425 1 d306826d425.htm 425 425

Filing pursuant to Rule 425 under the

Securities Act of 1933, as amended

Deemed filed under Rule 14a-12 under the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended

Filer: Angel Pond Holdings Corporation

Subject Company: Angel Pond Holdings Corporation

Filer’s Commission File Number: 1-40382

Date: February 1, 2022


MariaDB - Employee Communication, 2/1/2022 3:17PM.

Re: Communications Guidance Regarding MariaDB/Angel Pond Combination

Team MariaDB,

As we publicly announced today, MariaDB has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Angel Pond Holdings Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Completing the business combination transaction (you may hear it referred to as the de-SPAC or as the MariaDB IPO) will require a significant amount of additional work, but assuming we do, it will result in MariaDB becoming a publicly traded company named MariaDB plc. [We will be holding a brief employee all-hands tomorrow, February 2, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. PT to provide everyone with additional information about the transaction. The meeting invites have already gone out, check your calendars!

Because Angel Pond is already a public company, while the transaction is pending the U.S. federal securities laws impose significant limitations on communications about the transaction by parties to the transaction and persons acting on their behalf. To enable MariaDB to meet its obligations under these laws and regulations, Michael Howard, Amir Ameri, Franz Aman and Jon Bakke have been designated as the only representatives of the company who are currently authorized to communicate publicly about the transaction. Additionally, our management team will be taking other steps to make sure the company complies with the legal requirements that apply to transaction-related communications.

All our directors and employees need to do their part to ensure compliance with these requirements as well. To that end:

 

   

Unless specifically authorized to do so, each of you must refrain from independently publicly or otherwise broadly disseminating writing (including by email, social media, message boards, blogs, tweets, or other electronic communications) relating to the business combination transaction or your opinion about the transaction unless the communication and its distribution are pre-cleared by Andrew McCabe, Vice President, Legal. Any request for pre-clearance must be made by e-mailing the request (including any proposed communication) to andrew.mccabe@mariadb.com. This requirement does not apply to internal communications among employees working on the transaction or related matters, or to such employees’ external confidential communications with MariaDB’s external legal counsel, accountants and other advisors.

 

   

In general, you should assume that information shared with you about the transaction in any internal communication (regardless of whether shared in in-person or webcast meetings, conference calls, by email, or otherwise) is confidential. Like other confidential or proprietary information that belongs to or relates to the company, you should not disclose any information shared with you about the transaction outside the company unless you are authorized to do so by a member of our management team.

 

   

If you receive or become aware of any public or otherwise broadly disseminated communication (including email, social media or other electronic communication) about the transaction, please immediately advise Andrew McCabe, Vice President, Legal, at the email address above, so that we may work to ensure compliance with applicable SEC regulations.

Important Information for Investors and Shareholders

In connection with the proposed transaction, Angel Pond will have a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the SEC, which will include a preliminary proxy statement to be distributed to holders of Angel Pond’s ordinary shares in connection with Angel Pond’s solicitation of proxies for the vote by Angel Pond’s shareholders with respect to the proposed transaction and other matters as described in the Registration Statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer of securities to be issued to Angel Pond’s and MariaDB’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. After the Registration Statement has been filed and declared effective, Angel Pond will mail a definitive proxy statement, when available, to its shareholders. Investors and security holders and other interested parties are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus, any amendments thereto and any other documents filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about Angel Pond, MariaDB and the proposed transaction. The documents relating to the proposed transaction (when they are available) can be obtained free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Free copies of these documents, once available, may also be obtained from Angel Pond by directing a request to: Angel Pond Holdings Corporation, 950 Third Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10022.

 

2


Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “see,” “will,” “would,” “target,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the proposed transaction, the expected timetable for completing the proposed transaction, the benefits and synergies of the proposed transaction, future opportunities for the combined company and products and any other statements regarding Angel Pond’s and MariaDB’s future operations, anticipated growth, financial or operating results, capital allocation, market opportunities, strategies, anticipated business levels, future earnings, planned activities, dividend policy, debt ratio, competitions, and other expectations and targets for future periods. There are several factors which could cause actual plans and results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, (i) the risk that the transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of Angel Pond’s securities, (ii) the risk that the transaction may not be completed by Angel Pond’s business combination deadline, (iii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the transaction, including the approval of the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, by and between Angel Pond, Mangomill plc, Meridian MergerSub Inc. and MariaDB, dated as of January 31, 2022 (the “Merger Agreement”) by the shareholders of Angel Pond and MariaDB, respectively, and the satisfaction of the minimum cash condition, (iv) the lack of a third party valuation in determining whether or not to pursue the proposed transaction, (v) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement, (vi) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transaction on MariaDB’s business relationships, operating results, and business generally, (vii) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of MariaDB and potential difficulties in MariaDB employee retention as a result of the transaction, (viii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against MariaDB or against Angel Pond related to the Merger Agreement or the proposed transaction, (ix) the ability to maintain the listing of Angel Pond’s securities or MariaDB plc’s securities on a national securities exchange, (x) the price of Angel Pond’s securities may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including the uncertainty of demand in the market that Angel Pond plans to operate or MariaDB operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting the business and changes in the combined capital structure, (xi) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the proposed transaction, and identify and realize additional opportunities, (xii) the ability to discover, develop and protect new technologies and to protect and enforce MariaDB’s or Angel Pond’s intellectual property rights, (xiii) the fact that significant capital investment is required for the research & development of intellectual property and other proprietary information to improve and scale technological processes, (xiv) the fact that MariaDB is an early stage company with a history of losses and its future profitability is uncertain, (xv) the uncertainty of financial projections which rely in part on assumptions about customer demand based on ongoing negotiations and indications of interest from potential customers, (xvi) the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in a highly competitive industry, (xvii) risks relating to the value of MariaDB plc’s securities to be issued in the transaction and uncertainty as to the long-term value of MariaDB plc’s securities, (xviii) disruptions and other impacts to MariaDB’s business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health or economic crises, (xix) the amount of redemption requests made by Angel Pond’s shareholders, which could be significant, (xx) those factors discussed in Angel Pond’s final prospectus filed with the SEC on May 19, 2021 under the “Risk Factors” heading, and other documents Angel Pond has filed, or will file, with the SEC, and (xxi) other risks to Angel Pond’s and MariaDB’s business, operations and results of operations including from: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; the loss of one or more significant customers or a significant reduction of business with customers; ability, cost and impact on business operations, of responding to changes in market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies and failure to respond to such changes; global economic and capital market conditions, including the continued availability of capital and financing, as well as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; changes in political conditions; business or supply disruption; security threats, such as acts of sabotage, terrorism or war, and natural disasters which could result in a significant operational event for MariaDB or Angel Pond; unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed merger, will be more fully discussed in the registration statement and merger proxy on Form S-4 to be filed regarding the transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors to be presented in any registration statement filed in connection with the transaction are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Further lists and descriptions of risks and uncertainties may be found in each of Angel Pond and MariaDB plc’s subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, Form 10-K, Form 8-K, and other SEC filings, the contents of which are not incorporated by reference into, nor do they form part of, this announcement. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Angel Pond’s or MariaDB’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. Neither Angel Pond nor MariaDB assumes any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

 

3


Participants in the Solicitation

Angel Pond, MariaDB and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Angel Pond’s shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination. Information about Angel Pond’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of Angel Pond’s securities is set forth in Angel Pond’s final prospectus filed with the SEC on May 19, 2021. Additional information regarding the interests of those persons and other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed transaction may be obtained by reading the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed business combination when it becomes available.

Non-Solicitation

This communication is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the potential transaction and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of Angel Pond, MariaDB plc or MariaDB, nor shall there be any sale of any such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

4


About Angel Pond

Angel Pond Holdings Corporation (NYSE:POND) is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Angel Pond was co-founded by Dr. Theodore T. Wang, a former Partner of Goldman Sachs, and Mr. Shihuang “Simon” Xie, a co-founder of China e-commerce company Alibaba Group. For more information, visit https://www.angelpond.com/.

About MariaDB

MariaDB Corporation Ab frees companies from the costs, cloud lock-in, constraints and complexity of proprietary databases, enabling them to reinvest in what matters most – rapidly developing innovative, customer-facing applications. MariaDB uses pluggable, purpose-built storage engines to support workloads that previously required a variety of specialized databases. With complexity and constraints eliminated, enterprises can now depend on a single complete database for their needs, whether on commodity hardware or their cloud of choice. Deployed in minutes for transactional, analytical or hybrid use cases, MariaDB delivers unmatched operational agility without sacrificing key enterprise features, including real ACID compliance and full SQL. Trusted by organizations such as, Bandwidth, DigiCert, InfoArmor, Oppenheimer, Samsung, SelectQuote, SpendHQ – MariaDB meets the same core requirements as proprietary databases at a fraction of the cost. No wonder it’s one of the fastest growing database management systems companies. Real business relies on MariaDB.

Important Information for Investors and Shareholders

In connection with the proposed transaction, Angel Pond will have a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the SEC, which will include a preliminary proxy statement to be distributed to holders of Angel Pond’s ordinary shares in connection with Angel Pond’s solicitation of proxies for the vote by Angel Pond’s shareholders with respect to the proposed transaction and other matters as described in the Registration Statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer of securities to be issued to Angel Pond’s and MariaDB’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. After the Registration Statement has been filed and declared effective, Angel Pond will mail a definitive proxy statement, when available, to its shareholders. Investors and security holders and other interested parties are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus, any amendments thereto and any other documents filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about Angel Pond, MariaDB and the proposed transaction. The documents relating to the proposed transaction (when they are available) can be obtained free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Free copies of these documents, once available, may also be obtained from the respective companies by contacting the investor relations department of Angel Pond or MariaDB at the following:

Angel Pond Contact Information

Hanchen Jin

info@angelpond.com

+1-212 -878-3702

MariaDB Contact Information

 

Investors:    Media:
ir@mariadb.com    pr@mariadb.com

 

5


Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “see,” “will,” “would,” “target,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the proposed transaction, the expected timetable for completing the proposed transaction, the benefits and synergies of the proposed transaction, future opportunities for the combined company and products and any other statements regarding Angel Pond’s and MariaDB’s future operations, anticipated growth, financial or operating results, capital allocation, market opportunities, strategies, anticipated business levels, future earnings, planned activities, dividend policy, debt ratio, competitions, and other expectations and targets for future periods. There are several factors which could cause actual plans and results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, (i) the risk that the transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of Angel Pond’s securities, (ii) the risk that the transaction may not be completed by Angel Pond’s business combination deadline, (iii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the transaction, including the approval of the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, by and between Angel Pond, Mangomill plc, Meridian MergerSub Inc. and MariaDB, dated as of January 31, 2022 (the “Merger Agreement”) by the shareholders of Angel Pond and MariaDB, respectively, and the satisfaction of the minimum cash condition, (iv) the lack of a third party valuation in determining whether or not to pursue the proposed transaction, (v) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement, (vi) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transaction on MariaDB’s business relationships, operating results, and business generally, (vii) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of MariaDB and potential difficulties in MariaDB employee retention as a result of the transaction, (viii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against MariaDB or against Angel Pond related to the Merger Agreement or the proposed transaction, (ix) the ability to maintain the listing of Angel Pond’s securities or MariaDB plc’s securities on a national securities exchange, (x) the price of Angel Pond’s securities may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including the uncertainty of demand in the market that Angel Pond plans to operate or MariaDB operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting the business and changes in the combined capital structure, (xi) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the proposed transaction, and identify and realize additional opportunities, (xii) the ability to discover, develop and protect new technologies and to protect and enforce MariaDB’s or Angel Pond’s intellectual property rights, (xiii) the fact that significant capital investment is required for the research & development of intellectual property and other proprietary information to improve and scale technological processes, (xiv) the fact that MariaDB is an early stage company with a history of losses and its future profitability is uncertain, (xv) the uncertainty of financial projections which rely in part on assumptions about customer demand based on ongoing negotiations and indications of interest from potential customers, (xvi) the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in a highly competitive industry, (xvii) risks relating to the value of MariaDB plc’s securities to be issued in the transaction and uncertainty as to the long-term value of MariaDB plc’s securities, (xviii) disruptions and other impacts to MariaDB’s business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health or economic crises, (xix) the amount of redemption requests made by Angel Pond’s shareholders, which could be significant, (xx) those factors discussed in Angel Pond’s final prospectus filed with the SEC on May 19, 2021 under the “Risk Factors” heading, and other documents Angel Pond has filed, or will file, with the SEC, and (xxi) other risks to Angel Pond’s and MariaDB’s business, operations and results of operations including from: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; the loss of one or more significant customers or a significant reduction of business with customers; ability, cost and impact on business operations, of responding to changes in market acceptance, rules, regulations and policies and failure to respond to such changes; global economic and capital market conditions, including the continued availability of capital and financing, as well as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; changes in political conditions; business or supply disruption; security threats, such as acts of sabotage, terrorism or war, and natural disasters which could result in a significant operational event for MariaDB or Angel Pond; unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed merger, will be more fully discussed in the registration statement and merger proxy on Form S-4 to be filed regarding the transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors to be presented in any registration statement filed in connection with the transaction are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Further lists and descriptions of risks and uncertainties may be found in each of Angel Pond and MariaDB plc’s subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, Form 10-K, Form 8-K, and other SEC filings, the contents of which are not incorporated by reference into, nor do they form part of, this announcement. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Angel Pond’s or MariaDB’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. Neither Angel Pond nor MariaDB assumes any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

 

6


Participants in the Solicitation

Angel Pond, MariaDB and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Angel Pond’s shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination. Information about Angel Pond’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of Angel Pond’s securities is set forth in Angel Pond’s final prospectus filed with the on SEC May 19, 2021. Additional information regarding the interests of those persons and other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed transaction may be obtained by reading the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed business combination when it becomes available.

Non-Solicitation

This communication is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the potential transaction and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of Angel Pond, MariaDB plc or MariaDB, nor shall there be any sale of any such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

7