to have our units listed on Nasdaq. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will be separately listed on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500) of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board or the “pink sheets.” If this were to occur, there could be material adverse consequences, including:
• a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
• reduced liquidity for our securities;
• a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
• a limited amount of, or no, 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 we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, we expect that our units, common stock and warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state, other than the state of Idaho, having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
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Purchases of Class A common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions by our sponsor, directors, officers or their affiliates may make it difficult for us to continue to list our common stock on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange.
If our sponsor, directors, officers or their affiliates purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, it would reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock and the number of beneficial holders of our common stock, which may make it difficult to maintain the listing or trading of our common stock on a national securities exchange if we determine to apply for such listing in connection with the business combination. If the number of our public holders falls below 300 or if the total number of shares held by non-affiliates is less than 500,000, we will be non-compliant with Nasdaq’s continued listing rules and our common stock could be de-listed. If our common stock were de-listed, we could face the material consequences set forth in the immediately preceding risk factor.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
If we hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination, 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. If we make a tender offer for our public shares, we will include the same financial statement disclosure in our tender offer documents that is required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements must be prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements must be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and consummate our initial business combination within our 24 month time frame.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.
As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (which we refer to as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (which we refer to as the Dodd-Frank Act), the listing requirements of Nasdaq and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be adversely affected.
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However, for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirement of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three year period.
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 internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. 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.
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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.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain a system of internal controls and, beginning with our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, that we evaluate and report on such system of internal controls. In addition, once we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we must have our system of internal controls audited. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete a 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 controls of any such entity in order to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities. We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain or adverse United States federal income tax consequences.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain United States federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the share of common stock and the one-third warrant included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or the courts. Furthermore, the United States federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our shares of common stock suspend the running of a U.S. holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of common stock is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the principal United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
• higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
• rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
• complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
• laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
• tariffs and trade barriers;
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• regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
• longer payment cycles;
• tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
• currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
• rates of inflation;
• challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
• cultural and language differences;
• employment regulations;
• crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
• deterioration of political relations with the United States; and
• government appropriation of assets.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the federal securities laws, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
A failure to comply with privacy regulations could adversely affect relations with customers and have a negative impact on business.
Depending upon the type of business we acquire, in the course of providing services to our customers we may collect, process and retain sensitive and confidential information on our customers and their clients. A failure of our systems due to security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, or other causes could result in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer information. Any such failure could result in damage to our reputation with our customers, expose us to the risk of litigation and liability, disrupt our operations, and impair our ability to operate profitably.
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We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and we may be subject to infringement claims.
We expect to rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect any proprietary technology of a target business. Although we intend to protect vigorously any intellectual property we acquire, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property or may develop competitive technology. Our competitors may independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products or services or design around our intellectual property rights. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which is expensive, could cause a diversion of resources and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce intellectual property protection could harm our business and ability to compete.
We also may be subject to claims by third parties for infringement of another party’s proprietary rights, or for breach of copyright, trademark or license usage rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could subject us to significant liability for damages. An adverse determination in any litigation of this type could require us to design around a third party’s intellectual property, obtain a license for that technology or license alternative technology from another party. None of these alternatives may be available to us at a price which would allow us to operate profitably. In addition, litigation is time consuming and expensive to defend and could result in the diversion of the time and attention of management and employees. Any claims from third parties may also result in limitations on our ability to use the intellectual property subject to these claims.
We face risks related to insurance sector companies.
Business combinations with companies in the insurance sector entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we will be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:
• Compliance with state and governmental regulations and changes in laws and regulations and risks from investigations and legal proceedings could be costly and could adversely affect operating results;
• We may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals in connection with a business combination in a timely manner, or at all, and this delay or failure may result in additional expenditures of money and resources, jeopardize our efforts to consummate a business combination within required time periods and force us to liquidate;
• Each of our target businesses will be subject to extensive regulation, which may adversely affect our ability to achieve our business objectives; in addition, if a target business fails to comply with these regulations, it may be subject to penalties, including fines and suspensions, which could reduce our earnings significantly;
• If we fail to properly evaluate the financial position and reserves of a target business with which we enter into a business combination, our losses and benefits from the operation of that business may exceed our loss and benefit reserves, which could have a significantly adverse effect on our results of operations;
• A downgrade in the claims paying and financial strength ratings of a target business may cause significant declines in its revenues and earnings;
• Changes in market interest rates or in the equity security markets may impair the performance of a target business’ investments, the sales of its investment products and issuers of securities held in the portfolio of the target business;
• The exclusions and limitations in policies written by a target business may not be enforceable;
• Cyclical changes in the property/casualty insurance industry may negatively impact a target business’ results of operations;
• Catastrophic losses are unpredictable and may adversely affect the results of operations, liquidity and financial condition of a target business;
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• Periods of adverse frequency of losses are unpredictable and may adversely affect the results of operations, liquidity and financial condition of a target business;
• Availability of adequate and cost-effective reinsurance coverage is unpredictable and may adversely affect the ability of the company to offset excess risks from the balance sheet of a target business;
• A target business may be subject to assessments and other surcharges from state guaranty funds, mandatory reinsurance arrangements and state insurance facilities, which may reduce or otherwise impair profitability;
• Reliance by a target business on information technology and telecommunications systems and the failure or disruption of these systems could disrupt its operations and adversely affect its results of operations;
• If our target business’ established reserves for insurance claims are insufficient, its earnings may be reduced or it could suffer losses; and
• If a target business is engaged in insurance brokerage, a reduction in insurance premium rates and commission rates may have an adverse effect on its operations and profits.
Any of the foregoing could have a negative adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the insurance sector. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks will likely not affect us and we will be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, none of which can be presently ascertained.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements contained in this prospectus that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance, and any other statements of a future or forward-looking nature, constitute “forward-looking statements” for the purposes of federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management’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,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would,” “will,” “approximately,” “shall” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
• the ability of our officers and directors to generate potential investment opportunities;
• our ability to complete our initial business combination;
• our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
• the allocation by our officers and directors of their time to other businesses and their potential 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;
• the pool of prospective target businesses;
• the listing on, or the delisting of our securities from, Nasdaq or our ability to have our securities listed on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange following our initial business combination;
• potential changes in control if we acquire one or more target businesses for stock;
• the potential liquidity and trading of the securities we will issue in this offering;
• the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or
• our financial performance following this offering.
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. We cannot assure you 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.
58
We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the placement units (of which $200.0 million will be deposited into the trust account) will be used as set forth in the following table.
Without |
Overallotment |
|||||||
Gross proceeds |
|
|
|
|
||||
Proceeds from units offered to the public |
$ |
200,000,000 |
|
$ |
230,000,000 |
|
||
Proceeds from private placement |
|
5,400,000 |
|
|
5,400,000 |
|
||
Total gross proceeds |
$ |
205,400,000 |
|
$ |
235,400,000 |
|
||
Estimated offering expenses(1) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from firm units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(2) |
$ |
4,000,000 |
|
$ |
4,000,000 |
|
||
Legal fees and expenses |
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000 |
|
||
Printing and engraving expenses |
|
35,000 |
|
|
35,000 |
|
||
Accounting fees and expenses |
|
45,000 |
|
|
45,000 |
|
||
SEC fees |
|
25,093 |
|
|
25,093 |
|
||
FINRA fees |
|
35,000 |
|
|
35,000 |
|
||
Nasdaq Capital Market Listing Fees |
|
75,000 |
|
|
75,000 |
|
||
Travel and roadshow |
|
20,000 |
|
|
20,000 |
|
||
D&O Insurance |
|
200,000 |
|
|
200,000 |
|
||
Miscellaneous expenses |
|
139,907 |
|
|
139,907 |
|
||
Total offering expenses |
$ |
4,825,000 |
|
$ |
4,825,000 |
|
||
Proceeds after offering expenses |
|
200,575,000 |
|
|
230,575,000 |
|
||
Held in trust account |
$ |
200,000,000 |
|
$ |
230,000,000 |
|
||
% of public offering proceeds held in trust(3) |
|
100.0 |
% |
|
100.0 |
% |
||
Held outside trust account |
$ |
575,000 |
|
$ |
575,000 |
|
The following table shows the use of the net proceeds of this offering and the private placement held out of the trust account and $750,000 in loans from our sponsor or one of its affiliates.(4)
Amount |
Percentage |
|||||
Use of net proceeds not held in trust and working capital loans from our sponsor(4) |
|
|
||||
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, consulting and other expenses in connection with any business combination(5) |
$ |
400,000 |
30.2 |
% |
||
Payment for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services ($20,000 per month for up to 24 months) |
|
480,000 |
36.2 |
% |
||
Legal and accounting fees relating to SEC reporting obligations |
|
200,000 |
15.1 |
% |
||
Reserve for liquidation expenses |
|
100,000 |
7.5 |
% |
||
Nasdaq continued listing fees |
|
75,000 |
5.7 |
% |
||
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses |
|
70,000 |
5.3 |
% |
||
Total |
$ |
1,325,000 |
100.0 |
% |
____________
(1) As of the date of this prospectus we have borrowed $560 under loans and advances available to us by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC. Loans by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC will be repaid upon the earlier of the completion of this offering or March 31, 2021. If offering expenses actually paid are less than the estimates set forth in this table, the balance will be used for post-closing working capital.
(2) The representative has agreed to defer until consummation of our initial business combination $8.0 million of their underwriting commissions (or $9.8 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), which equals 4.0% of the gross proceeds from the units sold to the public, excluding any units purchased pursuant to the underwriters’ overallotment option, and 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the units sold to the public pursuant to the underwriters’ overallotment option. Upon consummation of our initial business combination, the deferred commissions will be paid
59
to the representative from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital.
(3) $200.0 million from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement ($230.0 million if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full), including deferred underwriting commissions of $8.0 million ($9.8 million if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full), will be placed in a trust account held at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., located in the United States, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
(4) These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. If we identify an acquisition target in a specific industry subject to industry specific regulation, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary, and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses.
(5) Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.
A total of $200.0 million (or $230.0 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) of the aggregate net proceeds from this offering and the private placement, including $8.0 million (or $9.8 million if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full) of the deferred underwriting discount, will be placed in a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and will be invested only in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in United States Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Except for interest income released to us for the payment of taxes or dissolution expenses, none of the funds held in the trust account will be released, subject to the requirements of law, until the earlier of (i) the consummation of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), subject to applicable law; (iii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option); or (iv) otherwise upon our liquidation or if our board of directors resolves to liquidate the trust account and ceases to pursue the consummation of a business combination prior to the expiration of the 24 month period (our board of directors may determine to liquidate the trust account prior to such expiration if it determines, in its business judgment, that it is improbable within the remaining time to identify an attractive business combination or satisfy regulatory and other business and legal requirements to consummate a business combination). Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $200,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year.
The net proceeds held in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions) may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination. If we pay for our initial business combination using stock or debt securities, or if we do not use all of the funds released from the trust account for payment of the purchase price in connection with our business combination, we may use the remaining cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of the operations of acquired businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in consummating the initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We believe that the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust will be sufficient to pay our costs and expenses prior to our initial business combination. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the
60
amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. In this event, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from members of our management team, but such members of our management team are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
An affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC has committed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering (of which $560 has been loaned as of the date of this prospectus). These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the completion of this offering. In addition, in order to fund transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or one of its affiliates has committed to loan us funds as may be required up to a maximum of $750,000, which will be repaid only upon the consummation of an initial business combination. Should these amounts be insufficient, our sponsor or one of its affiliates may fund our additional working capital requirements or finance transaction costs, as necessary. However, they are under no obligation to do so. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of all loans made to us by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender at the time of the business combination. The units would be identical to the private placement units.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will pay our sponsor or its affiliate a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers or their respective affiliates may purchase shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the consummation of our initial business combination, although as of the date of this prospectus (apart from the purchase of the placement units) they have no commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions. If they do effect such purchases, we anticipate that they would approach a limited number of large holders of our securities that have voted against the business combination or sought redemption of their shares, or that have indicated an intention to do so, and engage in direct negotiations for the purchase of such holders’ positions. All holders approached in this manner would be institutional or sophisticated holders. There is no limit on the number of shares they may acquire. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or during a restricted period under Regulation M under the Exchange Act or in transactions that would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10(b)-5 under the Exchange Act. Although they do not currently anticipate paying any premium purchase price for such public shares, there is no limit on the price they may pay. They may also enter into transactions to provide such holders with incentives to acquire shares or vote their shares in favor of an initial business combination. No funds in the trust account may be used to effect purchases of shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
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 upon consummation of our initial business combination. Moreover, the redemption threshold may be further limited by the terms and conditions of our initial business combination. If the amount of redemptions plus any cash required by our initial business combination would cause our net tangible assets to fall below $5,000,000, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the consummation of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), subject to applicable law; (iii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option); or (iv) otherwise upon our liquidation or in the event our board
61
of directors resolves to liquidate the trust account and ceases to pursue the consummation of a business combination prior to the expiration of the 24 month period (our board of directors may determine to liquidate the trust account prior to such expiration if it determines, in its business judgment, that it is improbable within the remaining time that we will be able to identify an attractive acquisition target or satisfy regulatory and other business and legal requirements to consummate a business combination). In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
The initial holders, our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. The initial holders and our directors and officers have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the 24 month period. However, the initial holders and our directors and officers will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 24 month period.
62
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends before we complete our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will depend upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, in which case we may effect a stock dividend immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in an amount such that founder shares will remain equal to 25.0% of the aggregate of our public shares, placement shares and the founder shares. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with a business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants imposed by the debt instruments.
63
The difference between the public offering price per share of common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the warrants contained in the placement units, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public stockholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our common stock.
At October 22, 2020, our net tangible book value was $11,707, assuming receipt of the $25,000 stock subscription receivable, or approximately $0.00 per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 shares of common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the placement units and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at October 22, 2020, would have been $5,000,010 or $0.58 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 18,759,943 shares of common stock that may be redeemed for cash and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) of $0.58 per share to the initial stockholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $9.42 per share or 94.2% to our public stockholders not exercising their redemption rights.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the placement warrants:
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) by $187,599,430 because holders of up to 18,759,943 of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or stockholders meeting, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us for the payment of taxes or dissolution expenses), divided by the number of shares of common stock sold in this offering.
Public offering price |
|
$ |
10.00 |
|||
Net tangible book value before this offering |
$ |
0.00 |
|
|||
Increase attributable to new investors |
|
0.58 |
|
|||
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and sale of private placement units |
|
|
0.58 |
|||
Dilution to new investors |
|
$ |
9.2 |
The following table sets forth information with respect to holders of founder shares and the public stockholders:
Total shares(1) |
Total consideration |
Average price |
||||||||||||
Number |
% |
Amount |
% |
|||||||||||
Holders of founder shares |
6,846,667 |
25.0 |
% |
$ |
25,000 |
0.01 |
% |
$ |
0.00365 |
|||||
Holders of placement shares |
540,000 |
2.0 |
% |
|
5,400,000 |
2.6 |
% |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||
Public stockholders |
20,000,000 |
73.0 |
% |
|
200,000,000 |
97.4 |
% |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||
Total |
27,386,667 |
100.0 |
% |
$ |
205,425,000 |
100.0 |
% |
|
____________
(1) Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option and corresponding forfeiture of 1,000,000 founder shares by the initial stockholders as a result thereof.
64
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:
Numerator: |
|
|
||
Net tangible book value before this offering, including the stock subscription receivable |
$ |
11,707 |
|
|
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of placement units |
|
200,575,000 |
|
|
Plus: Offering costs incurred in advance |
|
12,733 |
|
|
Less: Deferred underwriting commission |
|
(8,000,000 |
) |
|
Less: Proceeds held in the trust account which may be used to redeem shares |
|
(187,599,430 |
) |
|
$ |
5,000,010 |
(1) |
||
Denominator: |
|
|
||
Shares of common stock outstanding before this offering |
|
7,846,667 |
|
|
Less: Shares subject to forfeiture assuming no overallotment option exercised(1) |
|
(1,000,000 |
) |
|
Shares of common stock included in the placement units |
|
540,000 |
|
|
Shares of common stock included in the units offered |
|
20,000,000 |
|
|
Less: Shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001(2) |
|
(18,759,943 |
) |
|
|
8,626,724 |
|
____________
(1) Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option and that 1,000,000 founder shares have been forfeited by the initial stockholders as a result thereof.
65
The following table sets forth our capitalization at October 22, 2020 and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the sale of our units and the placement units and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
October 22, 2020 |
||||||||
Actual |
As Adjusted(1)(5) |
|||||||
Promissory note – related party |
$ |
560 |
|
$ |
— |
|
||
Deferred underwriting commissions |
|
— |
|
|
8,000,000 |
|
||
Common stock, subject to redemption(2) |
|
— |
|
|
187,599,430 |
(4) |
||
Stockholder’s equity: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||
Common stock |
|
|
|
|
||||
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 60,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); no shares issued and outstanding (actual); 1,780,057 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 18,759,943 shares subject to redemption) (as adjusted) |
|
— |
|
|
178 |
|
||
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); 7,846,667 shares issued and outstanding (actual); 6,846,667 shares issued and outstanding (as adjusted)(3) |
|
785 |
|
|
685 |
|
||
Additional paid-in capital |
|
24,215 |
|
|
4,999,707 |
|
||
Stock subscription receivable |
|
(25,000 |
) |
|
— |
|
||
Accumulated deficit |
|
(560 |
) |
|
(560 |
) |
||
Total stockholders’ (deficit) equity |
|
(560 |
) |
|
5,000,010 |
|
||
Total capitalization |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
200,599,440 |
|
____________
(1) Includes the $5,400,000 we will receive from the sale of the placement units.
(2) Upon the consummation of our initial business combination, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account See “Proposed Business — Effecting our Initial Business Combination”.
(3) The “as adjusted” amount assumes the overallotment option has not been exercised and a corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares held by the initial stockholders.
(4) The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the “as adjusted” stockholders’ equity, which is set to approximate the minimum net tangible assets threshold of at least $5,000,001.
(5) Excludes 18,759,943 shares of common stock purchased in the public market which are subject to redemption in connection with our initial business combination. The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the value of public shares that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination for an estimated $10.00 per share.
66
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not identified any acquisition target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any discussions, directly or indirectly, with respect to identifying any acquisition target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the placement units, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination.
The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a business combination:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
• could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock and/or warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand and the lender demands payment;
• limitations on our ability to obtain additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to incur debt;
• our inability to pay dividends on our common stock due to covenants limiting or prohibiting dividends;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce, or possibly eliminate, the funds available for use as dividends on our common stock, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at October 22, 2020, we had no cash, deferred offering costs of $12,733 and our net tangible book value was $(13,293).
67
Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate our initial business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until, at the earliest, the consummation of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating revenues in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial position since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur significantly increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for expenses incurred in identifying and examining target businesses and completing our initial business combination.
We are an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
Upon the issuance of a new or revised accounting standard that applies to our financial statements and has a different effective date for public and private companies, we will disclose the date on which adoption is required for non-emerging growth companies and the date on which we will adopt the recently-issued accounting standard.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At October 22, 2020, we had no cash and a working capital deficit of $13,293. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this uncertainty through this offering are discussed below. Our plans to raise capital or to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied to date through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to the initial holders. Loans up to $300,000 have been committed by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC. We estimate that the net proceeds from: (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $825,000 and the non-deferred underwriters’ discount of $4.0 million, but including deferred underwriting commissions of $8.0 million (or $9.8 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), and (ii) the sale of 540,000 placement units to our sponsor for a purchase price of $5,400,000, will be $201,425,000 (or $231,425,000 if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), of which $200.0 million (or $230.0 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account. If our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $825,000, we may fund such excess with the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust. If our offering expenses are less than our estimate of $825,000, the balance will be used for post-closing working capital.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less amounts released to us to pay taxes and deferred underwriting commissions), to consummate our initial business combination. We may use interest earned on the trust account to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses. We estimate our annual franchise tax obligations, based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding after the completion of this offering to be approximately $200,000. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to consummate our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
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Prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust and a maximum of $750,000 in loans from our sponsor or one of its affiliates, and up to $100,000 for dissolution expenses. Should these amounts be insufficient, our sponsor or one of its affiliates may fund our additional working capital requirements or finance transaction costs, as necessary. However, they are under no obligation to do so. We will use these funds, including any such loans, to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, production facilities or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and consummate a business combination. We will depend on these funds to provide working capital we may need to identify one or more target businesses and to complete our initial business combination, as well as to pay franchise and income taxes that we may owe.
As stated above, in order to fund working capital requirements and finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or one of its affiliates has committed to loan us funds as may be required to a maximum of $750,000, and may, but is not obligated to, loan us additional funds to fund our additional working capital requirements and transaction costs. If we consummate an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. If we do not consummate an initial business combination, we may use a portion of any working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts; however, no proceeds from the trust account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the loan amounts, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. Up to $1,500,000 of all loans made to us by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender at the time of the business combination. The units would be identical to the private placement units.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during the period between the completion of this offering and the consummation of our initial business combination to include approximately $1.325 million in expenses, as described in more detailed under “Use of Proceeds.” These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. We may incur additional expenses in connection with this offering over and above the amounts set forth in “Use of Proceeds.” In addition, we may use the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust and loans from our sponsor to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required to identify and acquire a target business. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking due diligence investigations and negotiating an initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to pursue and consummate our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing if we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only obtain such financing simultaneously with the consummation of our initial business combination.
Controls and Procedures
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain a system of internal controls, and beginning with our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls. In addition, once we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we will be subject to the requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to have our system of internal controls audited. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the consummation of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in
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compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for a business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
• staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;
• reconciliation of accounts;
• proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;
• evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;
• documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and
• documentation of accounting policies and procedures.
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expense in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the private placement, including amounts in the trust account, will be invested in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in United States Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Related Party Transactions
Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC purchased 1,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. We effected a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split in October 2020, and, as a result, our initial holders hold 7,846,667 founder shares with an average purchase price of approximately $0.00319 per share. This number includes an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the overallotment option is not exercised by the underwriters. The initial holders and their permitted transferees have the right to require us to register their founder shares for resale as described in “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights.”
As of the date of this prospectus, we have borrowed $560 under loans and advances available to us from an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC for use in funding a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the completion of this offering.
Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NASDAQ through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay our sponsor or its affiliate a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our sponsor has committed to purchase 540,000 placement units, each unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant, each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one shares of Class A common stock, for an aggregate purchase price of $5,400,000 in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering.
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Each whole placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our common stock at $11.50 per share. The placement units, and their underlying common stock and warrants, are subject to transfer restrictions. See “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units.” Holders of placement units (and underlying securities) or their permitted transferees have the right to require us to register the placement units for resale as described in “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights.” We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. The placement warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by our sponsor or their permitted transferees. The placement warrants may also be exercised by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, for cash or on a cashless basis. Other than as stated above, the placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination and working capital expenses, our sponsor or one of its affiliates has committed to lend us up to $750,000 (in addition to the $300,000 an affiliate of our sponsor has committed to loan us to fund offering expenses before completion of our offering which will be repaid upon such completion), and may, but is not obligated to, loan us additional funds to fund our additional working capital requirements and transaction costs. If we consummate an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. If we do not consummate an initial business combination, we may use a portion of any working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts; however, no proceeds from the trust account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the loan amounts, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. Up to $1,500,000 of all loans made to us by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or our officers and directors may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender at the time of the business combination. The units would be identical to the private placement units.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of October 22, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.
JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company”, we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank 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.
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Introduction
We are a blank check company formed in October 2020 that will seek to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination, one or more businesses or assets. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to this offering. We have not identified any acquisition target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any discussions, directly or indirectly, with respect to identifying any acquisition target. We have generated no operating revenues to date and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our initial business combination.
We currently intend to concentrate our efforts on identifying businesses providing insurance or insurance related services, with particular emphasis on insurance distribution businesses, regulated insurance or reinsurance businesses, and insurance related technology businesses. We are not, however, required to complete our initial business combination with an insurance business. While we may pursue a business combination outside of that industry, we believe a focus on the insurance sector best combines the expertise and experience of our management team with a sector that offers attractive investment opportunities.
We will also seek to identify and acquire businesses which may leverage Cohen and Company’s knowledge of and experience with insurance investment strategies, which may allow us to participate in the management and development of the company beyond the consummation of the business combination. We do not intend to acquire start-up companies, companies with speculative business plans or companies that are excessively leveraged.
We broadly define the insurance sector (or insurance related services and companies) to include, but not be limited to:
• Insurance distribution companies, including retail agents, insurance brokers or managing general agencies;
• Insurance and/or reinsurance carriers, in any sector including property-casualty and life and health;
• Insurance run-off managers;
• Service providers, including claims or cost management, business processing, premium payment facilitation, data and technology providers, and asset managers; and
• InsureTech (defined below) companies, including those focused on using technology to maximize savings and efficiency, launch growth opportunities and innovate new risk selection processes.
Insurance is a significant sector within the global financial economy. The insurance sector has experienced significant changes in recent years, most notably in North America, which has led to improvements in capital efficiency, access to business and quality of risk analytics. We intend to focus on identifying target companies which, among other things, are well positioned to benefit from these developments, in part through growth opportunities or by capitalizing on Cohen & Company’s insurance investment strategies. In addition, the development of the insurance Linked Securities (“ILS”) market, challenging the dominance of traditional reinsurance companies, has improved access to a consistent supply of risk capital at lower cost. In addition, after the catastrophe events of 2017, 2018 and 2019, the available supply of ILS capital was observed to alleviate the expected increase in cost of reinsurance capital usually applied by traditional reinsurers, flattening the peaks of the previously observed market pricing cycle and thereby providing an opportunity to cut long-term operating costs of those insurance and reinsurance companies who utilize reinsurance as a significant form of contingent capital. In addition, the transfer of risk to ILS funds has provided an opportunity to generate income unrelated to underwriting risk for both insurance and reinsurance companies. The influence of ILS is now spreading beyond property catastrophe insurance to a broader range of underlying classes of insurance. Technology (“InsureTech”) is improving access to consumer and agency networks thereby improving access to business development possibilities and the retention of existing policyholders. In addition, InsureTech is significantly improving access to underwriting, risk and claims data, which has positive benefits for risk selection, pricing, claims cost control and portfolio management for those companies who can adequately adapt. Also, the technical and economic situation resulting from the Covid-19 epidemic is leading to further transformation in the insurance industry. Whilst the claim burden on some insurance
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and reinsurance companies will be substantial, his burden is concentrated in specific classes of insurance and therefore many sectors of the industry are not significantly negatively affected but will benefit from an expected general increase in insurance premiums in the upcoming period whilst the industry recoups the cost of recent claims and recalibrates the cost of risk capital. We will seek companies whose business plans are resilient, and which may benefit from the improved economics and possible M&A activity which is currently being observed. Companies in the insurance sector are also highly regulated and subject to overview from rating agencies, leading to transparency and detailed availability of data to analyze, review and monitor potential acquisition targets. We believe that those companies who have, or can be provided with, the skill and knowledge required to capitalize on the current changes occurring in the insurance market will benefit from improved operational efficiencies and underwriting performance, facilitating future growth.
We believe our management team has the skills and experience to identify, evaluate and consummate a business combination and is well positioned to assist any insurance businesses we acquire to take advantage of the opportunities described above. However, our management team’s network and investing and operating experience do not guarantee a successful initial business combination. The members of our management team are not required to devote any significant amount of time to our business and are concurrently involved with other businesses. There is no guarantee that our current officers and directors will continue in their respective roles, or in any other role, after our initial business combination, and their expertise may only be of benefit to us until our initial business combination is completed. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate.
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial 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 stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
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Business Strategy
We will seek to capitalize on the significant insurance experience and contacts of John M. Butler, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel G. Cohen, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, and the other members of our Board of Directors, to identify, evaluate, acquire and operate a target business. If we elect to pursue an investment outside of the insurance industry, as INSU I has elected to do in connection with its initial business combination, our management’s expertise related to that industry may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding that industry might not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. Our management and Board of Directors have extensive experience in the financial services industry generally, and the insurance industry in particular, as well as extensive experience in operating financial services companies and/or insurance businesses in a public company environment as managers, operators, principals, investors, advisors or directors, with extensive experience in sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, structuring and executing transactions in the insurance sector.
Cohen & Company Inc., the parent of Cohen & Company, LLC, the manager of our sponsor, managed approximately $2.63 billion as of June 30, 2020 in fixed income assets in a variety of assets classes including U.S. and European trust preferred securities, subordinated debt and corporate loans. It has experience funding small and medium-sized insurance companies in the U.S., Bermuda and Europe, with over $4.3 billion invested across 208 insurance companies from 2002 through March 31, 2020. Cohen & Company’s extensive diligence process has led to historically low rates of default on the insurance components of its managed portfolios, resulting in average annual default rates of approximately 0.34%, expected recovery rates of 22% and average annual loss rates of approximately 0.27% from 2002 through June 30, 2020.
Our Chairman served as a director of INSU I, a former blank check company which raised $150.7 million in its initial public offering in March 2019 and completed its initial business combination when it merged with affiliates of Shift Technologies, Inc. in October 2020, which we refer to as the INSU I Acquisition. See “Management — INSU I” for information regarding INSU I and the INSU I Acquisition. Our Chairman currently serves as Chairman of INSU II, a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with a primary focus in the insurance, reinsurance, or insurance related services sectors which raised $230 million in its initial public offering in September 2020. See “Management — INSU II” for information regarding INSU II. Also, our Chairman served as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech I, a former blank check company which raised $100.0 million in its initial public offering in February 2015 and completed its initial business combination when it acquired FTS Holding Corporation in July 2016, which we refer to as the FinTech I Acquisition. See “Management — FinTech I” for information regarding FinTech I and the Fintech I Acquisition. Our Chairman also served as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech II, a blank check company which raised $175.0 million in its initial public offering in January 2017 and completed its initial business combination when it acquired Intermex Holdings II in July 2018, which we refer to as the FinTech II Acquisition. See “Management — FinTech II” for information regarding FinTech II and the Fintech II Acquisition. In addition, our Chairman served as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech III, a blank check company which raised $345.0 million in its initial public offering in November 2018 and completed its initial business combination with Paya, Inc. in October 2020, which we refer to as the FinTech III Acquisition. See “Management — FinTech III” for information regarding FinTech III and the FinTech III Acquisition. Our Chairman currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech IV, a blank check company which raised $230.0 million in its initial public offering in September 2020. See “Management — FinTech IV” for information regarding FinTech IV. We believe that potential sellers of target businesses will view the fact that our Chairman has successfully closed multiple business combinations with vehicles similar to our company as a positive factor in considering whether or not to enter into a business combination with us. However, past performance by our Chairman is not a guarantee of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate.
Mr. Cohen, with over 20 years of experience in financial services and financial technology, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC, and serves as the President and Chief Executive of the European Business of Cohen and Company, Inc. (NYSE: COHN), a financial services company with approximately $2.63 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020, and as President, a director and the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen and Company Inc.’s indirect majority owned subsidiary, Cohen & Company Financial Limited (formerly known as EuroDekania Management Limited), a Financial Conduct Authority regulated investment advisor and broker dealer focusing on the European capital markets (“CCFL”). Mr. Cohen previously served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC. Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of
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Cohen and Company, Inc. from December 2009 to September 2013 and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors from October 2006 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the executive Chairman of Cohen and Company, Inc. from October 2006 to December 2009. In addition, Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC from 2001 to September 2013, as the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from October 2008 to September 2013, and as Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from December 2009 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC (formerly C&Co/PrinceRidge Partners LLC), the Company’s indirect broker dealer subsidiary (“JVB”), from July 2012 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen is also a founder, the former Chief Executive Officer and the current Chairman of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), which we refer to as Bancorp, a financial holding company with over $6.2 billion of total assets as of June 30, 2020. Bancorp’s principal subsidiary is The Bancorp Bank, a state chartered bank that provides a wide range of commercial and retail banking products and services to both regional and national markets. Mr. Cohen currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of FinTech IV (NASDAQ: FTIV). Mr. Cohen also currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of INSU II (NASDAQ: INAQ). Mr. Cohen served as Chairman of INSU I until the INSU I Acquisition, as Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of FinTech I until the FinTech I Acquisition, as Chief Executive Officer and a director of FinTech II until the FinTech II Acquisition, and as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech III until the FinTech III Acquisition. He is also a past Chief Executive Officer of RAIT Financial Trust, which we refer to as RAIT, formerly a publicly traded real estate finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry, from December 2006 when it merged with Taberna Realty Finance Trust, to February 2009, and served as a trustee from the date RAIT acquired Taberna in February 2009 until his resignation from that position in February 2010. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Operation Officer of Resource America, Inc., formerly a publicly traded asset management company with interests in energy, real estate and financial services. Mr. Cohen was also a past director of Jefferson Bank of Pennsylvania, a commercial bank and subsidiary of JeffBanks, Inc., a publicly traded bank holding company, which we refer to as JeffBanks, acquired by Hudson United Bancorp in 1999.
John M. Butler, with over 23 years of insurance experience, is our President and CEO. Mr. Butler joined Cohen & Company effective November 1, 2017, as Portfolio Manager and Head of Cohen & Company’s U.S. Insurance Asset Management Platform and Global ILS Program. Mr. Butler was President and Chief Executive officer of INSU I until the INSU I Acquisition, and he currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of INSU II, a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with a primary focus in the insurance, reinsurance, or insurance related services sectors. Previously Mr. Butler worked for Twelve Capital, a European asset manager specializing in investment in the insurance sector where he served in various senior roles including Managing Partner & Head of Investment Management. In this role, Mr. Butler oversaw the investment of principally fixed income and insurance linked securities. Prior to this, Mr. Butler worked as Senior Underwriter managing the International Catastrophe and Terrorism reinsurance portfolios of Hannover Re Bermuda Ltd., where he was responsible for managing the company’s position as a lead reinsurer particularly in European and Asia-Pacific markets. Prior to this, Mr. Butler spent seven years with the White Mountains Insurance Group, both in Dublin and Bermuda, managing the underwriting of the international non-marine treaty portfolio. Earlier in his career, Mr. Butler worked for entities in the London reinsurance market, underwriting a broad range of business lines. Since June 2020, Mr. Butler has served as Vice Chair of the Board of TCI Re, a reinsurance company headquartered in Puerto Rico, and since February 2020, he has held an advisory board position with Kovrr Inc., an Israel based insurance cyber risk analytics technology company. Mr. Butler holds an honors degree in Law from the University of London, is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of the UK, a member of the Insurance Institute of Ireland and is qualified as a Chartered Insurer.
Our board of directors has collectively over 85 years of insurance industry experience, having served in a variety of roles including as managers, operators, principals, investors, advisors, bankers or directors. Their extensive experience includes sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, structuring and executing capital transactions with private and public insurance businesses, and members of our board of directors have worked as senior insurance practitioners carrying out technical underwriting, brokerage and general management functions at a senior level within large international companies. In addition, our board of directors also has substantial experience in the management of public financial sector companies.
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We have identified the following criteria that we intend to use in evaluating business transaction opportunities. This list is not intended to be all-inclusive, and we expect that no individual criterion will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular opportunity. Further, any particular business transaction opportunity which we ultimately determine to pursue may not meet one or more of these criteria:
• Potential to Leverage our Operational Expertise. We will seek platforms where we can leverage our operational expertise in enhancing and optimizing returns for the business. Such efficiencies include more effective access to reinsurance and ILS markets and structures resulting in lower cost and more readily available capital, together with access to other forms of capital, technical expertise, investment capabilities and the development of fee generating service provision to third parties.
• Significant growth opportunities. We will seek to acquire one or more businesses which have currently underutilized opportunities for profitable growth which can be leveraged through one or more of the following: improved access to capital, development or restructuring of the balance sheet, improved asset management processes, enhanced technology and operating processes; which in turn will assist in the development of greater risk adjusted returns. We believe that our management team can leverage their expertise to create significant improvements in these areas to improve performance and strengthen competitive position.
• Ability to generate risk-free fee income. We will seek to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have a history of, or potential for, strong, stable technical insurance returns and risk-free fee income.
• Strong management team. We will seek to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have strong, experienced management teams or those that provide a platform for us to assemble an effective and experienced management team. We will focus on management teams with a proven track record of technical insurance expertise.
• Significant Ownership Transition Benefits. We will seek to acquire one or more businesses whose growth or performance could benefit significantly from the transition from private to public company ownership. Examples of such situations include businesses that are currently impeded by lack of financial resources resulting from current private ownership, transactions that can resolve current dissident shareholder issues or provide a reliable transition for management currently constrained by a lack of clarity over next generation ownership, and subsidiaries within larger international organizations which would benefit from a transition to separate ownership.
Competitive Strengths
We believe we have the following competitive strengths:
• Management Operating, Investing and Transaction Sourcing Experience. Our directors and executive officers have significant insurance sector, and M&A and public company operating experience. John M. Butler has over 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry, as an executive of international reinsurance companies and within the insurance focused asset management arena. Daniel G. Cohen, with over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, is a founder of Bancorp, the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of an investment bank and is an officer and director of a broker-dealer subsidiary of the investment bank. Our board of directors has over years’ of collective experience in the insurance industry, including in senior operational roles in underwriting, banking, advisory roles, and merchant banking specializing in structuring capital transactions for small and mid-market insurers. We believe that this breadth of experience provides us with in-depth industry, investing, financing and M&A knowledge, sources of propriety deal flow, and a network of third party relationships that all provide a competitive advantage in sourcing and evaluating businesses and acquisition opportunities in our target industry.
• Strong Financial Position and Flexibility. With a trust account initially in the amount of $200,000,000 and a public market for our common stock, we offer a target business a variety of options to facilitate a future business transaction and fund the growth and expansion of business operations. Because we are able to consummate an initial business transaction using our capital stock, debt, cash or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to design an acquisition structure to address the
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needs of the parties. We have not, however, taken any steps to secure third party financing and expect to do so only in connection with the consummation of our initial business transaction. Accordingly, our flexibility in structuring an initial business transaction may be constrained by our ability to arrange third-party financing, if required.
• Status as a Public Company. We believe our structure will make us an attractive business transaction partner to prospective target businesses. As an existing public company, we will offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business transaction with us. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our capital stock. Once public, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it could as a private company. We believe that being a public company can also augment a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid it in attracting and retaining talented employees.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations following this offering until our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination.
If we pay for our initial business combination using stock or debt securities, or we do not use all of the funds released from the trust account for payment of the purchase price in connection with our business combination or for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of acquired businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in consummating our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We have not identified any acquisition target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any discussions, with respect to identifying any acquisition target. From the period prior to our formation through the date of this prospectus, there have been no communications or discussions between any of our officers, directors or our sponsor and any of their contacts or relationships regarding a potential initial business combination. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business. Also, we have not contacted any of the prospective target businesses that INSU I, INSU II, FinTech I, FinTech II, FinTech III or FinTech IV had considered and rejected while such entities were searching for target businesses to acquire. However, we may contact such targets subsequent to the closing of this offering if we become aware that such targets are interested in a potential initial business combination with us and such transaction would be attractive to our stockholders. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
Nasdaq rules require that our initial business combination be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. However, if our securities are not listed on Nasdaq or another securities exchange, we will no longer be subject to that requirement.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities to finance our initial business combination, and we may effectuate an initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would consummate such financing only simultaneously with the consummation of our initial business
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combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law or Nasdaq, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Sources of Acquisition Candidates
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, venture capital funds, private equity funds, leveraged buyout funds, management buyout funds, brokers and other members of the financial community and corporate executives. These target candidates may present solicited or unsolicited proposals. We expect such sources to become aware that we are seeking a business combination candidate by a variety of means, including publicly available information relating to this offering, public relations and marketing efforts or direct contact by management following the completion of this offering.
Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their contacts. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only if our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will we pay our sponsor or any of our officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is), other than (i) repayment of loans made to us prior to the date of this prospectus by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC to cover offering-relating and organization expenses, (ii) repayment of loans that our sponsor or one of its affiliates may make to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination (provided that if we do not consummate an initial business combination, we may use 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), (iii) payments to our sponsor or its affiliate of a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services, (iv) at the closing of our initial business combination, a customary advisory fee to an affiliate of our sponsor, in an amount that constitutes a market standard advisory fee for comparable transactions and services provided; and (v) to reimburse our sponsor, officers or directors for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. None of the initial holders, our officers, our directors or any entity with which they are affiliated will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective acquisition target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us. Although some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the acquired business following our initial business combination, the presence or absence of any such arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates. Additionally, we are not prohibited from partnering, submitting joint bids, or entering into any similar transaction with such persons in the pursuit of an initial business combination. If we seek to complete an initial business combination with such a company or we partner with such persons in our pursuit of an initial business combination, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. Generally, such opinion is rendered to a company’s board of directors and investment banking firms may take the view that stockholders may not rely on the opinion. Such view will not impact our decision on which investment banking firm to hire.
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Unless we consummate our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain a financial fairness opinion from an independent investment banking firm. If we do not obtain such an opinion, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value and fairness based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. The application of such standards would involve a comparison, from a valuation standpoint, of our business combination target to comparable public companies, as applicable, and a comparison of our contemplated transaction with such business combination target to other then-recently announced comparable private and public company transactions, as applicable. The application of such standards and the basis of our board of directors’ determination will be discussed and disclosed in our tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination. As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
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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.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period of time after consummation of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By consummating a 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 intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating a target business, our assessment of the target business’ 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. The future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have 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.
Stockholders may not have the ability to approve a business combination
We may not seek stockholder approval before we effect our initial business combination as not all business combinations require stockholder approval under applicable state law. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or Nasdaq, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. Presented in the table below is a table of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction |
Whether |
|
Purchase of assets |
No |
|
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company |
No |
|
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company |
No |
|
Merger of the company with a target |
Yes |
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So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
• we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding (other than in a public offering);
• any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or
• the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
Permitted purchases of our securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers or their respective affiliates may purchase public securities in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the consummation of our initial business combination, although as of the date of this prospectus (apart from the purchase of the placement units) they have no commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions. If they do effect such purchases, we anticipate that they would approach a limited number of large holders of our securities that have voted against the business combination or sought redemption of their shares, or that have indicated an intention to do so, and engage in direct negotiations for the purchase of such holders’ positions. All holders approached in this manner would be institutional or sophisticated holders. There is no limit on the number of shares they may acquire. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or during a restricted period under Regulation M under the Exchange Act or in transactions that would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10(b)-5 under the Exchange Act. Although they do not currently anticipate paying any premium purchase price for such public shares, there is no limit on the price they may pay. They may also enter into transactions to provide such holders with incentives to acquire shares or vote their shares in favor of an initial business combination. No funds in the trust account may be used to effect purchases of public securities in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
The purpose of such purchases of public shares would be to (i) increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of the business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. This may result in the consummation of a business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
As a consequence of any such purchases by our initial holders, directors, officers or their affiliates, the public “float” of our common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to obtain the continued listing of our securities on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange in connection with our initial business combination.
Our initial holders, officers, directors and/or their respective affiliates anticipate that they will identify the public stockholders with whom they may pursue privately negotiated purchases through either direct contact by the public stockholders or by our receipt of redemption requests or votes against the business combination submitted by such public stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. The sellers of any shares so purchased by our initial holders, officers, advisors, directors and/or their affiliates would, as part of the sale arrangement, revoke their election to redeem such shares and withdraw their vote against the business combination. The terms of such purchases would operate to facilitate our ability to consummate a proposed business combination by potentially reducing the number of shares redeemed for cash.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and
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Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon consummation of our initial business combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including any amounts representing deferred underwriting commissions and interest earned on the trust account (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account initially will be $10.00 per public share. There will be no redemption rights upon the consummation of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. The initial holders, our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. The initial holders and our directors and officers have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the 24 month period. However, the initial holders and our directors and officers will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 24 month period.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement.
We currently intend to conduct redemptions pursuant to a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of the proposed business combination, and
• file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to consummating our initial business combination that will 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 shares of our Class A common stock 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 stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules), or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or Nasdaq, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will:
• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and
• file proxy materials with the SEC.
We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares, placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 27.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,306,667, or 31.5%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination after payment of deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not then subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules), and, in any event, the terms of the proposed business combination may require our net tangible assets to be greater than $5,000,001. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or members of its management team, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the allocation of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. If the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly tendered plus the amount of any cash payments required pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available to us, taking into consideration the requirement that we maintain net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 or such greater amount depending on the terms of our potential business combination, we will not consummate the business combination and any shares of Class A common stock tendered pursuant to the tender offer will be returned to the holders thereof following the expiration of the tender offer.
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Limitation on redemption upon consummation of a business combination if we seek stockholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to an aggregate of more than 20.0% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20.0% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 20.0% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 20.0% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering stock certificates in connection with redemption rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, 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, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that any beneficial owner on whose behalf a redemption right is being exercised must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the initial 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 exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $100.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him to deliver his certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the consummation of the business combination during which he could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he could sell his shares in the open market before actually delivering his shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the consummation of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
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Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivers 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 an initial business combination.
If the initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our proposed initial business combination is not consummated, we may continue to try to consummate a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option).
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the 24 month period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up our affairs. If we have not consummated a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem all public shares then outstanding at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (net of taxes payable) and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such completion window.
The initial holders, our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. The initial holders and our officers and directors have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the 24 month period. However, the initial holders and our officers and directors will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination within the 24 month period.
The representative has agreed to waive its rights to deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account if we do not consummate a business combination and subsequently liquidate and, in such event, the deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares.
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Our initial stockholders, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets 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 (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We will pay the costs of any liquidation from the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust, and up to $100,000 of the interest income on the trust account (net of any taxes payable) which may be released to us, and the balance of loans from our sponsor or one of its affiliates for working capital purposes and to pay expenses to identify an acquisition target and consummate an initial business combination up to a maximum of $750,000, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purposes. If such funds are insufficient, Cohen & Company, LLC, the manager of our sponsor, has agreed to pay the balance of liquidation expenses and has agreed not to seek repayment for such amounts.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the private placement, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be less than the $10.00 per public share initially on deposit in the trust account. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. If we do not obtain a waiver from a third party, we will obtain the written consent of our sponsor before our entering into an agreement with such third party. 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 and where our sponsor executes a written consent. 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, pursuant to a written agreement, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC, the manager of 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, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a definitive transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below $10.00 per share, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities,
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including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We cannot assure you, however, that Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not independently verified whether Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, we have not asked it to reserve for such obligations and we believe that its only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will be able to satisfy those obligations. We believe the likelihood of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all third parties that provide products or services to us and prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.
If the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below $10.00 per public share and Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III asserts that it is unable to satisfy any applicable obligations or that he has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III 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 a 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 have access to the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust, any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, and the commitment of our sponsor or one of its affiliates to loan us up to $750,000 with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation). If we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. If our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $825,000, we may fund such excess with the net proceeds from this offering and the private placement held out of trust. Conversely, if the offering expenses are less than our estimate, the balance will be used for post-closing working capital.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares if we do not consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering may be considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) is not considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidation distribution. If we have not consummated a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), or earlier at the discretion of our board, 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 all public shares then outstanding at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following
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such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 24th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account.
As a result of this obligation and Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III’s indemnification of the trust account against certain claims as previously described in this section, we believe that the claims that could be made against us will be significantly limited and that the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below $10.00 per public share, and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the consummation of the initial business combination. Also, our management may cease to pursue a business combination prior to the expiration of the 24 month period (our board of directors may determine to liquidate the trust account prior to such expiration if it determines, in its business judgment, that it is improbable within the remaining time to identify an attractive business combination or satisfy regulatory and other business and legal requirements to consummate a business combination). In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above.
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Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to consummate a business combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination and if we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option).
Redemptions in Connection |
Other Permitted Purchases |
Redemptions if we fail to |
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Calculation of redemption price |
Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including any amounts representing deferred underwriting commissions and interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us for the payment of taxes or dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. |
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our affiliates may enter into privately negotiated transactions to purchase public shares from stockholders. There is no limit to the prices that our initial stockholders, directors, officers or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. |
If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including any amounts representing deferred underwriting commissions and interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
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Redemptions in Connection |
Other Permitted Purchases |
Redemptions if we fail to |
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Impact to remaining stockholders |
The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and franchise and income taxes payable. |
None. |
The redemption of our public shares if we fail to consummate a business combination will reduce the book value per share for the founder shares and the placement shares held by our initial stockholders, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their overallotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Escrow of offering proceeds |
$200.0 million of the net proceeds ($230.0 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) of this offering and the private placement, which includes $8.0 million in deferred underwriting commissions ($9.8 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), will be deposited into a trust account in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. |
Approximately $169,200,00 million of the offering proceeds (approximately $194,580,000 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), representing the gross proceeds of this offering, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. |
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Investment of net proceeds |
$200.0 million of the net proceeds ($230.0 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) of this offering and the private placement, which includes $8.0 million in deferred underwriting commissions ($9.8 million if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) held in trust will be invested only in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in United States Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. |
Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Receipt of interest on funds in trust account |
We will be entitled to withdraw interest income earned on the funds in the trust account to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses. Our stockholders will have no right to receive any pro-rata portion of interest income earned on the proceeds held in the trust account released to us. |
Interest on funds in the escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our consummation of a business combination. |
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Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business |
So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. |
The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. |
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Trading of securities issued |
We expect the units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless , acting as representative of the underwriters, informs us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described under “Description of Securities — Units” and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the completion of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the overallotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the overallotment option. |
No trading of the units or the underlying Class A common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
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Exercise of the warrants |
The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the consummation of our initial business combination or 12 months from the completion of this offering. |
The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Election to remain an investor |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including any amounts representing deferred underwriting commissions and interest earned on the trust account (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a stockholder vote. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. 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. If, however, we hold a stockholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. |
A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of not less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a stockholder of the company or requires the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account would be automatically returned to the stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. |
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Business combination deadline |
If we are unable to complete a business combination within 24 months from completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), 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 any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. |
If an acquisition has not been consummated within 24 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a stockholder vote |
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder (including our affiliates), together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering). Our public stockholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell any Excess Shares in open market transactions. |
Many blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of stockholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such stockholders in connection with an initial business combination. |
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Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights |
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from 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 vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. |
In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Release of funds |
Except for interest income earned on the trust account balance, which will be released to us to pay our taxes or to pay dissolution expenses (up to $100,000), none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earlier of (i) the consummation of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering, subject to applicable law; or (iii) otherwise upon our liquidation or in the event our board of directors resolves to liquidate the trust account and ceases to pursue the consummation of a business combination prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. |
The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
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 and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash to our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for an initial business combination. In addition, the number of 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.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2870. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $20,000 per month fee we will pay to our sponsor or its affiliate for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our affairs but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will 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 consummation of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
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Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our business combination.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with GAAP, 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 targets we may conduct an initial business combination with 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 above requirements or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the above requirements. 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 will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this 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 common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.
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Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers
Our directors, director nominees and executive officers are as follows:
Name |
Age |
Title |
||
Daniel G. Cohen |
51 |
Chairman of the Board |
||
John M. Butler |
44 |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
||
Joseph W. Pooler, Jr. |
55 |
Chief Financial Officer |
||
John C. Chrystal |
62 |
Director nominee |
||
Sasson Posner |
57 |
Director nominee |
||
Sheila Nicoll |
65 |
Director nominee |
||
Walter T. Beach |
54 |
Director nominee |
Daniel G. Cohen has served as our Chairman of the Board since October 2020, and as the Chairman of the Board of INSU II (NASDAQ: INAQ) since January 2019. Previously, he served as the Chairman of the Board of INSU I from December 2018 to October 2020. Since February 2018, Mr. Cohen has served as the Chairman of the board of directors and of the board of managers of Cohen & Company, LLC, and has, since September 2013, served as the President and Chief Executive of the European Business of Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSE: COHN), a financial services company with approximately $2.63 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020, and as President, a director and the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen & Company Inc.’s indirect majority owned subsidiary, Cohen & Company Financial Limited (formerly known as EuroDekania Management Limited), a Financial Conduct Authority regulated investment advisor and broker dealer focusing on the European capital markets (“CCFL”). Mr. Cohen served as Vice Chairman of the board of directors and of the board of managers of Cohen & Company, LLC from September 2013 to February 2018. Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Cohen & Company Inc. from December 2009 to September 2013 and as the Chairman of the board of directors from October 2006 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the executive Chairman of Cohen & Company Inc. from October 2006 to December 2009. In addition, Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman of the board of managers of Cohen & Company, LLC from 2001 to September 2013, as the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from October 2008 to September 2013, and as Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from December 2009 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC (formerly C&Co/PrinceRidge Partners LLC), Cohen & Company Inc.’s indirect broker dealer subsidiary (“JVB”), from July 2012 to September 2013. He has been the Chairman of The Bancorp Inc. (“Bancorp”) (NASDAQ: TBBK) and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Bancorp’s board of directors since its inception in 1999. Mr. Cohen is Vice-Chairman of Bancorp Bank’s board of directors and Chairman of its Executive Committee. He had previously been Chairman of Bancorp Bank’s board of directors from September 2000 to November 2003 and, from July 2000 to September 2000, had been Bancorp Bank’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Cohen has served as the Chief Executive Officer of FinTech Acquisition Corp. IV (NASDAQ: FTIV) since March 2017. Mr. Cohen previously served as a director and Chief Executive Officer of FinTech Acquisition Corp. II from May 2015 until July 2018 and as Chief Executive Officer of FinTech Acquisition Corp. III from March 2017 to October 2020. He previously served as a director of FinTech Acquisition Corp. I from November 2013 until July 2016, as FinTech I’s President and Chief Executive Officer from August 2014 until July 2016, and as FinTech I’s Executive Vice President from July 2014 through August 2014. He also previously served as Chief Executive Officer of RAIT Financial Trust (“RAIT”) from December 2006, when it merged with Taberna Realty Finance Trust (“Taberna”), to February 2009, and served as a trustee from the date RAIT acquired Taberna until his resignation from that position in February 2010. Mr. Cohen was Chairman of the board of trustees of Taberna from its inception in March 2005 until its December 2006 acquisition by RAIT, and its Chief Executive Officer from March 2005 to December 2006. Mr. Cohen served as a director of Star Asia, a joint venture investing in Asian commercial real estate, from February 2007 to February 2014 and as a director of Muni Funding Company of America, LLC, a company investing in middle-market non-profit organizations, from April 2007 to June 2011. Mr. Cohen is a member of the Academy of the University of Pennsylvania, a member of the Visiting Committees for the Humanities and a member of the Paris Center of the University of Chicago. Mr. Cohen is also a Trustee of the List College Board of the Jewish Theological Seminary, a member of the board of the Columbia Global Center in Paris, a Trustee of the Paideia Institute and a Trustee of the Arete Foundation. Our
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board has determined that Mr. Cohen’s extensive experience in the financial services industry generally, as well as extensive experience in operating financial services companies in a public company environment, qualifies him to serve as a member of our board of directors.
John M. Butler has been our Chief Executive Officer and President since October 2020, and President and Chief Executive Officer of INSU II since January 2019. Mr. Butler previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President of INSU I from March 2018 to October 2020. Since October 2017, Mr. Butler has served as Head of U.S. Insurance Debt Strategy and Global ILS Platform for Cohen & Company LLC. Before that, from October 2012 to October 2017, Mr. Butler worked for Twelve Capital AG, a European asset manager specializing in investment in the insurance sector, where he served in various roles including Managing Partner & Head of Investment Management. From January 2010 to September 2012, Mr. Butler worked as Senior Underwriter managing the International Catastrophe and Terrorism reinsurance portfolios of Hannover Re Bermuda Ltd, a reinsurance company, and before that, from August 2002 to October 2009, he served in various roles with White Mountains Re, a reinsurance company. Mr. Butler began his career in 1997 as a Marine Underwriting Assistant at The Imperial Fire & Marine Re-Insurance Company. On a non-executive basis, since June 2020, Mr. Butler has served as Vice Chair of the Board of TCI Re, a reinsurance company headquartered in Puerto Rico, and since February 2020, he has held an advisory board position with Kovrr Inc., an Israel based insurance cyber risk analytics technology company. Mr. Butler holds an honors degree in Law from the University of London, is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of the UK, a member of the Insurance Institute of Ireland and is qualified as a Chartered Insurer.
Joseph W. Pooler, Jr., has served as our Chief Financial Officer since October 2020, and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of INSU II since July 2020. Mr Pooler previously served as Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer of INSU I from March 2018 to October 2020. He has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Cohen & Company Inc. since December 2009, as Cohen & Company, LLC’s Chief Financial Officer since November 2007 and as Chief Administrative Officer since May 2007. From July 2006 to November 2007, Mr. Pooler also served as Senior Vice President of Finance of Cohen & Company, LLC. From November 2007 to March 2009, Mr. Pooler also served as Chief Financial Officer of Muni Funding Company of America, LLC, a company investing in middle-market non-profit organizations. Prior to joining Cohen & Company, LLC, from 1999 to 2005, Mr. Pooler held key management positions at Pegasus Communications Corporation (now known as The Pegasus Companies, Inc. (OTC: PEGX)), which operated in the direct broadcast satellite television and broadcast television station segments. While at Pegasus, Mr. Pooler held various positions including Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Pooler held various management positions with MEDIQ, Incorporated, including Corporate Controller, Director of Operations and Director of Sales Support.
John C. Chrystal will serve as a director upon the completion of this offering and has served as a director of INSU II since September 2020. Mr. Chrystal previously served as a director of INSU I from March 2018 to October 2020. He has served as a director of The Bancorp, Inc. and the Bancorp Bank since 2013, and he previously served as Interim Chief Executive Officer of The Bancorp, Inc., and President of the Bancorp Bank, from January 2016 to June 2016. Mr. Chrystal has served as an independent director of MoneyLion, Inc. (a privately held financial wellness and consumer lending platform) since November 2016; an independent director of Regatta Loan Management LLC (a privately held, SEC-registered Investment Adviser) since 2015; and an independent director of the Trust for Advised Portfolios (a mutual fund series trust focused on multiple asset classes) since 2010. Mr. Chrystal was an independent director of Morgan Stanley Derivative Products, Inc. (an entity providing credit enhancement for select derivative transactions) from 2010 to 2017. Mr. Chrystal was an independent director of Javelin Mortgage Investments, Inc. (a mortgage real estate investment trust) from 2012 through its sale in 2016. From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Chrystal was a Managing Member of Bent Gate Advisors, LLC (a firm providing strategic advice to financial institutions); from 2005 through 2008 was the Chief Risk Officer of DiMaio Ahmad Capital (an investment management firm focused on corporate credit markets) and from 1993 to 2005 was a Managing Director with multiple Credit Suisse entities, with oversight of asset management and financial product functions. Our board has determined that Mr. Chrystal’s extensive experience in the financial services industry generally, as well as extensive experience in operating financial services companies in a public company environment, qualifies him to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Sasson Posner will serve as a director upon the completion of this offering and has served as a director of INSU II since September 2020. Mr. Posner previously served as a director of INSU I from July 2018 to October 2020. Since April 2016, Mr. Posner has been a managing director at Young America Capital, a broker/dealer,
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and an advisor for Extraordinary Re, a startup (re)insurance risk trading platform. Since December 2017 Mr. Posner served as senior advisor for Teneo Cobbs Allen, a joint venture between Teneo, a global CEO advisory firm, and Cobbs Allen, a risk management firm, providing alternative risk financing services, and insurance advisory and brokerage services to its corporate clients. Prior to that, from February 2012 to February 2016, Mr. Posner was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank in the Pension & Insurance Risk Markets group, and from March 2006 to February 2012, a Senior VP mostly, with the Structured Sales team. Prior to Deutsche Bank, from 2003 to 2006, Mr. Posner was a Senior VP at Willis Re’s Capital Markets group, the reinsurance division of Willis Group, the predecessor of Willis Towers Watson, an advisory and brokering company. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Posner was at Lehman Brothers/Lehman Risk Advisors where he was a Senior VP and originated and structured insurance related opportunities for Lehman Re, a Bermudian reinsurer wholly owned by Lehman Brothers. From 1995 to 1998, prior to Lehman Brothers, and upon graduating from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Mr. Posner began his reinsurance career as reinsurance underwriter at Centre Re, a finite reinsurance company. Our board has determined that Mr. Posner’s extensive experience in the financial services industry generally, and the (re)insurance industry in particular, qualifies him to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Sheila Nicoll will serve as a director upon the completion of this offering and has served as a director of INSU II since September 2020. Ms. Nicoll has over 40 years of experience in the insurance/reinsurance industry, of which the last 12 have been with the Bermuda operations of the Sirius International Insurance Group (Nasdaq: SG), including serving as Chief Operating Officer for Sirius Bermuda Insurance Company since September 2016. Prior to joining Sirius she was the President of Olympus Reinsurance Company Ltd. from its formation in December 2001 until it went into run-off in 2008. Her career has included working in the London market as a Lloyd’s broker, in New York providing run-off services and in Bermuda as a senior broker for Johnson & Higgins and then Marsh & McLennan when it acquired J&H. Since September 2010, she has also served as Chairman of Argus Group Holdings Limited, an insurance and financial services company listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange, and serves as a member of the Risk Committee and the People, Compensation & Governance Committee. Ms. Nicoll is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Insurance (FCII) and holds an MA in Chemistry from Oxford University. Our board has determined that Ms. Nicoll’s decades of experience in the insurance and reinsurance industries makes her a valuable addition to the board of directors.
Walter T. Beach will serve as a director upon the completion of this offering. Mr. Beach has served as Managing Director of Beach Investment Counsel, Inc., an investment management firm, since 1997. Previously, from 1993 to 1997, Mr. Beach was a Senior Analyst and Director of Research at Widmann, Siff and Co., Inc., an investment management firm where, beginning in 1994, he was responsible for the firm’s investment decisions for its principal equity product. Before that, he was an associate and financial analyst at Essex Financial Group, a consulting and merchant banking firm, and an analyst at Industry Analysis Group, an industry and economic consulting firm. Mr. Beach has been a director of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK) and its subsidiary, The Bancorp Bank, since 1999. He also currently serves on the board of directors of IG Wines, a an internationally focused company in the fine wines and spirits’ trade. From 2005 to 2020, Mr. Beach served as a director of Exantas Capital Corp. (formerly Resource Capital Corp.) (NYSE: XAN), a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Mr. Beach also served on the board of directors of FinTech I from November 2014 until July 2016, and also served on the board of directors of FinTech II from May 2015 until its July 2018 merger with International Money Express, Inc. Mr. Beach also served as a director of Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. and its predecessor, Cohen & Company, a publicly traded financial services company specializing in credit related fixed income investments, from December 2009 to 2013. Our board has determined that Mr. Beach’s experience in the financial services industry and capital markets qualifies him to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors is divided into two classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a two-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of, Daniel G. Cohen and Sasson Posner, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of John Chrystal, Sheila Nicoll and Walter Beach, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. Collectively, through their positions described above, our officers and directors have extensive experience in public companies and in the insurance industry. These individuals will play a key role in identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, selecting the target businesses, and structuring, negotiating and consummating their acquisition.
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Director Independence
Nasdaq rules require that a majority of the board of directors of a company listed on Nasdaq must be composed of “independent directors.” An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship, which, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. We have determined that John Chrystal, Sasson Posner, Walter Beach and Sheila Nicoll are independent directors under the Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered. No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the consummation of an initial business combination other than (i) repayment of loans made to us prior to the date of this prospectus by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC to cover offering-relating and organization expenses, (ii) repayment of loans that our sponsor or one of its affiliates may make to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination up to a maximum of $750,000 (provided that if we do not consummate an initial business combination, we may use 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), (iii) payments to our sponsor or its affiliate of a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services, (iv) at the closing of our initial business combination, a customary advisory fee to an affiliate of our sponsor, in an amount that constitutes a market standard advisory fee for comparable transactions and services provided; and (v) to reimburse for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Prior to the appointment of our audit committee, our independent directors must approve all payments in excess of $5,000 to any initial holder, sponsor, our directors and officers or our or their affiliates. Following the appointment of an audit committee, the audit committee will approve such payments.
After the consummation of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain in one of those capacities may be paid director, consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee consisting solely of independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after the initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business although we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of an 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.
Board Committees
Audit Committee
Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq and Section 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Upon or prior to the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors, which will consist of John Chrystal, Sasson Posner, and Walter Beach. Each of Messrs. Chrystal, Posner and Beach meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq’s listing standards and under Rule 10A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act. John Chrystal will serve as Chairman of our audit committee.
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The audit committee’s duties, which are specified in our Audit Committee Charter, include, but are not limited to:
• reviewing and discussing with management and the independent auditor our annual audited financial statements, and recommending to the board whether the audited financial statements should be included in our Form 10-K;
• discussing with management and the independent auditor significant financial reporting issues and judgments made in connection with the preparation of our financial statements;
• discussing with management major risk assessment and risk management policies;
• monitoring the independence of the independent auditor;
• 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;
• reviewing and approving all related-party transactions;
• 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 auditor, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed;
• appointing or replacing the independent auditor;
• determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (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; and
• approving reimbursement of expenses incurred by our management team in identifying potential target businesses.
Financial Expert on Audit Committee
The audit committee will at all times be composed exclusively of independent directors who are “financially literate” as defined under Nasdaq’s listing standards. The Nasdaq listing standards define “financially literate” as being able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company’s balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement.
In addition, we must certify to the Nasdaq Capital Market that the committee has, and will continue to have, at least one member who has past employment experience in finance or accounting, requisite professional certification in accounting, or other comparable experience or background that results in the individual’s financial sophistication. We have determined that Mr. Chrystal satisfies Nasdaq’s definition of financial sophistication and also qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined under rules and regulations of the SEC.
Compensation Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. The members of our Compensation Committee will be Sasson Posner and Walter Beach. Sasson Posner will serve as chairman of the compensation committee. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
• 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’s based on such evaluation;
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• reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other executive officers;
• reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;
• implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
• assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
• approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees;
• producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement;
• reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors; and
• monitoring compliance with the requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act relating to loans to directors and officers, and with all other applicable laws affecting employee compensation and benefits.
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Code of Conduct and Ethics
Effective upon completion of this offering, we will adopt a code of conduct and ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees in accordance with applicable federal securities laws.
Other Board Committees
Our board of directors intends to establish a nominating committee upon consummation of our initial business combination. At that time, our board of directors intends to adopt a charter for this committee. Prior to such time, our independent directors will address any nominations process, as required by Nasdaq.
Conflicts of Interest
In general, officers and directors of a Delaware corporation are required to present business opportunities to the corporation if:
• the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;
• the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and
• it would not be fair to the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, however, that the doctrine of corporate opportunity, or any other analogous doctrine, will not apply to us or any of our officers or directors or in circumstances that would conflict with any current or future fiduciary duties or contractual obligations.
Accordingly, 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 pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present the opportunity to such entity prior to presenting the opportunity to us or, if he or she is subject to a non-compete obligation that includes business opportunities, he or she may be prohibited from referring such opportunity to us. Below is a table summarizing the companies to which our officers and directors
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owe fiduciary obligations that could conflict with their fiduciary obligations to us, all of which may have to (i) be presented appropriate potential target businesses by our officers or directors, and (ii) reject the opportunity to acquire such potential target business, before the opportunity may be presented to us:
Individual |
Entity |
Affiliation |
||
Daniel G. Cohen |
The Bancorp, Inc. Cohen & Company, Inc. J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC FinTech Acquisition Corp. IV INSU Acquisition Corp. II |
Chairman Chairman Affiliate Chief Executive Officer Chairman |
||
John C. Chrystal |
The Bancorp, Inc. |
Director |
||
John M. Butler |
Cohen & Company, Inc. |
Head of U.S. Insurance Debt Strategy and Global ILS Platform of Cohen & Company LLC |
||
Joseph W. Pooler, Jr. |
Cohen & Company, Inc. |
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Cohen & Company LLC |
||
Sasson Posner |
Young America Capital |
Managing Director |
||
Sheila Nicoll |
Sirius Bermuda Insurance Company |
Chief Operating Officer |
||
Walter Beach |
The Bancorp, Inc. |
Director |
Each of Messrs. Cohen, Beach and Chrystal is a director of Bancorp, a financial holding company, and its subsidiary bank, Bancorp Bank, which provide banking and other financial services, including prepaid and debit cards, private label banking, healthcare accounts and merchant card processing. As such, each of them is required to present corporate opportunities relating to the current business of Bancorp and Bancorp Bank, as well as businesses that may be undertaken by a financial holding company under federal banking law, prior to presenting them to us.
Mr. Cohen is also an executive of FinTech IV and an executive and/or director of Cohen & Company, a financial services company specializing in credit-related fixed income investments, including fixed income sales, trading and financing, and management of fixed income assets. In addition, each of Messrs. Butler and Pooler is an executive of Cohen & Company and/or one or more of its subsidiaries. As such, each of Messrs. Cohen, Butler and Pooler is obligated to present corporate opportunities relating to such businesses to the respective companies prior to presenting those opportunities to us.
Messrs. Cohen, Beach and Chrystal are affiliated with Bancorp and Messrs. Cohen, Butler and Pooler are affiliated with Cohen & Company. These relationships may influence the roles taken by our officers and directors with respect to us. In particular, one of our directors or officers may be less likely to object to a course of action with respect to our activities because it may jeopardize his or her relationships with the others.
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We do not believe that any of the foregoing pre-existing fiduciary duties will materially affect our ability to consummate our initial business combination.
Mr. Cohen manages several investment vehicles. Mr. Cohen or his affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these vehicles decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated by Mr. Cohen may be suitable for both us and for a Cohen investment vehicle and may be directed to Mr. Cohen or such investment vehicle rather than to us. Neither Mr. Cohen nor members of our management team who are also employed by certain affiliates of Mr. Cohen have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member solely in his or her capacity as an officer of the company. Mr. Cohen and/or our management, in their capacities as employees of Cohen affiliates or in their other endeavors, may be required to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future Cohen investment vehicles, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.
Each of our sponsor, officers and directors may become involved with subsequent blank check companies similar to our company. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. In particular, an affiliate of our sponsor is currently sponsoring other blank check companies, such as FinTech IV and INSU II, each of which is seeking to complete a business combination. Several of our officers and directors are officers and/or directors of INSU II. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
• None of our officers and directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.
• Each of the holders of the founder shares and placement units has agreed that his, her or its founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, will be subject to transfer restrictions and that he, she or it will not sell or transfer such shares until the applicable forfeiture provisions no longer apply. Holders of founder shares and placement shares have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within the 24 months period or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. The initial holders have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the 24 month period. However, our initial holders will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 24 month period. To the extent our holders of founder shares or placement shares transfer any of these securities to certain permitted transferees, such permitted transferees will agree, as a condition to such transfer, to waive these same redemption rights. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such 24 month period, the portion of the proceeds of the sale of the placement units placed into the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares, placement shares or placement warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months of the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option). Except as described under “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units”, the founder shares, placement units and their underlying securities will not be transferable, assignable or salable.
• Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
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• Our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. However, we do not believe that any potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with holders of founder shares, our officers or directors or their affiliates. Additionally, we are not prohibited from partnering, submitting joint bids, or entering into any similar transaction with holders of founder shares, our officers or directors and their affiliates, in the pursuit of an initial business combination. The interests of our partners in any such transaction may differ materially from ours. If we seek to complete an initial business combination with such a company or we partner with such related persons in our pursuit of an initial business combination, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. Furthermore, in no event will these related persons be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination other than (i) repayment of loans made to us prior to the date of this prospectus by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC to cover offering-related and organization expenses, (ii) repayment of any incremental loans which our sponsor or one of its affiliates may make to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination up to a maximum of $750,000 (provided that if we do not consummate an initial business combination, we may use 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) and (iii) at the closing of our initial business combination, a customary advisory fee to an affiliate of our sponsor, in an amount that constitutes a market standard advisory fee for comparable transactions and services provided. Commencing on the date our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we will pay an amount equal to $20,000 per month to our sponsor or its affiliate for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor. For a discussion of our policies and procedures relating to related party transactions, see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Policy.”
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor and each of our initial stockholders has agreed to vote their founder shares, placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. Our sponsor and the other initial holders will own, upon completion of this offering and the private placement and assuming they buy no shares in this offering (which they have indicated they do not intend to do), a total of 7,386,667 shares of Class B common stock and placement shares, or 8,386,667 shares of Class B common stock and placement shares if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full, representing 27.0% and 26.7%, respectively, of our then-outstanding shares. Accordingly, 6,306,667 public shares (7,306,667 public shares if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) constituting 31.5% (31.8% if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) of outstanding public shares must be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order for it to be approved.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by applicable Delaware law. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such exemption from liability is not permitted under the DGCL.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated bylaws. Our amended and restated bylaws also will permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We will purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
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These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
FinTech I
Mr. Cohen served as an executive officer and director of FinTech I. FinTech I, a former blank check company, raised $100.0 million in its initial public offering in February 2015 at an initial public offering price of $10.00 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald served as the underwriter of FinTech I’s initial public offering. On July 29, 2016, FinTech I completed its initial business combination when it acquired FTS Holding Corporation, or FTS, a provider of payment processing solutions to merchants throughout the United States.
Under the terms of the acquisition, the shareholders of FTS received $179.1 million in cash and 15,162,470 shares of FinTech I common stock. Outstanding options to purchase FTS common stock were converted into options to purchase 3,463,950 shares of FinTech I common stock. The cash portion of the acquisition consideration was financed through the issuance of $100.0 million of first lien debt, $40.0 million of second lien debt, the issuance of 1.5 million shares of Series A preferred stock and 480,544 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $37.5 million, and the issuance of 467,647 shares of common stock for a purchase price of $4.7 million. A portion of the cash consideration was used to refinance the approximately $62 million in principal and interest outstanding at the acquisition closing under FTS’s then existing revolving credit facility. Following the acquisition, the combined company had a substantial amount of indebtedness, which consisted of an aggregate of $140.0 million outstanding under the new first and second lien credit facilities.
Following the acquisition, the former FTS stockholders held approximately 54.6% of FinTech I common stock, while pre-acquisition FinTech I stockholders held approximately 43.6%, and the equity investor held approximately 1.7%, of FinTech I common stock. Upon the closing of the acquisition, the pre-acquisition executive officers of FinTech I resigned and were replaced by the executive officers of FTS and, the pre-acquisition directors of FinTech I resigned, except for Mrs. Cohen who continued as a director of the combined company, and were succeeded by directors designated pursuant to the terms of the acquisition. No pre-acquisition executive officers or directors of FinTech I received any severance or other payment or benefit in connection with their respective resignations, although they did retain founder shares issued to them for nominal consideration in connection with the formation of FinTech I, representing approximately 5.8% of the combined company. FinTech I changed its name to CardConnect Corp. at closing.
The common stock of CardConnect Corp. was traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “CCN” until CardConnect Corp. was acquired by First Data Corporation on July 6, 2017 for $15.00 per share in cash.
FinTech II
Mr. Cohen served as an executive officer and director of FinTech II. FinTech II, a blank check company, raised $175.0 million in its initial public offering in January 2017 at an initial public offering price of $10.00 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald served as the underwriter of FinTech II’s initial public offering.
On December 19, 2017, FinTech II entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) by and among FinTech II, FinTech II Merger Sub Inc., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of FinTech II (“Merger Sub 1”), FinTech II Merger Sub 2 LLC, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of FinTech II (“Merger Sub 2” and together with Merger Sub 1, the “Merger Subs”), Intermex Holdings II, Inc. (“Intermex”) and SPC Intermex Representative LLC (the “Representative”), which provides for the acquisition of Intermex by FinTech II pursuant to the proposed merger of Merger Sub 1 with and into Intermex with Intermex continuing as the initial surviving entity (the “First Merger”), immediately following which the initial surviving entity will be merged (the “Second Merger,” and together with the First Merger, the “Merger”) with and into Merger Sub 2, with Merger Sub 2 continuing as the surviving entity and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of FinTech II. The Merger was consummated on July 26, 2018 and the pre-acquisition executive officers and directors of FinTech II resigned. No pre-acquisition executive officers
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or directors of FinTech II received any severance or other payment or benefit in connection with their respective resignations, although they did retain founder shares issued to them for nominal consideration in connection with the formation of FinTech II.
The aggregate consideration paid in the Merger consisted of (i) 17,477,682 shares of FinTech II common stock and (ii) $102.0 million in cash. In connection with the closing of the Merger, FinTech II redeemed a total of 4,938,232 shares of its common stock at a redemption price of $10.086957 per share, resulting in a total payment to redeeming stockholders of approximately $49,811,733.84.
Immediately following the Merger, the former stockholders of Intermex owned approximately 48.3% of FinTech II’s outstanding common stock, the former stockholders of FinTech II owned approximately 51.7% of FinTech II’s outstanding common stock (20.4% held by FinTech II’s initial stockholders). FinTech II changed its name to International Money Express, Inc. at closing.
The common stock of International Money Express, Inc. is currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “IMXI.” Since January 1, 2020, the common stock of International Money Express, Inc. has traded as high as $18.69 per share and as low as $6.46 per share.
FinTech III
Mr. Cohen served as an executive officer of FinTech III, a blank check company that raised $345.0 million in its initial public offering in November 2018 at an initial public offering price of $10.00 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald and Northland Capital Markets served as the underwriters of FinTech III’s initial public offering.
On August 3, 2020, FinTech III entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Paya Merger Agreement”) by and among GTCR-Ultra Holdings, LLC (“Seller”), GTCR Ultra-Holdings II, LLC (“Holdings”), FinTech Acquisition Corp. III Parent Corp. (“Parent”), FinTech III, FinTech III Merger Sub Corp. (“Merger Sub”), GTCR/Ultra Blocker, Inc. (“Blocker”), and GTCR Fund XI/C LP (“Blocker Seller”), which provided for, among other things, (a) Merger Sub to be merged with and into FinTech III with FinTech III being the surviving corporation in the merger and a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Paya Merger”) and (b) through a series of transactions, Seller and Blocker Seller to contribute to Parent all of the equity interests in Holdings and Blocker in exchange for cash and shares of common stock of Parent (the “Contribution and Exchange” and together with the Paya Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”). The Transactions were consummated on October 16, 2020 and the pre-acquisition executive officers and directors of FinTech III resigned. No pre-acquisition executive officers or directors of FinTech III received any severance or other payment or benefit in connection with their respective resignations, although they did retain founder shares issued to them for nominal consideration in connection with the formation of FinTech III.
The aggregate consideration paid in the Transactions consisted of (i) $499.7 million in cash and 54.5 million shares of Parent’s common stock, and (ii) up to an additional 14,000,000 shares of Parent’s common stock (the “Earnout Shares”), in the event that the closing sale price of Parent’s common stock exceeds certain price thresholds for 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days during the first five years following the closing of the Transactions. The cash consideration was funded from the cash held in FinTech III’s trust account (after permitted redemptions) and the proceeds of a private placement of FinTech Class A common stock, which closed immediately prior to the Transactions.
In connection with the closing of the Transactions, FinTech III redeemed a total of 5,696,643 shares of its Class A common stock at a redemption price of $10.22735046 per share, resulting in a total payment to redeeming stockholders of $58,261,564.43.
Immediately following the Transactions, the former stockholders of Holdings owned approximately 47.3% of Parent’s outstanding common stock and the former stockholders of FinTech III (including the PIPE investors) owned approximately 52.7% of Parent’s outstanding common stock (8.4% held by FinTech III’s initial stockholders). Parent changed its name to Paya Holdings Inc. at closing.
The shares of common stock and warrants of Paya Holdings Inc. are currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “PAYA” and “PAYAW,” respectively. Since October 19, 2020, the common stock of Paya Holdings Inc. has traded as high as $13.00 per share and as low as $10.50 per share.
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INSU I
Several of our officers and directors serve as officers and/or directors of INSU I, a black check company that raised approximately $150.7 million in its initial public offering in March 2019 at an initial public offering price of $10.00 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald served as the underwriter of Insurance Acquisition Corp.’s initial public offering.
On June 29, 2020, Insurance Acquisition Corp. entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) among Insurance Acquisition Corp., IAC Merger Sub, Inc., a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Insurance Acquisition Corp. (“Merger Sub”), and Shift Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Shift”), providing for, among other things, and subject to the conditions therein, the combination of Shift and Insurance Acquisition Corp. pursuant to the proposed merger of Merger Sub with and into Shift with Shift continuing as the surviving entity (the “INSU Merger”). As a result of the INSU Merger, each outstanding share of Shift common stock (“Shift Common Stock”), will be converted into the right to receive newly issued shares of the Insurance Acquisition Corp.’s Class A common stock (“IAC Common Stock”), as calculated pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement. The INSU Merger was consummated on October 13, 2020 and the pre-acquisition executive officers and directors of Insurance Acquisition Corp. resigned. No pre-acquisition executive officers or directors of Insurance Acquisition Corp. received any severance or other payment or benefit in connection with their respective resignations, although they did retain founder shares issued to them for nominal consideration in connection with the formation of Insurance Acquisition Corp. In connection with the closing of the INSU Merger, Insurance Acquisition Corp. did not redeem any of its Class A common stock.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the aggregate consideration paid to the stockholders of Shift in the INSU Merger consisted of (i) 38,000,000 shares of IAC Common Stock and (ii) 6,000,000 shares of IAC Common Stock (the “Additional Shares”) that were deposited into an escrow account at the closing. If the reported closing sale price of the IAC Common Stock does not exceed $12.00 per share for 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days during the first 12 months following the closing (the “First Threshold”), then 3,000,000 Additional Shares will be returned to Insurance Acquisition Corp. (and either placed into treasury or retired). If the First Threshold is reached, such Additional Shares will be released from escrow to the respective Shift stockholders that are the holders thereof. If the reported closing sale price of the IAC Common Stock does not exceed $15.00 per share for 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days during the first 30 months following the closing (the “Second Threshold”), then fifty percent (50%) of the Additional Shares will be returned to Insurance Acquisition Corp. (and either placed into treasury or retired). If the Second Threshold is reached, such Additional Shares will be released from escrow to the respective Shift stockholders that are the holders thereof.
Immediately following the closing, the former stockholders of Shift owned approximately 51.2% of the outstanding IAC Common Stock and the former stockholders of Insurance Acquisition Corp. owned approximately 25.8% of the outstanding IAC Common Stock (6.9% held by the initial stockholders of Insurance Acquisition Corp.), with the remaining shares of IAC Common Stock owned by the PIPE Investors. The name of Insurance Acquisition Corp. was changed to Shift Technologies, Inc. at closing.
The shares of Class A common stock and warrants of Shift Technologies, Inc. are currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “SFT” and “SFTTW,” respectively. Since October 13, 2020, the Class A common stock of Shift Technologies, Inc. has traded as high as $12.75 per share and as low as $8.31 per share.
INSU II
Messrs. Cohen, Butler, Pooler, Chrystal and Posner, and Ms. Nicoll, are executive officers and/or directors of INSU II, a black check company that raised $230 million in its initial public offering in September 2020 at an initial public offering price of $10.00 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald and Northland Capital Markets served as the underwriters of INSU II’s initial public offering.
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The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus, by:
• each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
• each of our officers, directors and director nominees that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and
• all our officers, directors and director nominees as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
Prior to the Offering(1) |
Following the Offering(2)(3) |
|||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(4) |
Number of |
Percentage of |
Number of |
Percentage of |
||||||
Daniel Cohen(6) |
7,846,667 |
100 |
% |
7,386,667 |
% |
|
||||
John M. Butler |
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
||||
Joseph W. Pooler, Jr. |
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
||||
John C. Chrystal(7) |
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
||||
Sasson Posner(7) |
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
||||
Sheila Nicoll(7) |
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
||||
Walter Beach(7) |
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
||||
All directors, director nominees and officers as a group (7 persons) |
7,846,667 |
100 |
% |
7,386,667 |
% |
|
||||
Greater than 5% Beneficial Owners |
|
|
||||||||
Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC(5) |
7,846,667 |
100 |
% |
7,386,667 |
% |
|
____________
* Less than 1 percent.
(1) Includes an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the overallotment option is not exercised by the underwriters.
(2) Assumes (i) the underwriters’ overallotment option has not been exercised and, as a result, an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares have been forfeited, and (ii) that 540,000 placement units have been purchased by the sponsor.
(3) Total shares outstanding after the offering includes 6,846,667 founder shares and includes the sale of 540,000 placement units subject to subscription agreements in a private placement to be completed simultaneously with this offering.
(4) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the persons and entities listed above is 2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2870.
(5) Shares are held by Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC, a limited liability company which is managed by Cohen & Company, LLC, a limited liability company. Prior to the completion of this offering, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC expects to transfer founder shares (1,000,000 of which are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the overallotment option is not exercised by the underwriters) to Dioptra Advisors III, LLC, a limited liability company which is managed by Cohen & Company, LLC. Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC expects to purchase 540,000 placement units in the private placement.
(6) Shares are held directly by Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC, a limited liability company which is managed by Cohen & Company, LLC, a limited liability company. Mr. Cohen is the chief executive officer of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC and the chairman of the board of Cohen & Company, LLC. Mr. Cohen disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities, except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.
(7) This individual is a member of our sponsor, but does not have voting or investment power over the shares held by our sponsor.
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After giving effect to the issuance of founder shares and private placement of the placement units, our initial stockholders and purchasers of the placement units will own 27.0% of the outstanding common stock following the offering and 26.7% if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full (assuming that holders of founder shares and purchasers of the placement units do not purchase any public shares in this offering or the public market). Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders and the holders of placement shares will have significant influence over the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors, amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions other than approval of our initial business combination.
To the extent the underwriters do not exercise the overallotment option, up to an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares will be forfeited. Our initial holders will be required to forfeit only a number of founder shares necessary so that the collective number of founder shares represents 25.0% of the aggregate of our founder shares, placement shares and our public shares, in each case after giving effect to the offering and the exercise, if any, of the underwriters’ overallotment option.
Our sponsor has committed to purchase 540,000 placement units at the price of $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $5,400,000, in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. Each placement unit contains one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant. Each whole warrant contained in a placement unit entitles the holder to purchase one whole share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares, placement units or warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option). The placement units and their underlying securities are subject to the transfer restrictions described below under “— Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units”). The placement warrants will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. The placement warrants may also be exercised by our sponsor or its permitted transferees on a cashless basis. Otherwise, the placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering.
Our sponsor and executive officers are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units
The founder shares, placement units, placement shares, placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions either in a letter agreement with us to be entered into by our sponsor, officers and directors. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, (a) with respect to 25% of such shares, until consummation of our initial business combination, (b) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, (c) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $13.50 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (d) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $17.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier, in any case, if, following a business combination, (y) we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) in the case of the placement units, placement shares, placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock issued upon exercise thereof, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our officers, our directors, or the initial stockholders, (b) to an affiliate or immediate family member of any of our officers, directors, or initial stockholders, (c) to any member, officer or director of our sponsor, or any immediate family member, partner, affiliate or employee of a member of our sponsor, (d) by gift to any permitted transferee under any of the immediately preceding subsections (a) through (c), a trust, the beneficiaries of which are one or more permitted transferees under any of the immediately preceding subsections (a) through (c), or a charitable organization, (e) by
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virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of any of our officers, our directors, the initial stockholders, or members of our sponsor, (f) pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order, (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to consummation of our initial business combination, (h) by virtue of the laws of Delaware, our sponsor’s limited liability company agreement upon dissolution of any sponsor, (i) subsequent to our initial business combination, upon and in connection with a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property, (j) subsequent to our initial business combination, in the event of a consolidation merger, stock exchange or similar transaction in which the company is the surviving entity that results in a change in the majority of our board of directors or management team and (k) through private sales or transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the placement shares or warrants were originally purchased; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f), (h) and (k) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the letter agreement provides that, in connection with an initial business combination, the initial holders may transfer, assign or sell their founder shares with our consent to any person or entity that agrees in writing to be bound by the transfer restrictions set forth in the prior sentence, and any such transferee shall be a permitted transferee under the letter agreement.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, placement units (including securities contained therein) and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of loans made by our sponsor or one of its affiliates will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our Class A common stock) pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include such securities in other registration statements filed by us and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs: (i) in the case of the founder shares, (a) with respect to 25% of such shares, upon consummation of our initial business combination, (b) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, (c) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $13.50 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (d) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $17.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier, in any case, if, following a business combination, (f) we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property; and (ii) in the case of the placement warrants and the respective Class A common stock underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
In October 2020, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC purchased 1,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. We effected a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split in October 2020, and, as a result, our initial stockholders hold 7,846,667 founder shares with an average purchase price of approximately $0.00319 per share. If the underwriters determine the size of the offering should be increased, a stock dividend would be effectuated so that founder shares represent 25% of the aggregate of our founder shares, the placement shares and our issued and outstanding public shares after this offering.
If the underwriters do not exercise all or a portion of their overallotment option, holders of founder shares have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us that they will forfeit up to an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares in proportion to the portion of the underwriters’ overallotment option that was not exercised.
Our sponsor has committed to purchase 540,000 placement units at the price of $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $5,400,000, in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. The placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering, except that if held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, they (a) may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis, (b) are not subject to being called for redemption, and (c) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions (as described in more detail under “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units”), be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the consummation of our initial business combination. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares, placement shares or warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
The placement units will be sold in a private placement pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) or Regulation D of the Securities Act and will be exempt from registration requirements under the federal securities laws. As such, the holders of the placement warrants included in the placement units will be able to exercise such placement warrants even if, at the time of exercise, an effective registration statement and a current prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants is not available. Other than (i) repayment of loans made to us prior to the date of this prospectus by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC to cover offering-related and organization expenses, (ii) repayment of any incremental loans which our sponsor or one of its affiliates may make to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination up to a maximum of $750,000 (provided that if we do not consummate an initial business combination, we may use 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), (iii) payments to our sponsor or its affiliate of a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services, (iv) at the closing of our initial business combination, a customary advisory fee to an affiliate of our sponsor, in an amount that constitutes a market standard advisory fee for comparable transactions and services provided; and (v) to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination, no compensation or fees of any kind, including finder’s fees, consulting fees or other similar compensation, will be paid to our initial stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to or with respect to our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Prior to the appointment of our audit committee, our independent directors must approve all payments in excess of $5,000 to any initial holder, our directors and officers or entities with which they are affiliated. Following the appointment of an audit committee, the audit committee will approve such payments.
As of the date of this prospectus, we have borrowed $560 under loans and advances available to us by an affiliate of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the completion of this offering.
Commencing on the date our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we will pay an amount equal to $20,000 per month to our sponsor or its affiliate for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes the maximum 24 months, our sponsor will be paid a total of $480,000 ($20,000 per month) and will be entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.
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As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial 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 business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Other than the foregoing, no compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). 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 will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC has agreed that, if the trust account is liquidated without the consummation of a business combination, it will indemnify us to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or any claims by a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below $10.00 per public share, except for any claims by any third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account, regardless of whether such waiver is enforceable, and except for claims arising from our obligation to indemnify the underwriters of this offering pursuant to the underwriting agreement for this offering. We have not independently verified whether Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, we have not asked it to reserve for such obligations and we believe that its only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III will be able to satisfy those obligations. We believe the likelihood of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all third parties that provide products or services to us and prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.
In order to fund working capital requirements and finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination our sponsor or one of its affiliates has committed to loan us funds as may be required to a maximum of $750,000, and may, but is not obligated to, loan us additional funds to fund our additional working capital requirements and transaction costs. The loans will be interest free. If we consummate an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. If we do not consummate an initial business combination, we may use a portion of any working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts; however, no proceeds from the trust account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the loan amounts, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into additional units at $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the placement units sold to our sponsor in the private placement.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
All ongoing and future transactions between us and any member of our management team or his or her respective affiliates will be on terms believed by us at that time, based upon other similar arrangements known to us, to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. It is our intention to obtain estimates from unaffiliated third parties for similar goods or services to ascertain whether such transactions with affiliates
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are on terms that are no less favorable to us than are otherwise available from such unaffiliated third parties. If a transaction with an affiliated third party were found to be on terms less favorable to us than with an unaffiliated third party, we would not engage in such transaction.
Upon or prior to completion of this offering, we will enter into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, placement shares, placement warrants and warrants which may be issued upon any conversion of up to $1,500,000 of loans from our sponsor or one of its affiliates described above, which is described under the heading “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights.”
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the code of ethics that we plan to adopt prior to the consummation of this offering is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. A form of the audit committee charter that we plan to adopt prior to the consummation of this offering is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We also require each of our directors and officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.
These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
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Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock will consist of 60,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Public Units
Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one whole share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise his, her or its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
We anticipate that the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the closing of this offering unless , acting as representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of Class A common stock and warrants.
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. The audited balance sheet will include proceeds we received from the exercise of the overallotment option if such option is exercised prior to the filing of the Current Report on Form 8-K. If the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option.
Placement Units
The placement units (including the placement warrants or placement shares included therein) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and will have certain registration rights. Otherwise, the placement units are identical to the units sold in this offering except that the placement warrants included therein, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights.
Common Stock
As of the date of this prospectus, there were 7,846,337 founder shares outstanding. This includes an aggregate of 1,000,000 founder shares which will be forfeited to the extent that the underwriters’ overallotment option is not exercised in full. Our sponsor has committed to purchase 540,000 placement shares contained in the placement units in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. Holders of founder shares will hold (including 540,000 placement shares held by our sponsor) an aggregate of
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27.0% of the issued and outstanding common stock (26.7% if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) following the offering and the expiration of the underwriters’ overallotment option. Upon completion of this offering, 27,386,667 shares of our common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option).
Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, holders of our Class B common stock and holders of our Class A common stock will vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by a majority of at least 90% of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders (other than the election of directors). Directors will be divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 60,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, if we were to enter into an initial business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of Class A common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the initial business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq 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 Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws, unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination, and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We will provide all public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the consummation of our initial business combination, either in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or by means of a tender offer, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including any amounts representing deferred underwriting commissions and interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us for the payment of taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share.
The initial holders, our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. The initial holders and our officers and directors have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the 24 month period. However, the initial holders and our
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officers and directors will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination within the 24 month period. To the extent our initial stockholders or purchasers of placement units transfer any of these securities to certain permitted transferees, such permitted transferees will agree, as a condition to such transfer, to waive these same redemption rights. Also, our sponsor has committed to purchase 540,000 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit, in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor, the other initial holders, our officers and our directors, have agreed to vote their respective founder shares, placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. We currently intend to conduct redemptions pursuant to a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to consummating our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or Nasdaq, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares, placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 27.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,306,667, or 31.5%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the option to purchase additional units is not exercised) in order to have such initial business combination approved. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
Assuming our initial business combination is approved, to the extent provided in this prospectus, each public stockholder may elect to redeem his, her or its public shares irrespective of whether he, she or it votes for or against the proposed transaction, for cash equal to a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest but less interest released to us to pay taxes or dissolution costs.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, 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 any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. The initial holders, our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and placement shares they hold (i) in connection
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with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within the 24 month period or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. The initial holders, our officers and directors have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the 24 month period. However, the initial holders, our officers and directors will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 24 month period.
If we liquidate, dissolve or wind up after our initial business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of stock, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock, except that upon the consummation of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein, we will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of our common stock for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses.
Founder Shares
The founder shares and placement shares are each identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares or placement shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination; (ii) the founder shares and placement shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units”, and (iii) each holder of founder shares has agreed, and each purchaser of placement units will agree, to waive his, her or its redemption rights with respect to his, her or its founder shares and placement shares, (A) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (B) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), (C) if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the 24 month period and (D) upon our liquidation prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. To the extent holders of founder shares or purchasers of placement units transfer any of these securities, such transferees will agree, as a condition to such transfer, to waive these same redemption rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor and the other initial holders have agreed, and our officers and directors will each agree, to vote their respective founder shares, placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in this offering and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis 25% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, including placement shares, plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination and any private placement-equivalent securities issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us. We cannot determine at this time whether
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a majority of the holders of our Class B common stock at the time of any future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. They may waive such adjustment due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the agreement for our initial business combination; (ii) negotiation with Class A stockholders on structuring an initial business combination; or (iii) negotiation with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock. If such adjustment is not waived, the future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. If such adjustment is waived, the future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our common stock. Holders of founder shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Class A common stock issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt. Securities could be “deemed issued” for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our initial holders, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the date (i) with respect to 25% of such shares, upon consummation of our initial business combination, (ii) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, (iii) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $13.50 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (iv) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $17.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier, in any case, if, following a business combination, (iv) we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering. However, if issued prior to our initial business combination, none of the shares of our preferred stock will have any right to amounts held in the trust account.
Warrants
Public Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one whole share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrantholder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrantholder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
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We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise for cash of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt from the registration or qualifications requirements of the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the public warrants has not been declared effective by the end of 60 business days following the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act.
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 reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we 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. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Class A common stock (or the closing bid price of our common stock in the event shares of our common stock are not traded on any specific day) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our
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cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Class A common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of Class A common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding shares of Class A common stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Class A common stock, or by a split-up of shares of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Class A common stock. A rights offering to holders of Class A common stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Class A common stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Class A common stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Class A common stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for Class A common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A common stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Class A common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A common stock on account of such shares of Class A common stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our Class A common stock if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Class A common stock in respect of such event.
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If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Class A common stock.
Whenever the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Class A common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which was filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock 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 share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by us and in the case of any such issuance to our sponsors or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial shareholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 50% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our 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, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A common share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
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The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A common stock. After the issuance of shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one (1) vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. As a result, warrant holders not purchasing an even number of warrants must sell any odd number of warrants in order to obtain full value from the fractional interest that will not be issued.
Placement Warrants and Loan Warrants
Our sponsor has committed to purchase 180,000 placement warrants which are included in the 540,000 placement units to be purchased at a price of $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $5,400,000, in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. The placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Units,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. Our sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. If the placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of the placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following an initial business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could sell the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with our initial business combination, our sponsor has committed $750,000 to be provided to us to fund our expenses relating to investigating and selecting a target business and other working capital requirements after this offering and prior to our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the placement units sold in the private placement.
In addition, holders of our placement warrants are entitled to certain registration rights.
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Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our common stock and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, and each of its officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, bad faith or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
Amendments to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. These provisions, which cannot be amended without the approval of holders owning 65% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock, are as follows:
• if we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering (excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), 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 any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any interest released to us for the payment of taxes or dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
• after the completion of this offering and prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination;
• although we do not currently intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with holders of founder shares, our directors or officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. If we propose to do so, we, or a committee of independent directors, must obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view;
• if a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law or Nasdaq and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we must offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to consummating our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;
• if our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 24 months, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and
• we may not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
If, however, the effect of any proposed amendment, if adopted, would be either to (i) reduce the amount in the trust account available to redeeming stockholders to less than $10.00 per share, or (ii) delay the date on which a public stockholder could otherwise redeem shares for such per share amount in the trust account and, if such amendment is approved by persons holding at least 65% of our outstanding shares of common stock we will provide
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a right for dissenting public stockholders to redeem their public shares in the same manner as if we were seeking a stockholder vote on a business combination, except that the amount on deposit in the trust account for purposes of calculating the per share redemption price will be determined at the close of business two business days before the meeting date. Our initial holders, executive officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and public shares they hold in favor of any such amendments that we may propose and, accordingly, will have no redemption rights in connection therewith.
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination. This notwithstanding, if the effect of any proposed amendment, if adopted, would be either to (i) reduce the amount in the trust account available to redeeming stockholders to less than $10.00 per public share, or (ii) delay the date on which a public stockholder could otherwise redeem shares for such per share amount in the trust account, we will provide a right for dissenting public stockholders to redeem public shares if such an amendment is approved.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers upon completion of this offering. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
• a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”);
• an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or
• an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder.
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
• our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction;
• after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or
• on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.
Exclusive Forum Selection
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the federal securities laws, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
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SECURITIES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Immediately after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) we will have 27,386,667 shares of common stock outstanding, or 30,846,667 shares of common stock outstanding if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full. Of these shares, the 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option), or 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full, will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. The remaining 6,846,667 founder shares (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option) and 540,000 placement shares are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell his, her or its securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale. However, Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. Rule 144 does include an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
• the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;
• the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;
• the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and
• at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
As a result, the initial holders and purchasers of placement units will be able to sell their founder shares, placement shares, placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued on conversion of loans by our sponsor or one of its affiliates (and shares issued upon their exercise), as applicable, pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination. However, if they remain one of our affiliates, they will only be permitted to sell a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
• 1% of the total number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 273,866 shares immediately after this offering (or 308,466 shares if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full); or
• the average weekly reported trading volume of the common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 would also be limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, placement units (including securities contained therein) and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion
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to our Class A common stock). The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs: (i) in the case of the founder shares, (a) with respect to 25% of such shares, upon consummation of our initial business combination, (b) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, (c) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $13.50 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (e) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of our Class A common stock exceeds $17.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier, in any case, if, following a business combination, and (f) we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property; and (ii) in the case of the placement warrants and the respective Class A common stock underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
We intend to apply to list our units on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “IIIIU”, and we anticipate that our common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “IIII” and “IIIIW”, respectively. We anticipate our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the shares of our common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our common stock and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on Nasdaq.
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CERTAIN UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following is a discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units, shares of common stock and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. Because the components of a unit are separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying common stock and warrant components of the unit, as the case may be. As a result, the discussion below with respect to actual holders of common stock and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying common stock and warrants that comprise the units). This discussion applies only to securities that are held as a capital asset for U.S. federal income tax purposes and is applicable only to holders who purchased units in this offering.
This discussion does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances, including the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare tax on certain investment income and the different consequences that may apply if you are subject to special rules that apply to certain types of investors, such as:
• financial institutions;
• insurance companies;
• dealers or traders subject to a mark to market method of accounting with respect to the securities;
• persons holding the securities as part of a “straddle,” hedge, integrated transaction or similar transaction;
• U.S. holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;
• partnerships or other pass through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes; and
• tax exempt entities.
If you are a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of your partners will generally depend on the status of the partners and your activities.
This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions and final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations as of the date hereof, changes to any of which subsequent to the date of this prospectus (possibly with retroactive effect) may affect the tax consequences described herein. This discussion does not address any aspect of state, local or non U.S. taxation, or any U.S. federal taxes other than income taxes (such as gift and estate taxes).
You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of U.S. federal tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.
Personal Holding Company Status
We could be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company, or PHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (ii) at least 60% of the corporation’s adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents).
Depending on the date and size of our initial business combination, at least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income as discussed above. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our sponsor and certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts, more than 50% of our stock may be owned or deemed owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not become a PHC following this offering or in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given
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taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments. The PHC requirements may apply to us in the taxable year of the offering and/or future taxable years.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our common stock and one-third of one warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one share of our common stock. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you will agree to adopt such treatment for tax purposes. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one ordinary share and the one-third of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. The price allocated to each share of common stock and the one-third of one warrant should be the stockholder’s tax basis in such share or warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the share of common stock and the one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the ordinary share and one-third of one warrant based on their respective relative fair market values. The separation of the share of common stock and the one-third of one warrant comprising a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the shares of common stock and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “U.S. holder.” A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of our units, shares of common stock or warrants who or that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
• an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
• a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; or
• an estate or trust the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source.
Taxation of Distributions. If we pay cash distributions to U.S. holders of shares of our common stock, such distributions generally will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in our common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the common stock and will be treated as described under “— U.S. holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants” below.
Dividends we pay to a U.S. holder that is a taxable corporation generally will qualify for the dividends received deduction if the requisite holding period is satisfied. With certain exceptions (including, but not limited to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), and provided certain holding period requirements are met, dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. holder generally will constitute “qualified dividends” that will be subject to tax at the maximum tax rate accorded to long-term capital gains. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the common stock described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements with respect to the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income, as the case may be.
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Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants. Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of common stock or warrants as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in the common stock or warrants. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder’s holding period for the common stock or warrants so disposed of exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the common stock described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. holder is an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the common stock or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the common stock or the warrants based upon the then fair market values of the common stock and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its common stock or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its common stock or warrants generally will equal the U.S. holder’s acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of common stock or warrant or, as discussed below, the U.S. holder’s initial basis for common stock received upon exercise of warrants) less, in the case of a share of common stock, any prior distributions treated as a return of capital.
Redemption of Common Stock. In the event that a U.S. holder’s common stock is redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Common Stock” or if we purchase a U.S. holder’s common stock in an open market transaction, the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of common stock, the U.S. holder will be treated as described under “— U.S. holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of common stock, the U.S. holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “— U.S. holders — Taxation of Distributions”. Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of shares of our stock treated as held by the U.S. holder (including any stock constructively owned by the U.S. holder as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of common stock generally will be treated as a sale of the common stock (rather than as a corporate distribution) if the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. holder takes into account not only stock actually owned by the U.S. holder, but also shares of our stock that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. holder may constructively own, in addition to stock owned directly, stock owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. holder, as well as any stock the U.S. holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include common stock which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately following the redemption of common stock must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately before the redemption. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. holder’s interest if either (i) all of the shares of our stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed or (ii) all of the shares of our stock actually owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed and the U.S. holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of stock owned by certain family members and the U.S. holder does not constructively own any other stock. The redemption of the common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if a U.S. holder’s conversion results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
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If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “— U.S. holders — Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. holder in the redeemed common stock will be added to the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining stock, or, if it has none, to the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other stock constructively owned by it.
Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant. Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. holder generally will not recognize taxable gain or loss on the acquisition of common stock upon exercise of a warrant for cash. The U.S. holder’s tax basis in the share of our common stock received upon exercise of one whole warrant generally will be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. holder’s initial investment in the warrant (i.e., the sum of the portion of the U.S. holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the one-third of one warrant, as described above under “— General Treatment of Units”) and the exercise price. The U.S. holder’s holding period for the common stock received upon exercise of the warrants will begin on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrants and will not include the period during which the U.S. holder held the warrants. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a gain realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either tax-free situation, a U.S. holder’s basis in the common stock received would equal the holder’s basis in the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a gain realization event, a U.S. holder’s holding period in the common stock would be treated as commencing on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the common stock would include the holding period of the warrant.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants equal to the number of common shares having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the common stock represented by the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. holder’s tax basis in the common stock received would equal the sum of the fair market value of the common stock represented by the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. holder’s tax basis in the warrants exercised. A U.S. holder’s holding period for the common stock would commence on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant.
Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
Possible Constructive Distributions. The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of common stock that would be obtained upon exercise) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of shares of our common stock which is taxable to the U.S. holders of such shares as described under “— U.S. holders — Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. In general, information reporting requirements may apply to dividends paid to a U.S. holder and to the proceeds of the sale or other disposition of our units, shares of common stock and warrants, unless the U.S. holder is an exempt recipient. Backup withholding may apply to such payments if the U.S. holder fails to provide a taxpayer identification number, a certification of exempt status or has been notified by the IRS that it is subject to backup withholding (and such notification has not been withdrawn).
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Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against a U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Non U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non U.S. holder.” A Non U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of our units, shares of common stock and warrants who or that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
• a non resident alien individual, other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates;
• a foreign corporation; or
• an estate or trust that is not a U.S. holder;
but does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of a security.
Taxation of Distributions. In general, any distributions we make to a Non-U.S. holder of shares of our common stock, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, provided such dividends are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States, we will be required to withhold tax from the gross amount of the dividend at a rate of 30%, unless such Non-U.S. holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E). Any distribution not constituting a dividend will be treated first as reducing (but not below zero) the Non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock and, to the extent such distribution exceeds the Non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis, as gain realized from the sale or other disposition of the common stock, which will be treated as described under “— Non-U.S. holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants” below. In addition, if we determine that we are likely to be classified as a “United States real property holding corporation” (see “— Non-U.S. holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants” below), we will withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits.
The withholding tax does not apply to dividends paid to a Non-U.S. holder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the Non-U.S. holder were a U.S. resident, subject to an applicable income tax treaty providing otherwise. A Non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or a lower treaty rate).
Exercise of a Warrant. The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. holder’s exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. holder, generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. holder, as described under “— U.S. holders — Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described below in “— Non-U.S. holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants.”
Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants. A Non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax in respect of gain recognized on a sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition of our common stock, which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, or warrants (including an expiration or redemption of our warrants), in each case without regard to whether those securities were held as part of a unit, unless:
• the gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the Non-U.S. holder within the United States (and, under certain income tax treaties, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the Non-U.S. holder); or
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• we are or have been a “U.S. real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or the period that the Non-U.S. holder held our common stock, and, in the case where shares of our common stock are regularly traded on an established securities market, the Non-U.S. holder has owned, directly or constructively, more than 5% of our common stock at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or such Non-U.S. holder’s holding period for the shares of our common stock. There can be no assurance that our common stock will be treated as regularly traded on an established securities market for this purpose.
Unless an applicable treaty provides otherwise, gain described in the first bullet point above will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates as if the Non-U.S. holder were a U.S. resident. Any gains described in the first bullet point above of a Non-U.S. holder that is a foreign corporation may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or lower treaty rate).
If the second bullet point above applies to a Non-U.S. holder, gain recognized by such holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock or warrants will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a buyer of our common stock or warrants from such holder may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 15% of the amount realized upon such disposition. Neither the tax nor the withholding requirement will apply to a Non-U.S. holder in a qualified foreign pension fund or a wholly-owned subsidiary of such a fund. We cannot determine whether we will be a U.S. real property holding corporation in the future until we complete an initial business combination. We will be classified as a U.S. real property holding corporation if the fair market value of our “U.S. real property interests” equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests plus our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Redemption of Common Stock. The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. holder’s common stock pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Common Stock” generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. holder’s common stock, as described under “— U.S. holders — Redemption of Common Stock” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. holder will be as described above under “— Non-U.S. holders — Taxation of Distributions” and “— Non-U.S. holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock and Warrants,” as applicable.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. Information returns will be filed with the IRS in connection with payments of dividends and the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our units, shares of common stock and warrants. A Non-U.S. holder may have to comply with certification procedures to establish that it is not a United States person in order to avoid information reporting and backup withholding requirements. The certification procedures required to claim a reduced rate of withholding under a treaty will satisfy the certification requirements necessary to avoid the backup withholding as well. The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to a Non-U.S. holder will be allowed as a credit against such holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
FATCA Withholding Taxes. Provisions commonly referred to as “FATCA” impose withholding of 30% on payments of dividends (including constructive dividends) on our common stock or warrants, and, beginning in 2019, sales or other disposition proceeds from our units, shares of common stock and warrants to “foreign financial institutions” (which is broadly defined for this purpose and in general includes investment vehicles) and certain other Non-U.S. entities unless various U.S. information reporting and due diligence requirements (generally relating to ownership by U.S. persons of interests in or accounts with those entities) have been satisfied, or an exemption applies (typically certified as to by the delivery of a properly completed IRS Form W-8BEN-E). If FATCA withholding is imposed, a beneficial owner that is not a foreign financial institution generally will be entitled to a refund of any amounts withheld by filing a U.S. federal income tax return (which may entail significant administrative burden). Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing FATCA may be subject to different rules. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the effects of FATCA on their investment in our securities.
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In accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below, for which is acting as representative and sole book-running manager, and the underwriters have severally, and not jointly, agreed to purchase, on a firm commitment basis, the number of units offered in this offering set forth opposite their respective names below.
Underwriter |
Number of |
|
|
||
Total |
20,000,000 |
A copy of the underwriting agreement has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligation of the underwriters to purchase all of the 20,000,000 units being offered to the public is subject to specific conditions, including the absence of any material adverse change in our business or in the financial markets, the purchase by our sponsor of 540,000 placement units at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement occurring simultaneously with the completion of this offering, and the receipt of certain legal opinions, certificates and letters from us, our counsel and the independent auditors. Subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement, the underwriters will purchase all of the 20,000,000 units being offered to the public, other than those covered by the overallotment option described below, if any of these units are purchased.
We have granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any overallotments of units.
The underwriters may deliver prospectuses via e-mail both as a PDF document and by a link to the SEC’s website and websites hosted by the underwriters and other parties, and the prospectus may also be made available on websites maintained by selected dealers and selling group members participating in this offering. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of units to selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions may be allocated by the underwriters to selling group members that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
Pricing of Securities
We have been advised by the underwriters that they propose to offer the units to the public at the initial offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. The underwriters may allow dealers concessions not in excess of $ per unit and the dealers may re-allow a concession not in excess of $ per unit to other dealers. After the initial public offering, the public offering price, concession and discount may be changed.
Before this offering, there has been no market for our securities. The initial public offering price of the units and terms of the warrants were determined by negotiation between us and the underwriters and will not necessarily reflect the market price of our securities following the offering. The principal factors that were considered in determining the terms and prices of such securities were:
• the information presented in this prospectus and otherwise available to the underwriters;
• the history of and prospects of other companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
• prior offerings of those other companies;
• the ability of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;
• our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;
• the present state of our development and our current financial condition and capital structure;
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• the recent market prices of, and the demand for, publicly traded securities of generally comparable companies;
• general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the offering; and
• other factors as were deemed relevant.
The factors described above were not assigned any particular weight. Rather, these factors were considered as a totality in our negotiation with the underwriters over our initial public offering price. We offer no assurances that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which our units will trade in the public market subsequent to the offering or that an active trading market for the units, common stock or warrants will develop and continue after the offering.
Stabilization and Other Transactions
The underwriters pursuant to Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, may engage in short sale transactions, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of the units at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Establishing short sales positions may involve either “covered” short sales or “naked” short sales.
“Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units in this offering. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising the overallotment option or purchasing our securities in the open market or from market participants. In determining the source of units to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the overallotment option.
“Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the option to purchase additional units. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
A stabilizing bid is a bid for the purchase of securities on behalf of the underwriters for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of the securities. A syndicate covering transaction is the bid for or the purchase of securities on behalf of the underwriters to reduce a short position incurred by the underwriters in connection with the offering. Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our securities or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our securities. As a result, the price of our securities may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. A penalty bid is an arrangement permitting the underwriters to reclaim the selling concession otherwise accruing to a syndicate member in connection with the offering if the securities originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction and therefore have not been effectively placed by such syndicate member.
Neither we, nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our securities. The underwriters are not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, may end any of these activities at any time. These transactions may be effected on the Nasdaq, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
135
Commissions and Discounts
The following table summarizes the compensation we will pay:
Fees |
Fee per Unit |
Without |
With |
||||||
Public offering price |
$ |
10.00 |
$ |
200,000,000 |
$ |
230,000,000 |
|||
Underwriting discount(1) |
$ |
0.20 |
$ |
4,000,000 |
$ |
4,000,000 |
|||
Deferred underwriting discount(2) |
$ |
0.40 |
$ |
8,000,000 |
$ |
9,800,000 |
|||
Proceeds before expenses |
$ |
9.40 |
$ |
188,000,000 |
$ |
216,200,000 |
____________
(1) Based on the underwriter’s discount equal to 2.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of units sold to the public, excluding any units sold pursuant to the underwriters’ overallotment option.
(2) Based on the deferred underwriting discount payable to the representative equal to 4.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the initial $200.0 million in units sold to the public and 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the units sold pursuant to the overallotment option. The deferred underwriting discount will be deposited in the trust account as deferred underwriting commissions and will become payable from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event we consummate our initial business combination. Fee per unit shown assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option.
Reimbursement of Expenses
We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the underwriters during the registration process, including legal fees and expenses incurred to clear the offering with FINRA, as well as background searches of our officers and directors (not to exceed $2,500 per person), net roadshow expenses, and lucite cube mementos, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $75,000.
Other Services
Except as set forth above, we are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, the underwriters may, among other things, introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital, as needs may arise in the future. If the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay the underwriters fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriters prior to the date which is 90 days after the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering.
Indemnification
Pursuant to the terms of the underwriting agreement, we have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including civil liabilities under the Securities Act relating to losses or claims resulting from material misstatements in or omissions from the registration statement and liabilities arising from breach of the underwriting agreement or the breach of our representations, warranties and covenants contained in the underwriting agreement. We are also obligated to pay for the defense of any claims against the underwriters. If we are unable to provide this indemnification, we will contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make with respect to these liabilities. Our obligations under this section of the underwriting agreement continue after the closing of our initial public offering.
136
SELLING RESTRICTIONS
Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada
The units may be sold in Canada only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the units must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
Foreign Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of the Common Stock
No action may be taken in any jurisdiction other than the United States that would permit a public offering of the common stock or the possession, circulation or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Accordingly, the common stock may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, and neither the prospectus nor any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the common stock may be distributed or published in or from any country or jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with any applicable rules and regulations of any such country or jurisdiction.
In addition to the public offering of the shares in the United States, the underwriters may, subject to the applicable foreign laws, also offer the common stock to certain institutions or accredited persons in the countries listed under the heading “— Notices to Non-United Stated Investors.”
Notices to Non-United States Investors
British Virgin Islands. This prospectus does not constitute, and there will not be, an offering of securities to the public in the British Virgin Islands.
Australia. If this document is issued or distributed in Australia it is issued or distributed to “wholesale clients” only, not to “retail clients”. For the purposes of this paragraph, the terms “wholesale client” and “retail client” have the meanings given in section 761 of the Australian Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). This document is not a disclosure document under the Australian Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and does not purport to include the information required of a disclosure document under the Australian Corporations Act. Accordingly, (i) the offer of securities under this document is only made to persons to whom it is lawful to offer such securities under one or more exemptions set out in the Australian Corporations Act, (ii) this document is only made available in Australia to those persons referred to in clause (i) above, and (iii) the offeree must be sent a notice stating in substance that, by accepting this offer, the offeree represents that the offeree is such a person as referred to in clause (i) above, and, unless permitted under the Australian Corporations Act, agrees not to sell or offer for sale within Australia any of the securities sold to the offeree within 12 months after its transfer to the offeree under this document.
China. THIS PROSPECTUS HAS NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE CIRCULATED OR DISTRIBUTED IN THE PRC, AND THE SECURITIES OFFERED HEREIN MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD, AND WILL NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD TO ANY PERSON FOR RE-OFFERING OR RESALE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, TO ANY RESIDENT OF THE PRC EXCEPT PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE PRC.
137
United Arab Emirates. The offering has not been approved or licensed by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (the “UAE”), Securities and Commodities Authority of the UAE and/or any other relevant licensing authority in the UAE including any licensing authority incorporated under the laws and regulations of any of the free zones established and operating in the territory of the UAE, in particular the Dubai Financial Services Authority (the “DFSA”), a regulatory authority of the Dubai International Financial Centre (the “DIFC”).
The offering does not constitute a public offer of securities in the UAE, DIFC and/or any other free zone in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law, Federal Law No. 8 of 1984 (as amended), DFSA Offered Securities Rules and NASDAQ Dubai Listing Rules, accordingly, or otherwise. The securities offered hereby may not be offered to the public in the UAE and/or any of the free zones, including, in particular, the DIFC.
The securities offered hereby may be offered and issued only to a limited number of investors in the UAE or any of its free zones (including, in particular, the DIFC) who qualify as sophisticated investors under the relevant laws and regulations of the UAE or the free zone concerned, including, in particular, the DIFC.
The company represents and warrants that the securities offered hereby will not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered to the public in the UAE or any of its free zones, including, in particular, the DIFC.
Dubai. The issuer is not licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”) to provide financial services in the Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”). The offering has not been approved or licensed by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (the “UAE”), Securities and Commodities Authority of the UAE and/or any other relevant licensing authority in the UAE including any licensing authority incorporated under the laws and regulations of any of the free zones established and operating in the territory of the UAE, in particular the DFSA, a regulatory of the DIFC.
The offering does not constitute a public offer of securities in the UAE, DIFC and/or any other free zone in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law, Federal Law No. 8 of 1984 (as amended), DFSA Offered Securities Rules and NASDAQ Dubai Listing Rules, accordingly, or otherwise. The securities offered hereby may not be offered to the public in the UAE and/or any of the free zones, including, in particular, the DIFC.
The securities offered hereby may be offered and issued only to a limited number of investors in the UAE or any of its free zones (including, in particular, the DIFC) who qualify as sophisticated investors under the relevant laws and regulations of the UAE or the free zone concerned, including, in particular, the DIFC.
The company represents and warrants that the securities offered hereby will not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered to the public in the UAE or any of its free zones, including, in particular, the DIFC.
Israel. The securities offered by this prospectus have not been approved or disapproved by the Israeli Securities Authority (the ISA), nor have such securities been registered for sale in Israel. The securities may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in Israel, absent the publication of a prospectus. The ISA has not issued permits, approvals or licenses in connection with the offering or publishing of the prospectus; nor has it authenticated the details included herein, confirmed their reliability or completeness, or rendered an opinion as to the quality of the securities being offered. Any resale, directly or indirectly, to the public of the securities offered by this prospectus is subject to restrictions on transferability and must be effected only in compliance with the Israeli securities laws and regulations.
Italy. The offering of the securities has not been registered with the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), in accordance with Italian securities legislation. Accordingly, the securities may not be offered or sold, and copies of this offering document or any other document relating to the securities may not be distributed in Italy except to Qualified Investors, as defined in Article 34- ter, subsection 1, paragraph b) of CONSOB Regulation no. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended (the Issuers’ Regulation), or in any other circumstance where an express exemption to comply with public offering restrictions provided by Legislative Decree no. 58 of February 24, 1998 (the Consolidated Financial Act) or Issuers’ Regulation applies, including those provided for under Article 100 of the Finance Law and Article 34- ter of the Issuers’ Regulation, and provided, however, that any such offer or sale of the securities or distribution of copies of this offering document or any other document relating to the securities in Italy must (i) be made in accordance with all applicable Italian laws and regulations, (ii) be conducted in accordance with any relevant limitations or procedural requirements that CONSOB may impose upon the offer or sale of the securities, and (iii) be made only by (a) banks, investment firms or financial companies enrolled in the special register provided for in Article 107 of Legislative Decree no. 385 of September 1, 1993, to the extent duly
138
authorized to engage in the placement and/or underwriting of financial instruments in Italy in accordance with the Consolidated Financial Act and the relevant implementing regulations; or (b) foreign banks or financial institutions (the controlling shareholding of which is owned by one or more banks located in the same EU Member State) authorised to place and distribute securities in the Republic of Italy pursuant to Articles 15, 16 and 18 of the Banking Act, in each case acting in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Pakistan. The investors/subscribers in Pakistan will be responsible for ensuring their eligibility to invest under the applicable laws of Pakistan and to obtain any regulatory consents if required for such purpose.
Saudi Arabia. NO OFFERING OF SECURITIES IS BEING MADE IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA, AND NO AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE SALE OF THE SECURITIES WILL BE CONCLUDED IN SAUDI ARABIA. THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED AT THE REQUEST OF THE RECIPIENT AND IS BEING FORWARDED TO THE ADDRESS SPECIFIED BY THE RECIPIENT. NEITHER THE AGENT NOR THE OFFERING HAVE BEEN LICENSED BY THE SAUDI’S SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR ARE OTHERWISE REGULATED BY THE LAWS OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA.
THEREFORE, NO SERVICES RELATING TO THE OFFERING, INCLUDING THE RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS AND/OR THE ALLOTMENT OF THE SECURITIES, MAY BE RENDERED WITHIN THE KINGDOM BY THE AGENT OR PERSONS REPRESENTING THE OFFERING.
Switzerland. This document does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of Article 652a of the Swiss Code of Obligations. The securities of Insurance Acquisition Corp. may not be sold directly or indirectly in or into Switzerland except in a manner which will not result in a public offering within the meaning of the Swiss Code of Obligations. Neither this document nor any other offering materials relating to the securities may be distributed, published or otherwise made available in Switzerland except in a manner which will not constitute a public offer of the securities of Insurance Acquisition Corp. in Switzerland.
United Kingdom. The content of this prospectus has not been issued or approved by an authorized person within the meaning of the United Kingdom Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). Reliance on this prospectus for the purpose of engaging in any investment activity may expose an Investor to a significant risk of losing all of the property or other assets invested. This prospectus does not constitute a Prospectus within the meaning of the FSMA and is issued in reliance upon one or more of the exemptions from the need to issue such a prospectus contained in section 86 of the FSMA.
Japan. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and no securities will be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
European Economic Area. In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a relevant member state), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that relevant member state (the “relevant implementation date”), an offer of units described in this prospectus may not be made to the public in that relevant member state prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that has been approved by the competent authority in that relevant member state or, where appropriate, approved in another relevant member state and notified to the competent authority in that relevant member state, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that, with effect from and including the relevant implementation date, an offer of our units may be made to the public in that relevant member state at any time:
• to any legal entity that is authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;
• to any legal entity that has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000 and (3) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000, as shown in its last annual or consolidated accounts;
139
• to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined below) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or
• in any other circumstances that do not require the publication of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.
Each purchaser of units described in this prospectus located within a relevant member state will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive. For the purpose of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in any relevant member state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the units, as the expression may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC and includes any relevant implementing measure in each relevant member state.
We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of units through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters with a view to the final placement of the units as contemplated in this prospectus. Accordingly, no purchaser of the units, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of the units on behalf of us or the underwriters.
140
Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for us by Ledgewood PC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, New York, New York.
The audited financial statements included in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so included in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
141
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Board of Directors and Stockholder
INSU Acquisition Corp III
Opinion on the financial statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of INSU Acquisition Corp III (a Delaware corporation) (the “Company”) as of October 22, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholder’s deficit, and cash flows for the period from October 6, 2020 (inception) through October 22, 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 October 22, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from October 6, 2020 (inception) through October 22, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
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, the Company has no present revenue, its business plan is dependent on the completion of a financing transaction and the Company’s cash and working capital as of October 22, 2020 is not sufficient to complete its planned activities for the upcoming year. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Notes 3 and 4. 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 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 audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our 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 include 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/ GRANT THORNTON LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 12, 2020
F-2
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
BALANCE SHEET
OCTOBER 22, 2020
ASSETS |
|
|
||
Deferred offering costs |
$ |
12,733 |
|
|
TOTAL ASSETS |
$ |
12,733 |
|
|
|
|
|||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S DEFICIT |
|
|
||
Current liabilities: |
|
|
||
Accrued offering costs |
$ |
12,733 |
|
|
Promissory note – related party |
|
560 |
|
|
Total Current Liabilities |
|
13,293 |
|
|
|
|
|||
Commitments |
|
|
||
|
|
|||
Stockholder’s Deficit |
|
|
||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 authorized, none issued and outstanding |
|
— |
|
|
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 60,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
|
— |
|
|
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 7,846,667 shares issued and outstanding(1) |
|
785 |
|
|
Additional paid-in capital |
|
24,215 |
|
|
Stock subscription receivable from stockholder |
|
(25,000 |
) |
|
Accumulated deficit |
|
(560 |
) |
|
Total Stockholder’s Deficit |
|
(560 |
) |
|
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S DEFICIT |
$ |
12,733 |
|
____________
(1) Includes up to 1,000,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the overallotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters. On October 22, 2020, the Company completed a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split of its Class B common stock (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 6, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH OCTOBER 22, 2020
Formation and operating costs |
$ |
560 |
|
|
Net Loss |
|
(560 |
) |
|
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1) |
|
6,846,667 |
|
|
Basic and diluted net loss per Class B common share |
$ |
(0.00 |
) |
____________
(1) Excludes an aggregate of up to 1,000,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the overallotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters. On October 22, 2020, the Company completed a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split of its Class B common stock (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDER’S DEFICIT
FOR THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 6, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH OCTOBER 22, 2020
|
Additional Paid-in |
Stock Subscription Receivable |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total |
||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||
Balance – October 6, 2020 (inception) |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
|
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
|||||||
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor(1) |
7,846,667 |
|
785 |
|
24,215 |
|
(25,000 |
) |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||
Net loss |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
(560 |
) |
|
(560 |
) |
||||||
Balance – October 22, 2020 |
7,846,667 |
$ |
785 |
$ |
24,215 |
$ |
(25,000 |
) |
$ |
(560 |
) |
$ |
(560 |
) |
____________
(1) Includes 1,000,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the overallotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters. On October 22, 2020, the Company completed a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split of its Class B common stock (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 6, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH OCTOBER 22, 2020
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
|
|
||
Net loss |
$ |
(560 |
) |
|
Net cash used in operating activities |
|
(560 |
) |
|
|
|
|||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
|
|
||
Proceeds from promissory note – related party |
|
560 |
|
|
Net cash provided by financing activities |
|
560 |
|
|
|
|
|||
Net Change in Cash |
|
— |
|
|
Cash – Beginning |
|
— |
|
|
Cash – Ending |
$ |
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Non-Cash investing and financing activities: |
|
|
||
Offering costs included in accrued offering costs |
$ |
12,733 |
|
|
Issuance of stock for stock subscription receivable from stockholder |
$ |
25,000 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
INSU Acquisition Corp. III (the “Company”), is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on October 6, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business transaction with one or more operating businesses or assets (a “Business Combination”).
Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus its search on businesses providing insurance or insurance related services, with particular emphasis on insurance distribution businesses, regulated insurance or reinsurance businesses, and insurance related technology businesses. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of October 22, 2020, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity for the period from October 6, 2020 (inception) through October 22, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering (the “Proposed Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a Proposed Offering of 20,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), which is discussed in Note 3 and the sale of 540,000 units (the “Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Placement Unit in a private placement to Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Offering.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Offering and the sale of the Placement Units, 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 successfully effect a Business Combination. Nasdaq rules provide that the Company must complete a Business Combination with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with a Business Combination. 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 of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the Placement Units, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”) and invested in 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 in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act and that invest only in direct U.S. government obligations, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination; (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if it does not complete an initial Business Combination within 24 months from the consummation of the Proposed Offering (the “Combination Period”); or (iii) the distribution of the Trust Account, as described below, except that interest earned on the Trust Account can be released to pay the Company’s tax obligations, if the Company is unable to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or upon any earlier liquidation of the Company.
The Company will provide its stockholders 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 stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will
F-7
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS (cont.)
seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to stockholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the representative (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The common stock subject to redemption will be recorded at redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
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 and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, 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, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal 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. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC and Dioptra Advisors III, LLC (collectively the “Sponsor”) and the Company’s officers and directors (the “Insiders”) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5), the shares of Class A common stock included in the Placement Units (the “Placement Shares”) and any Public Shares held by them in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
The Company will also provide its stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares in connection with any stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of Public Shares if it does not complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period. The stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable). The per-share amount to be distributed to stockholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the representative (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights with respect to the Company’s warrants in connection with such a stockholder vote to approve such an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may not redeem shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. The Insiders have agreed to vote any Founder Shares, any Placement Shares and any Public Shares held by them in favor of any such amendment.
The Company will have until the expiration of the Combination Period to consummate its initial Business Combination. If the Company is unable to consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including any interest earned on the Trust Account not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and; (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the
F-8
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS (cont.)
requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The Insiders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Placement Shares, as applicable, (i) in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if it does not complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, and (iii) if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The Insiders have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Public Shares held by them in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if it does not complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, the Insiders will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to Public Shares if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination or liquidates within the Combination Period. The representative has agreed to waive its rights to deferred underwriting commissions held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of 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 (including Trust Account assets) will be less than the initial public offering price per Unit in the Proposed Offering. Placing funds in the Trust Account may not protect those funds from third party claims against the Company. Although the Company will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities it engages, execute agreements with the Company waiving any claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account, there is no guarantee that such persons will execute such agreements. Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC, has agreed that it will be liable under certain circumstances to ensure that the proceeds in the Trust Account are not reduced by the claims of target businesses or vendors or other entities that are owed money by the Company for service rendered, contracted for or products sold to the Company. However, it may not be able to satisfy those obligations should they arise.
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if the Company seeks stockholder approval of its Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions in connection with its Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to an aggregate of 20.0% or more of the shares sold in the Proposed Offering. However, there is no restriction on the Company’s stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares for or against a Business Combination.
Going Concern Consideration
At October 22, 2020, the Company had no cash and a working capital deficit of $13,293. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a Proposed Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
F-9
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
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 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. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of October 22, 2020.
Deferred offering costs
Deferred offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Offering and that will be charged to stockholder’s equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering. Should the Proposed Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Income taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740 “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. Deferred tax assets were deemed to be immaterial as of October 22, 2020.
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of October 22, 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 may be subject to potential examination by federal, state and city taxing authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal, state and city tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
F-10
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Net loss per common share
Net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares at October 22, 2020 were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of Class B common stock that are subject to forfeiture if the overallotment option is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 5). At October 22, 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per common share is the same as basic loss per common share for the period presented.
Concentration of credit risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution which, at times may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair value of financial instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Recent accounting standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3. PROPOSED OFFERING
Pursuant to the Proposed Offering, the Company will offer for sale 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 (see Note 7).
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
In connection with the Proposed Offering, the Sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 540,000 Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Placement Unit, or $5,400,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the consummation of the Proposed Offering. Each Placement Unit will consist of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant (the “Placement Warrant”). Each whole Placement Warrant is exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The proceeds from the Placement Units will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Placement Units will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Placement Warrants will expire worthless. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Placement Warrants.
F-11
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
In October 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,000 shares of common stock to the Sponsor (the “Founder Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. Accordingly, as of October 22, 2020, the $25,000 payment due to the Company is recorded as stock subscription receivable from stockholder in the stockholder’s equity section of the accompanying balance sheet.
On October 22, 2020, the Company filed an amendment to its Certificate of Incorporation to, among other things, create two classes of common stock, Class A and Class B, and to convert the outstanding Founder Shares into shares of Class B common stock. The Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to certain adjustments, as described in Note 7. On October 22, 2020, the Company effectuated a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split of its common stock, resulting in an aggregate of 7,846,667 shares of Class B common stock being held by the Sponsor (the “Founder Shares”). The 7,846,667 Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 1,000,000 shares of Class B common stock which are subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ overallotment option is not exercised in full or in part, so that the Founder Shares will represent 25% of the Company’s aggregate Founder Shares, Placement Shares and issued and outstanding Public Shares after the Proposed Offering. All share and per-share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the stock dividend on the Founder Shares.
The Insiders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares (except to permitted transferees) until (i) with respect to 25% of such shares, upon consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (ii) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of the Class A common stock exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of a Business Combination, (iii) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of the Class A common stock exceeds $13.50 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of a Business Combination, and (iv) with respect to 25% of such shares, when the closing price of the Class A common stock exceeds $17.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier, in any case, if, following a Business Combination, the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company intends to enter into an agreement, commencing on the date that the Company’s securities are first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to pay the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or one of its affiliates has committed to loan the Company funds as may be required up to a maximum of $750,000 (“Working Capital Loans”), which will be repaid only upon the consummation of a Business Combination. If the Company does not consummate a Business Combination, the Company may use a portion of any funds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans; however, no proceeds from the Trust Account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the Working Capital Loans, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. Up to $1,500,000 of the Working Capital Loans may be converted into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the holder, at the time of the Business Combination. The units would be identical to the Placement Units. As of October 22, 2020, there are no Working Capital Loans outstanding.
F-12
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic 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, close of the Proposed Offering and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Placement Units (including securities contained therein) and the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Placement Warrants or the warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Offering requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, the holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include such securities in other registration statements filed by the Company and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement will provide that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover overallotments at the Proposed Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The underwriters will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of 2.0% of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Offering, or $4,000,000. In addition, the representative will be entitled to a deferred fee of (i) 4.0% of the gross proceeds of the initial 20,000,000 Units sold in the Proposed Offering, or $8,000,000, and (ii) 6.0% of the gross proceeds from the Units sold pursuant to the overallotment option, or $1,800,000. The deferred fee will become payable to the representative 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.
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designations, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s Board of Directors. At October 22, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 60,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At October 22, 2020, there were no shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding.
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each common share. At October 22, 2020, there were 7,846,667 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding, of which 1,000,000 shares were subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s overallotment option is not exercised in full so that the Founder Shares will represent 25% of the Company’s aggregate Founder Shares, Placement Shares and issued and outstanding Public Shares after the Proposed Offering (see Note 8).
F-13
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY (cont.)
Holders of Class B common stock will vote on the election of directors prior to the consummation of a Business Combination. Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of stockholders except as required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Proposed Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 25% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of the Proposed Offering, including Placement Shares, plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination).
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants 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 Proposed Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise for cash of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt from the registration or qualifications requirements of the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants has not been declared effective by the end of 60 business days following the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its best efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following a Business Combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. The Company will use its best efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will be required to use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
F-14
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY (cont.)
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company 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.
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption for cash, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company and in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Insiders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 50% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the completion of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of the shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company completes a 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, 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.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
The Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Proposed Offering, except that the Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 8. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to November 12, 2020, the date that the financial statements were available to be issued. Other than as described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-15
$200,000,000
INSU Acquisition Corp. III
20,000,000 Units
__________________________________
PROSPECTUS
__________________________________
, 2020
Until , 2020, all dealers that buy, sell or trade these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
SEC filing fee |
$ |
25,093 |
|
FINRA filing fee |
|
35,000 |
|
Accounting fees and expenses |
|
45,000 |
|
Printing and engraving expenses |
|
35,000 |
|
Legal fees and expenses |
|
250,000 |
|
NASDAQ Capital Market fees |
|
75,000 |
|
Travel and roadshow |
|
20,000 |
|
Directors and officers insurance |
|
200,000 |
|
Miscellaneous expenses(1) |
|
139,907 |
|
Total |
$ |
825,000 |
____________
(1) This amount represents additional expenses that may be incurred by us in connection with the offering over and above those specifically listed above, including distribution and mailing costs, transfer agent fees, warrant agent fees and trustee fees.
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Our amended and restated bylaws will provide that all of our directors, officers, employees and agents will be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law concerning indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents is set forth below.
Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
(a) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust account or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.
(b) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust account or other enterprise against expenses including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which
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such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
(c) To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
(d) Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.
(e) Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.
(f) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office.
(g) A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust account or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.
(h) For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(i) For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services
II-2
by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.
(j) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k) The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees).
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
The Corporation, to the full extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, as amended from time to time, shall indemnify all persons whom it may indemnify pursuant thereto. Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which such officer or director may be entitled to indemnification hereunder shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized hereby.
Our amended and restated bylaws will provide for the indemnification of our directors, officers or other persons, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We will purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, a form of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the underwriters, and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify us, against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
In October 2020, Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC purchased 1,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. We effected a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split in October 2020, and, as a result, our initial holders hold 7,846,667 founder shares with an average purchase price of approximately $0.00319 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 25% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of this offering. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
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In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us 540,000 placement units at $10.00 per unit (for an aggregate purchase price of $5,400,000). This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. This issuance will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
In addition, if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we may effect a stock dividend immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain our sponsor’s collective ownership of founder shares at 25% of the aggregate of our founder shares and our public shares upon consummation of the offering. If we decrease the size of the offering, we expect to effect a reverse split of our common stock immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain our sponsor’s collective ownership of founder shares at 25% of the aggregate of our founder shares and our public shares upon the date of this prospectus. Any such increased number of shares will be subject to forfeiture in the event that the underwriter’s overallotment option is not exercised in full. Any such decreased number of shares will be forfeited, with the remainder subject to forfeiture in the event that the underwriter’s overallotment option is not exercised in full.
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Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
Exhibit No. |
Description |
|
1.1 |
Form of Underwriting Agreement.** |
|
3.1(a) |
||
3.1(b) |
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation, filed October 22, 2020.* |
|
3.1(c) |
Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.** |
|
3.2(a) |
||
3.2(b) |
Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws.** |
|
4.1 |
Specimen Unit Certificate.** |
|
4.2 |
Specimen Common Stock Certificate.** |
|
4.3 |
Specimen Warrant Certificate (included in Exhibit 4.4).** |
|
4.4 |
Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.** |
|
5.1 |
Opinion of Ledgewood, P.C.** |
|
10.1 |
Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.** |
|
10.2 |
Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant and security holders.** |
|
10.3(a) |
Form of Placement Unit Subscription Agreement with Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC.** |
|
10.4 |
Form of Letter Agreement by and between the Registrant, the Registrant’s security holders named therein, and the officers and directors of the Registrant.** |
|
10.5 |
Form of Indemnity Agreement.** |
|
10.6 |
||
10.7 |
Form of Administrative Services Agreement** |
|
10.8 |
Form of Loan Commitment Agreement between the Registrant and Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC.** |
|
10.9 |
Form of Promissory Note for working capital loan from Insurance Acquisition Sponsor III, LLC to the Registrant (included in Exhibit 10.8).** |
|
14.1 |
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.** |
|
23.1 |
Consent of Grant Thornton LLP.* |
|
23.2 |
Consent of Ledgewood, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1).** |
|
24.1 |
Powers of Attorney (included on signature page of the Registration Statement).** |
|
99.1 |
Form of Audit Committee Charter.** |
|
99.2 |
Form of Compensation Committee Charter.** |
|
99.3 |
||
99.4 |
||
99.5 |
||
99.6 |
____________
* Filed herewith
** To be filed by amendment
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
II-5
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(c) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.
(4) For the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Philadelphia, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on this 12th day of November, 2020.
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III |
||||
By: |
/s/ John M. Butler |
|||
Name: |
John M. Butler |
|||
Title: |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints each of Daniel G. Cohen and John Butler, each acting alone, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement on Form S-1 (including all pre-effective and post-effective amendments and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, each acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that any such attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name |
Position |
Date |
||
/s/ John M. Butler |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
November 12, 2020 |
||
John M. Butler |
(Principal Executive Officer) |
|||
/s/ Joseph W. Pooler, Jr. |
Chief Financial Officer |
November 12, 2020 |
||
Joseph W. Pooler, Jr. |
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) |
|||
/s/ Daniel G. Cohen |
Chairman of the Board of Directors |
November 12, 2020 |
||
Daniel G. Cohen |
II-7
Exhibit 3.1(a)
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
FIRST. The name of this corporation is INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III (the “Corporation”).
SECOND. Its registered office and place of business in the State of Delaware is Rodney Square, 1000 North King Street, in the City of Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware 19801. The name of the Registered Agent at such is Corporation Guarantee and Trust Company.
THIRD. The nature of the business and, the objects and purposes proposed to be transacted, promoted and carried on, are to do any or all the things herein mentioned, as fully and to the same extent as natural persons might or could do, and in any part of the world, viz:
The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of Delaware.
FOURTH. The Corporation shall be authorized to issue One Thousand (1,000) Shares of common stock at $0.0001 Par Value.
FIFTH: The Corporation shall have perpetual existence.
SIXTH. The name and address of the incorporator is as follows: Rachel L. Bradley, Two Commerce Square, 2001 Market Street, Suite 3400, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
SEVENTH. The directors shall have power to make and to alter or amend the bylaws; to fix the amount to be reserved as working capital, and to authorize and cause to be executed, mortgages and liens without limit as to the amount, upon the property and franchise of the Corporation.
With the consent in writing, and pursuant to a vote of the holders of a majority of the capital stock issued and outstanding, the directors shall have authority to dispose, in any manner, of the whole property of the Corporation.
The bylaws shall determine whether and to what extent the accounts and books of the Corporation, or any of them, shall be open to the inspection of the stockholders; and no stockholders shall have any right of inspecting any account, or book, or document of the Corporation, except as conferred by the law or the bylaws, or by resolution of the stockholders.
The stockholders and directors shall have power to hold their meetings and keep the books, documents and papers of the Corporation outside of the State of Delaware, at such places as may be from time to time designated by the bylaws or by resolution of the stockholders or directors, except as otherwise required by the laws of Delaware.
It is the intention that the objects, purposes and powers specified in the third paragraph hereof shall, except where otherwise specified in said paragraph, be nowise limited or restricted by reference to or inference from the terms of any other clause or paragraph in this Certificate of Incorporation, but that the objects, purposes and powers specified in the third paragraph and in each of the clauses or paragraphs of this charter shall be regarded as independent objects, purposes and powers.
EIGHTH. No director of the Corporation shall be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the General Corporation Law, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. No amendment to or repeal of this Article Eighth shall apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged liability of any director of the Corporation for or with respect to any acts or omissions of such director occurring prior to such amendment.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being the incorporator herein before named, has executed, signed and acknowledged this certificate of incorporation this 6th day of October, 2020.
/s/ RACHEL L. BRADLEY | ||
RACHEL L. BRADLEY | (Seal) | |
INCORPORATOR |
Exhibit 3.1(b)
CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT
TO
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III
INSU Acquisition Corp. III (the ”Corporation”), a corporation organized and existing under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, hereby certifies as follows:
1. | This Certificate of Amendment (the “Certificate of Amendment”) amends the provisions of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State on October 6, 2020 (the “Certificate of Incorporation”). |
2. | Article Fourth of the Certificate of Incorporation is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows: |
“FOURTH: The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock, each with a par value of $0.0001 per share, which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 71,000,000, of which (a) 70,000,000 shares shall be Common Stock, including (i) 60,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, (ii) 10,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock and (b) 1,000,000 shares shall be Preferred Stock.
Effective upon the filing of this Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, a 7,846.667-for-1 forward stock split for each share of Common Stock outstanding prior to such time shall automatically and without any action on the part of the holders thereof occur, and such outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be designated as shares of Class B Common Stock.
A. Preferred Stock. The Board of Directors is expressly granted authority to issue shares of the Preferred Stock, in one or more series, and to fix for each such series such voting powers, full or limited, and such designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and such qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof as shall be stated and expressed in the resolution or resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors providing for the issue of such series (a “Preferred Stock Designation”) and as may be permitted by the General Corporation Law of Delaware. The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of the capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, without a separate vote of the holders of the Preferred Stock, or any series thereof, unless a vote of any such holders is required pursuant to any Preferred Stock Designation.
B. Common Stock.
(i) Except as otherwise required by law or as otherwise provided in any Preferred Stock Designation, the holders of the Common Stock shall exclusively possess all voting power.
(ii) The holders of shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to one vote for each such share on each matter properly submitted to the stockholders on which the holders of the Common Stock are entitled to vote.
(iii) Shares of Class B Common Stock are convertible into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis (the “Initial Conversion Ratio”) and shall automatically convert into Class A Common Stock on the business day following the closing of the Business Combination (as defined below).
(iv) Notwithstanding the Initial Conversion Ratio, in the case that additional shares of Class A Common Stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Corporation’s initial public offering, all issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock shall automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock at the time of the closing of the Corporation’s initial merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”) at a ratio for which:
(x) | the numerator shall be equal to the sum of (A) 25% of all shares of Class A Common Stock issued or issuable (upon the conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or otherwise) by the Corporation, related to or in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination (excluding any securities issued or issuable to any seller in the Business Combination) plus (B) the number of shares of Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding prior to the closing of the Business Combination; and |
(y) | the denominator shall be the number of shares of Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding prior to the closing of the Business Combination. |
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, (i) the foregoing adjustment to the Initial Conversion Ratio may be waived as to any particular issuance or deemed issuance of additional shares of Class A Common Stock or equity-linked securities by the written consent or agreement of holders of a majority of the shares of Class B Common Stock then outstanding consenting or agreeing separately as a single class, and (ii) in no event may the Class B Common Stock convert into Class A Common Stock at a ratio that is less than one-for-one.
The foregoing conversion ratio shall also be adjusted to account for any subdivision (by stock split, subdivision, exchange, stock dividend, reclassification, recapitalization or otherwise) or combination (by reverse stock split, exchange, reclassification, recapitalization or otherwise) or similar reclassification or recapitalization of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock into a greater or lesser number of shares occurring after the original filing of this Certificate without a proportionate and corresponding subdivision, combination or similar reclassification or recapitalization of the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock.
Each share of Class B Common Stock shall convert into its pro rata number of shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to this Section B of Article Fourth. The pro rata share for each stockholder of Class B Common Stock will be determined as follows: Each share of Class B Common Stock shall convert into such number of shares of Class A Common Stock as is equal to the product of one (1) multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the total number of shares of Class A Common Stock into which all of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock shall be converted pursuant to this Article and the denominator of which shall be the total number of issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock at the time of conversion.
3. | This amendment was duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Sections 228 and 242 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. |
4. | All other provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation shall remain in full force and effect. |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this Certificate of Amendment to be duly executed in its name and on its behalf as of the 22nd day of October, 2020.
By: | /s/ John Butler | |
Name: | John Butler | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer and President |
[INSU III - Signature page to Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation]
Exhibit 3.2(a)
BYLAWS
OF
INSURANCE ACQUISITION CORP. III
ARTICLE I
STOCKHOLDERS
1.1 Meetings.
1.1.1 Place. Meetings of the stockholders shall be held at such place as may be designated by the board of directors.
1.1.2 Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of the stockholders for the election of directors and for other business shall be held on such date and at such time as may be fixed by the board of directors.
1.1.3 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the stockholders may be called at any time by the president, or the board of directors, or the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of stock of Insurance Acquisition Corp. III (the “Company”) entitled to vote at the meeting.
1.1.4 Quorum. The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of stock of the Company entitled to vote on a particular matter shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of considering such matter.
1.1.5 Voting Rights. Except as otherwise provided herein, in the certificate of incorporation or by law, every stockholder shall have the right at every meeting of stockholders to one vote for every share standing in the name of such stockholder on the books of the Company which is entitled to vote at such meeting. Every stockholder may vote either in person or by proxy.
ARTICLE II
DIRECTORS
2.1 Number and Term. The board of directors shall have authority to (i) determine the number of directors to constitute the board and (ii) fix the terms of office of the directors.
2.2 Meetings.
2.2.1 Place. Meetings of the board of directors shall be held at such place as may be designated by the board or in the notice of the meeting.
2.2.2 Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the board of directors shall be held at such times as the board may designate. Notice of regular meetings need not be given.
2.2.3 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the board may be called by direction of the president or any two members of the board on three days’ notice to each director, either personally or by mail, telegram or facsimile transmission.
2.2.4 Quorum. A majority of all the directors in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting.
2.2.5 Voting. Except as otherwise provided herein, in the certificate of incorporation or by law, the vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall constitute the act of the board of directors.
2.2.6 Resignations. Any director may resign at any time by submitting his written resignation to the Company. Such resignation shall take effect at the time of its receipt by the Company unless another time is fixed in the resignation, in which case it shall become effective at the time so fixed. The acceptance of a resignation shall not be required to make it effective.
2.2.7 Vacancies. Vacancies and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors may be filled by (a) a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director, or (b) election by, or consent of, a majority of all of the stockholders having the right to vote as a single class, and each person so appointed shall be a director until his successor is elected and qualified or until his earlier resignation or removal.
2.2.6 Committees. The board of directors may, by resolution adopted by a majority of the whole board, designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more directors and such alternate members (also directors) as may be designated by the board. Unless otherwise provided herein, in the absence or disqualification of any member of a committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another director to act at the meeting in the place of any such absent or disqualified member. Except as otherwise provided herein, in the certificate of incorporation or by law, any such committee shall have and may exercise the powers of the full board of directors to the extent provided in the resolution of the board directing the committee.
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ARTICLE III
OFFICERS
3.1 Election. At its first meeting after each annual meeting of the stockholders, the board of directors shall elect a chief executive officer, president, treasurer, secretary and such other officers as it deems advisable.
3.2 Authority, Duties and Compensation. The officers shall have such authority, perform such duties and serve for such compensation as may be determined by resolution of the board of directors. Except as otherwise provided by board resolution, (i) the chief executive officer shall be the chief executive officer of the Company, shall have general supervision over the business and operations of the Company, may perform any act and execute any instrument for the conduct of such business and operations and shall preside at all meetings of the board and stockholders, (ii) the other officers shall have the duties customarily related to their respective offices, and (iii) the president, and in his absence, any vice president, or vice presidents in the order determined by the board, shall in the absence of the chief executive officer have the authority and perform the duties of the chief executive officer.
ARTICLE IV
INDEMNIFICATION
4.1 Right to Indemnification. The Company shall indemnify any person who was or is party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Company or a constituent corporation absorbed in a consolidation or merger, or is or was serving at the request of the Company or a constituent corporation absorbed in a consolidation or merger, as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, real estate investment trust or other trust or other enterprise, or is or was a director or officer of the Company serving at its request as an administrator, trustee or other fiduciary of one or more of the employee benefit plans of the Company or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), liability and loss actually and reasonably incurred or suffered by such person in connection with such proceeding, whether or not the indemnified liability arises or arose from any threatened, pending or completed proceeding by or in the right of the Company, except to the extent that such indemnification is prohibited by applicable law.
4.2 Advance of Expenses. Expenses incurred by a director or officer of the Company in defending a proceeding shall be paid by the Company in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding subject to the provisions of any applicable statute.
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4.3 Procedure for Determining Permissibility. To determine whether any indemnification or advance of expenses under this Article IV is permissible, the board of directors by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors not parties to such proceeding may, and on request of any person seeking indemnification or advance of expenses shall be required to, determine in each case whether the applicable standards in any applicable statute have been met, or such determination shall be made by independent legal counsel if such quorum is not obtainable, or, even if obtainable, a majority vote of a quorum of disinterested directors so directs, provided that, if there has been a change in control of the Company between the time of the action or failure to act giving rise to the claim for indemnification or advance of expenses and the time such claim is made, at the option of the person seeking indemnification or advance of expenses, the permissibility of indemnification or advance of expenses shall be determined by independent legal counsel. The reasonable expenses of any director or officer in prosecuting a successful claim for indemnification, and the fees and expenses of any special legal counsel engaged to determine permissibility of indemnification or advance of expenses, shall be borne by the Company.
4.4 Contractual Obligation. The obligations of the Company to indemnify a director or officer under this Article IV, including the duty to advance expenses, shall be considered a contract between the Company and such director or officer, and no modification or repeal of any provision of this Article IV shall affect, to the detriment of the director or officer, such obligations of the Company in connection with a claim based on any act or failure to act occurring before such modification or repeal.
4.5 Indemnification Not Exclusive; Inuring of Benefit. The indemnification and advance of expenses provided by this Article IV shall not be deemed exclusive of any other right to which one indemnified may be entitled under any statute, provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of any such person.
4.6 Insurance and Other Indemnification. The board of directors shall have the power to (i) authorize the Company to purchase and maintain, at the Company’s expense, insurance on behalf of the Company and on behalf of others to the extent that power to do so has not been prohibited by statute, (ii) create any fund of any nature, whether or not under the control of a trustee, or otherwise secure any of its indemnification obligations, and (iii) give other indemnification to the extent permitted by statute.
ARTICLE V
TRANSFER OF SHARE CERTIFICATES
Transfers of share certificates and the shares represented thereby shall be made on the books of the Company only by the registered holder or by duly authorized attorney. Transfers shall be made only on surrender of the share certificate or certificates.
ARTICLE VI
AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be amended or repealed at any regular or special meeting of the board of directors by vote of a majority of all directors in office or at any annual or special meeting of stockholders by vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding stock entitled to vote. Notice of any such annual or special meeting of stockholders shall set forth the proposed change or a summary thereof.
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Exhibit 10.6
THIS NOTE HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”). THIS NOTE HAS BEEN ACQUIRED FOR INVESTMENT ONLY AND MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR ASSIGNED IN THE ABSENCE OF REGISTRATION OF THE RESALE THEREOF UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY IN FORM, SCOPE AND SUBSTANCE TO THE MAKER THAT SUCH REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED.
PROMISSORY NOTE
October 22, 2020
$300,000 | Issue Date: [DATE] |
No. A-1 | New York, New York |
INSU Acquisition Corp. III (the “Maker”) promises to pay to the order of Cohen & Company, LLC (the “Payee”) the principal sum of up to Three Hundred Thousand ($300,000) in lawful money of the United States of America, on the terms and conditions described below.
1. Principal. The principal balance of this Note shall be repayable on earlier of (the “Maturity Date”) (a) the date on which Maker consummates its initial public offering (“IPO”) and (b) March 31, 2021.
2. Interest. This Note shall bear no interest.
3. Application of Payments. All payments shall be applied first to payment in full of any costs incurred in the collection of any sum due under this Note, including (without limitation) reasonable attorneys’ fees, then to the payment in full of any late charges and finally to the reduction of the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
4. Events of Default. The following shall constitute Events of Default:
(a) Failure to Make Required Payments. Failure by Maker to pay the principal of, or other payments on, this Note within five (5) business days following the date when due.
5. Remedies.
(a) Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Section 4(a), Payee may, by written notice to Maker, declare this Note to be due and payable, whereupon the principal amount of this Note, and all other amounts payable under this Note, shall become immediately due and payable without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived, anything contained herein or in the documents evidencing the same to the contrary notwithstanding.
6. Waivers. Maker and all endorsers and guarantors of, and sureties for, this Note waive presentment for payment, demand, notice of dishonor, protest, and notice of protest with regard to this Note, all errors, defects and imperfections in any proceedings instituted by Payee under the terms of this Note, and all benefits that might accrue to Maker by virtue of any present or future laws exempting any property, real or personal, or any part of the proceeds arising from any sale of any such property, from attachment, levy or sale under execution, or providing for any stay of execution, exemption from civil process, or extension of time for payment; and Maker agrees that any real estate that may be levied upon pursuant to a judgment obtained by virtue hereof, on any writ of execution issued hereon, may be sold upon any such writ in whole or in part in any order desired by Payee.
7. Unconditional Liability. Maker hereby waives all notices in connection with the delivery, acceptance, performance, default, or enforcement of the payment of this Note, and agrees that its liability shall be unconditional, without regard to the liability of any other party, and shall not be affected in any manner by any indulgence, extension of time, renewal, waiver or modification granted or consented to by Payee, and consents to any and all extensions of time, renewals, waivers, or modifications that may be granted by Payee with respect to the payment or other provisions of this Note, and agrees that additional makers, endorsers, guarantors, or sureties may become parties hereto without notice to them or affecting their liability hereunder.
8. Notices. Any notice called for hereunder shall be deemed properly given if (i) sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, (ii) personally delivered, (iii) dispatched by any form of private or governmental express mail or delivery service providing receipted delivery, (iv) sent by facsimile or (v) sent by e-mail, to the following addresses or to such other address as either party may designate by notice in accordance with this Section:
If to Maker:
INSU Acquisition Corp. III
2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Attention: John Butler
Email: jbutler@cohenandcompany.com
If to Payee:
Cohen & Company, LLC
2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Attention: Daniel Cohen
Email: dcohen@cohenandcompany.com
Notice shall be deemed given on the earlier of (i) actual receipt by the receiving party, (ii) the date shown on a telefacsimile transmission confirmation, (iii) the date on which an e-mail transmission was received by the receiving party’s on-line access provider, (iv) the date reflected on a signed delivery receipt, or (vi) two (2) business days following tender of delivery or dispatch by express mail or delivery service.
9. Construction. THIS NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND ENFORCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO CONFLICT OF LAW PROVISIONS THEREOF.
10. Severability. Any provision contained in this Note which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.
11. Trust Waiver. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Payee hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in or to any distribution of the trust account (other than interest income earned on such trust account) in which will be deposited the proceeds of Maker’s IPO and the proceeds of the sale of the securities issued in a private placement to be consummated concurrently with the completion of the Maker’s IPO, and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the trust account (other than interest income earned on such trust account) for any reason whatsoever.
12. Amendment; Waiver. Any amendment hereto or waiver of any provision hereof may be made with, and only with, the written consent of the Maker and the Payee.
13. Assignment. No assignment or transfer of this Note or any rights or obligations hereunder may be made by any party hereto (by operation of law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other party hereto and any attempted assignment without the required consent shall be void.
[Signature Page Follows]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Maker, intending to be legally bound hereby, has caused this Note to be duly executed the day and year first above written.
INSU ACQUISITION CORP. III | ||
By: | /s/ John Butler | |
Name: | John Butler | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer and President |
[Signature Page – INSU III Promissory Note Pre-IPO]
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We have issued our report dated November 12, 2020, with respect to the financial statements of INSU Acquisition Corp. III contained in the Registration Statement and Prospectus. We consent to the use of the aforementioned report in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, and to the use of our name as it appears under the caption “Experts.”
/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 12, 2020
Exhibit 99.3
CONSENT OF TO BE NAMED AS A DIRECTOR NOMINEE
INSU Acquisition Corp. III intends to file a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (together with any amendments or supplements thereto, the “Registration Statement”) registering securities for issuance in its initial public offering. As required by Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned hereby consents to being named in the Registration Statement as a Director Nominee. The undersigned also consents to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
Dated: November 11, 2020 | Signature: | /s/ John C. Chrystal |
By: John C. Chrystal |
Exhibit 99.4
CONSENT OF TO BE NAMED AS A DIRECTOR NOMINEE
INSU Acquisition Corp. III intends to file a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (together with any amendments or supplements thereto, the “Registration Statement”) registering securities for issuance in its initial public offering. As required by Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned hereby consents to being named in the Registration Statement as a Director Nominee. The undersigned also consents to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
Dated: November 12, 2020 | Signature: | /s/ Sasson Posner |
By: Sasson Posner |
Exhibit 99.5
CONSENT OF TO BE NAMED AS A DIRECTOR NOMINEE
INSU Acquisition Corp. III intends to file a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (together with any amendments or supplements thereto, the “Registration Statement”) registering securities for issuance in its initial public offering. As required by Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned hereby consents to being named in the Registration Statement as a Director Nominee. The undersigned also consents to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
Dated: November 12, 2020 | Signature: | /s/ Sheila Nicoll |
By: Sheila Nicoll |
Exhibit 99.6
CONSENT OF TO BE NAMED AS A DIRECTOR NOMINEE
INSU Acquisition Corp. III intends to file a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (together with any amendments or supplements thereto, the “Registration Statement”) registering securities for issuance in its initial public offering. As required by Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned hereby consents to being named in the Registration Statement as a Director Nominee. The undersigned also consents to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
Dated: November 11, 2020 | Signature: | /s/ Walter Beach |
By: Walter Beach |