S-1 1 d171893ds1.htm S-1 S-1
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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 23, 2021.

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

 

Cayman Islands   6770   N/A
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  (Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
  (I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)

Century Yard, Cricket Square

Elgin Avenue

PO Box 1111, George Town

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, KY1-1102

Tel: +1 (345) 949-5122

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

 

 

C T Corporation System

1015 15th Street N.W., Suite 1000

Washington, D.C., 20005

+1 (202) 572-3133

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

William B. Nelson

Emily Leitch

Shearman & Sterling LLP

Bank of America Tower

800 Capitol Street, Suite 2200

Houston, Texas 77002

Tel: +1 713 354 4900

 

Gregg A. Noel, Esq.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

525 University Avenue, Suite 1400

Palo Alto, California 94301

+1 (650) 470-4500

 

Pranav L. Trivedi, Esq.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &

Flom (UK) LLP

40 Bank Street

London E14 5DS

+44 207 519 7026

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this 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      Smaller reporting company  
     Emerging growth company  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of Each Class of
Security Being Registered
  Amount
Being
Registered
  Proposed Maximum
Offering Price
Per Security(1)
  Proposed Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price(1)
  Amount Of
Registration Fee

Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant(2)

  28,750,000 Units   $10.00   $287,500,000   $26,651.25

Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units(3)

  28,750,000 Shares   —     —     —  (4)

Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3)

  14,375,000 Warrants   —     —     —  (4)

Class A ordinary shares underlying redeemable warrants(3)

  14,375,000 Shares   $11.50   165,312,500   15,324.47

Total

          $452,812,500   $41,975.72

 

 

 

(1)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee.

(2)

Includes 3,750,000 units, consisting of 3,750,000 Class A ordinary shares and 1,875,000 redeemable warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.

(3)

Pursuant to Rule 416, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from share sub-divisions, share dividends or similar transactions.

(4)

No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g).

 

 

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, as amended, 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.

 

 

 


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The information in this preliminary 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 preliminary 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.

 

Subject to Completion

Preliminary Prospectus dated November 23, 2021

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

$250,000,000

Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I

25,000,000 Units

 

 

Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I is a blank check company recently incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to capitalize on the experience and ability of our team to focus on opportunities in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey, and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology.

This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or our liquidation, as described herein. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 3,750,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Class A ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.

Our sponsor, Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, has committed to purchase an aggregate of 12,900,000 warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $12,900,000 in the aggregate (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.

Our initial shareholders currently own an aggregate of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, up to 937,500 of which will be surrendered to us for no consideration after the closing of this offering depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised, which will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to the adjustments described herein, in accordance with the following schedule: (i) 50% on the trading day following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (ii) 50% if, post consummation of our initial business combination and prior to the ten year anniversary of our initial business combination, the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 10 trading days within a 15 trading day period exceeds $12.00, on the trading day following such trading period (the “promote schedule”). Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. On any other matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of the Class B ordinary shares and holders of the Class A ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.

Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We intend to apply to have our units listed on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “IVCBU”. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the underwriters permit earlier separate trading and we have satisfied certain conditions described further herein. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “IVCB” and “IVCBW,” respectively.

We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 42 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.

No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.

 

       Per Unit        Total  

Public offering price

       $10.00          $250,000,000  

Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)

       $0.55          $13,750,000  

Proceeds, before expenses, to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I

       $9.45          $236,250,000  

 

(1)

Includes (i) $0.20 per unit, or $5,000,000 in the aggregate (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) payable upon the closing of this offering and (ii) $0.35 per unit, or $8,750,000 in the aggregate (or up to $10,062,500 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States and released to the underwriters only upon the completion of an initial business combination. See also “Underwriting” for a description of underwriting compensation payable to the underwriters.

Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $255,000,000, or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $5,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $850,000 will be used to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and $2,050,000 will be available for working capital following the closing of this offering.

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.

The underwriters are offering units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about                 , 2021.

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

Citigroup   Credit Suisse

The date of this prospectus is                 , 2021


Table of Contents

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

SUMMARY

     1  

SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

     41  

RISK FACTORS

     42  

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD -LOOKING STATEMENTS

     88  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     89  

DIVIDEND POLICY

     93  

DILUTION

     94  

CAPITALIZATION

     96  

MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

     97  

PROPOSED BUSINESS

     103  

MANAGEMENT

     136  

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

     148  

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

     151  

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

     154  

TAXATION

     177  

UNDERWRITING

     188  

LEGAL MATTERS

     196  

EXPERTS

     196  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

     196  

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

     F-1  

 

 

We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different from or inconsistent with that contained in this prospectus. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.


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SUMMARY

This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.

Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:

 

   

“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering;

 

   

“board of directors” or our “directors” are to our directors (including our director nominees that will become directors in connection with the consummation of this offering);

 

   

“Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (2021 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;

 

   

“equity linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt;

 

   

“founder shares” are to Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described herein (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”);

 

   

“initial shareholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (including certain of our directors and officers who have received 1,287,917 founder shares from our sponsor);

 

   

“leadership team” are to our officers and directors;

 

   

“management” or our “management team” are to our officers;

 

   

“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares;

 

   

“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;

 

   

“promote schedule” are to the schedule upon which the founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to the adjustments described herein in accordance with the following schedule: (i) 50% on the trading day following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (ii) 50% if, post consummation of our initial business combination and prior to the ten year anniversary of our initial business combination, the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 10 trading days within a 15 trading day period exceeds $12.00, on the trading day following such trading period;

 

   

“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and management team to the extent our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares in the open market, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares purchased in the open market;

 

   

“public shares” are to Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);

 

   

“public warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);

 

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“sponsor” is to Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands;

 

   

“warrants” are to our public warrants and private placement warrants; and

 

   

“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands;

Any conversion of the Class B ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any forfeiture of shares, and all references to forfeiture of shares, described in this prospectus shall take effect as a surrender of shares for no consideration as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividend described in this prospectus will take effect as a share capitalization as a matter of Cayman Islands law.

Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option.

 

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General

This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” starting on page 42 and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.

We are a recently incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not generated 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 have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor considered a target business nor have they had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Our management team is regularly made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) initiated or contacted any prospective target business or had, directly or indirectly, any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.

While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to capitalize on the experience and ability of our team to focus on opportunities in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey (the “Target Area”) and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology (the “Specific Sectors”).

Our Founder and Sponsor

Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, our sponsor, is a consolidated subsidiary of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C., or Investcorp and together with its consolidated subsidiaries are collectively referred to as Investcorp Group. Established in 1982, Investcorp Group is a leading global alternative asset investment manager. Over its 39-year history, Investcorp Group has raised approximately US$50 billion and made acquisitions valued at approximately US$71 billion in total. Investcorp Group had approximately US$37 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2021, compared to more than US$34 billion as of December 31, 2020; representing an increase of more than 8% YTD June-21.

Investcorp Group currently has 10 offices across the globe in private equity, credit management, real estate, infrastructure, hedge fund and other areas, with a strong franchise in Europe, as of June 30, 2021.

Investcorp Group is committed to contributing to the communities in which it operates and has a diverse and inclusive workforce of approximately 450 employees across 45 nationalities and diversified across gender, age groups, and other relevant metrics, as of June 30, 2021.

Since inception, Investcorp Group’s private equity business has invested US$19 billion in capital and completed 208 transactions. As of December 31, 2020, it had 72 portfolio companies under management, out of which 13 portfolio companies are managed by the team that focuses on Europe.

 

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Our Team

Our board of directors is comprised of:

 

   

executive directors, including Hazem Ben-Gacem as Chairman appointed by Investcorp, and Peter McKellar as Vice-Chairman; and

 

   

independent directors, including Laurence Ponchaut, Pam Jackson and Adah Almutairi.

Our management team has also been carefully selected, comprising of Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith as Chief Executive Officer; Alptekin Diler as Chief Investment Officer to identify and source potential Business Combinations and Craig Sinfield-Hain as Chief Financial Officer leveraging specialized execution capabilities.

Together, our board of directors and management team, have a broad and deep relationship network across all sectors in the Target Area. Their sourcing capabilities are also coupled with extensive experience in investing and managing companies.

Hazem Ben-Gacem. Hazem Ben-Gacem has been our Chairman of the board of directors since October 19, 2021. Hazem is Investcorp’s Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Executive Officer of CP Holdings Limited with over 25 years of experience in successfully leading private equity investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to Hazem’s appointment as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Investcorp and CP Holdings Limited in 2018, Hazem was previously the head of the European and Technology Private Equity platforms at Investcorp International Ltd from 2014 through 2018 and, prior to joining Investcorp International Ltd in 1994, worked at Credit Suisse First Boston’s M&A team from 1992 through 1994. Today, Hazem chairs the investment committees of the firm’s Private Equity activities in Europe, Middle East and Asia and is involved in multiple board directorships of reputable companies. Hazem is well-qualified to serve as our Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity along with his leadership experience.

Peter McKellar. Peter McKellar has been our Vice-Chairman of the board of directors since October 27, 2021. Peter is Deputy Chairman of AssetCo plc, a FTSE AIM listed company, since January 2021, a Non-Executive Director of 3i Group plc, a FTSE 100 listed company, since June 2021, a Non Executive Director of Concession Infrastructure Investments Manager Limited, a joint venture infrastructure manager for a Gulf Cooperation Council social infrastructure fund, jointly managed with Investcorp, since February 2019, and a member of the Board of Scottish Enterprise since February 2021. He is a director of a number of other privately held companies. Previously, Peter held roles as Executive Chairman and Global Head of Private Markets at Standard Life Aberdeen plc, the international asset and wealth manager, from 2017 through 2020 and Head of Private Equity and Infrastructure at Standard Life plc, from 2012 through 2017. Peter was also lead manager of Standard Life Private Equity Trust, a London-listed investment company, from 2001 through 2015. Peter is well-qualified to serve as our Vice-Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity, along with his leadership experience.

Pam Jackson. Pam Jackson will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Pam is CEO and Director of WPEI Ltd (trading as Level 20), a not-for-profit organization focused on improving gender diversity in the private equity industry. Prior to Pam’s appointment to Level 20 in 2019, Pam was a Partner and supervisory board member at PwC where she held various roles including Middle East Deals leader, private equity and corporate M&A from 1990 through 2019. She is a chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor. Pam is also a Non-Executive Director of ArtsEd International Ltd since 2019. Pam is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive experience in private equity along with her leadership experience.

Laurence Ponchaut. Laurence Ponchaut will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Laurence is the Founder and Managing Director of the consultancy firm Distinct Communication. Previously, Laurence was an economic expert for the European Commission (the Directorate-

 

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General for International Partnerships) (1993-1995), a Big4 strategy consultant and the Head of Corporate Reputation for ArcelorMittal (2004-2009). Laurence is involved in multiple board directorships including Letzpact (2021), ProRSE (2017) and was previously a Non-Executive Director of Merlux Maritime SA (2019-2020). Laurence is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.

Adah Almutairi. Adah Almutairi will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Adah is a member of the board of directors of eLux Medical Inc., a medical technology company, since January 2013, a member of the board of trustees of Future Investment Initiative Institute, a non-profit organization focusing on startup technology investments, since January 2020, and a member of the board of directors of Pharmaceutical Investment Company, a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology company, since January 2021. Previously, Adah was founder and chief executive officer of eLux Medical Inc. from January 2013 through August 2016. Adah is a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, faculty in the departments of bioengineering and nanoengineering and director of the Center for Excellence in nanomedicine and engineering in the Institute of Engineering in Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Adah’s work focuses on nanomedicine, nanotechnology, chemistry and polymer science. Adah is a 2016 Kavli Fellow and has received numerous honors and awards such as the NIH director’s new innovator award in 2009 for her work on “Chemically Amplified Response Strategies for Medical Sciences”. Adah’s work was highlighted by U.S. NIH director Francis Collins to Congress as one of the 4 most important American technology breakthroughs of the year 2012. Adah is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith. Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith has been our Chief Executive Officer since October 27, 2021. Ruby is currently the Chair of Mind Gym PLC and the President of the British Chambers of Commerce. Ruby also chairs the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the Airport Operators Association. She is a non-executive director for the Tideway Tunnel. Ruby was formerly the Chief Executive of the Mitie Group plc from 2007 through 2016, Business Ambassador for the UK Government from 2012 through 2019 and Senior Independent Director and Non-Executive Director at Page Group plc from 2007 through 2017.

Alptekin Diler. Alptekin Diler has been our Chief Investment Officer since October 27, 2021. Alptekin is a senior member of Investcorp’s Private Equity MENA team and its Investment Committee. Previously, Alptekin was a Director in Investcorp’s Global Capital Management team from 2011 through 2014, Investment Manager at ADM Capital from January 2011 through June 2011, FinansInvest from 2005 to 2008 and business development and M&A associate at Akenerji from 2002 through 2005. Alptekin is a Board member of Turkey-based Namet Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., a meat producer, as of 2018, Arvento M2M Elektronik Sistemler Sanayi Ticaret A.S. as of 2015 and Arvento Mobil Sistemler A.S. (a MENA telematics company) as of 2015.

Craig Sinfield-Hain. Craig Sinfield-Hain has been our Chief Financial Officer since October 27, 2021. Craig has been with Investcorp for 18 years. During his career at Investcorp he has held various roles within the Finance department including Group Financial Controller from 2009 through 2012. Craig is currently the Head of Business Analysis and Planning and also Head of Investment Structuring and Business Support in Europe. Craig joined Investcorp after completing an MBA with distinction at INSEAD in France in 2002. Prior to Investcorp he worked as an actuarial consultant for Watson Wyatt (now Willis Towers Watson) for nine years. Craig is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and holds a bachelor of sciences degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Illinois, from which he graduated summa cum laude with highest departmental distinction. Craig is also involved in multiple board directorships of Investcorp group companies and of holding companies for Investcorp’s investments in private equity and real estate.

 

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Market Opportunity

While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to capitalize on the experience and ability of our team to focus on opportunities in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey (the “Target Area”) and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology (the “Specific Sectors”).

We believe that the Western European and Northern European markets present a very attractive investment opportunity for the following reasons:

 

   

Significant number of investment opportunities: we believe that there are numerous business combination opportunities with a compelling industry backdrop and growth outlook in Europe. We find the European markets especially attractive as there are a significant number of corporates with potential for ownership change, including both privately-owned corporates as well as spin-offs/carve-outs from larger conglomerates; and

 

   

Stable institutional framework: Europe offers a stable market environment sustained by strong political and regulatory institutions which provides investors with a supportive and well-established framework. As a result of these reassuring market dynamics, we believe that Europe will continue to attract increasing attention from both domestic and international investors.

Furthermore, we believe that the current market environment in Turkey, while characterized by a degree of political and macroeconomic instability, may result in more attractive business combination opportunities becoming actionable in the near and medium term. We could opportunistically benefit from this current dislocated market environment in Turkey by capitalizing on both Investcorp and our leadership team’s unique network and investment experience within this geography.

We are aware of businesses with principal business operations in the Target Area. All of these potential target businesses are based in the Specific Sectors. We have defined these sub-sectors as follows:

 

   

Business services:

 

   

providers of services to businesses including but not limited to advertising, marketing, consultation, logistics, waste handling, staffing services, shipping, administration and security services;

 

   

uniquely positioned to benefit from changing landscapes and shifting business needs; and

 

   

offer differentiated and valued solutions to the many challenges facing traditional businesses across a broad range of industries.

 

   

Consumer and lifestyle:

 

   

strong branded consumer products/retail with established proof of concept including specialty consumer, consumable goods, online/internet and consumer retail and healthcare; and

 

   

defined branded/differentiated product or service that has the ability to disrupt large categories.

 

   

Niche manufacturing:

 

   

manufacturers of precision-manufactured custom products that are not mass produced and sold on the premise of product quality; and

 

   

characterized by focus on product quality and customer service.

 

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Technology:

 

   

businesses revolving around the manufacturing of electronics, creation of software, computers, or products and services relating to information technology; and

 

   

technology companies which provide a mission critical product/service with a scalable platform and a defensible market position.

Competitive Strengths

In pursuing an attractive business combination, our competitive strengths include the following:

 

   

Seasoned, Pan-European Leadership Team: we believe that our ability to leverage the experience, network and complementary skillsets of our board of directors and management team and the broader Investcorp Group across the Specific Sectors should provide us with a competitive advantage in sourcing, evaluating and completing an attractive initial business combination. Our leadership team has deep experience in leading global private equity investments, including chairing investment committees for European acquisitions and direct management of companies, as well as extensive relevant networks with management teams, third party professional services firms and regulators. In particular, our leadership team has experience in developing strong operating knowledge of and management relationships with companies in the Specific Sectors through past executed investments;

 

   

Leading global private equity investor, with high credibility and multi-sector focus: our sponsor is an affiliate of Investcorp Group, a global provider and manager of alternative investments, with approximately $37 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2021, including approximately $6.6 billion of assets under management in private equity investments, providing potential synergies for and immediate credibility with potential targets. Since its founding in 1982, the Investcorp Group has executed over 211 private equity investments, with a disciplined approach to growth designed to promote resilient performance during macroeconomic disruptions. Investcorp Group has consistently seen increases in its levels of investing activity and made $3.1 billion of aggregate investment in 2020;

 

   

Unique resources for value creation in the Specific Sectors: we plan to capitalize on Investcorp Group’s and our leadership team’s extensive operational, investment and strategic experience in the Specific Sectors. Our board of directors believes this experience will enable it to identify a target with appropriate value characteristics and, in partnership with management, create a comprehensive business plan to realize this value. Our view is the Investcorp Group’s dedicated investment professionals have the relevant backgrounds and requisite experience needed to develop and implement effective strategic operating plans, through both operational performance improvement and topline growth (organically and through synergistic add-on acquisitions, as appropriate). We also believe our board of director’s experience with and access to debt and equity capital markets will enhance value creation opportunities for our initial business combination through efficient capital structure management, which will be further supported via third party advisors. We believe that, in today’s investing environment, relevant sector experience is critical to identifying an appropriate target, structuring the transaction and effecting a value-enhancing business plan for the initial business combination;

 

   

Proven track-record of investing in Europe evidenced by industry leading returns: in the past 39 years, Investcorp Group has invested over $14.4 billion in capital in the Target Area, with 20 current portfolio companies in the region and 35 realized European investments. In addition, members of our board of directors and management team are strategically located in Europe. The combination of investment experience in the region and on-the-ground presence will enhance our endeavors to source relevant potential target businesses across the Target Area, as well as optimize opportunities to expand a potential target’s pan-European presence. Across Europe, Investcorp Group has deployed over €6 billion in more than 50 investments in 14 countries since inception. The depth of its experience and network in the region is underpinned by 26 private equity professionals in the region;

 

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Strong sourcing capabilities through deep global network and relationships: Investcorp Group and our leadership team have an extensive investment track record in Europe supported by a large global network developed via Investcorp Group’s 211 executed private equity deals. In addition to Investcorp Group and our leadership team’s private equity sourcing network, we anticipate that target business candidates may also be brought to its attention from various unaffiliated sources, including executives of investment banking, strategic consultancy and other professional services firms, which we believe should assist it in sourcing potential initial business combination targets; and

 

   

Demonstrable commitment to embracing Diversity and ESG values: Investcorp Group has developed a systemic and integral approach to ESG. Investcorp Group’s commitment to ESG is visible across all activities, from the initial due diligence of the businesses to the management of its portfolio companies. The implementation of ESG practices in the last few years has resulted in significant value creation. As for diversity, Investcorp Group is proud of its achievements in this area so far. Investcorp Group continues working to enhance the geographic and gender diversity of its workforce.

Business Strategy

We intend to conduct an initial business combination with a business that can benefit from one or more of the following: (i) the deal execution capabilities of Investcorp Group and leadership team, including their experience in private equity investments in the Specified Sectors across the Target Area; (ii) additional capital to support its business and growth strategy; and (iii) access to public securities markets.

Our investment and business development strategy will search for the following qualitative and quantitative features under three different filters: (1) industry, (2) our strategy and positioning, and (3) our financial profile:

Industry

 

   

High barriers to entry or other significant competitive advantages that can be sustained in the long run. These factors will help to maintain and the grow the market position and profitability of the target; and

 

   

Potential to participate in sector consolidation and/or ability to carry out bolt-ons to add further capabilities or expand geographically. These factors include but are not limited to, opportunities which allow the target to enhance its strategic position through external growth opportunities and which have further upside potential;

Our strategy and positioning

 

   

Seasoned management team with a successful track-record. Potential target companies in the defined Specified Sectors with outstanding management teams, which have demonstrated their capacity to develop their company successfully. We believe that the founders, investors and management of potential targets should be attracted by our investment philosophy and our leadership team’s historical track record of working closely with strong management teams;

 

   

Scalable and tech-driven business models. Potential target companies in the defined Target Area with scalable and tech-driven business models;

 

   

Market leaders in their respective markets. Potential target companies in the defined Target Sectors that are market leaders in their respective markets. The key factors we will consider on deciding the target include the target’s growth prospects, the competitive dynamics in the target’s key markets, the level of industry consolidation and the need for capital investment;

 

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Resilient characteristics throughout macroeconomic cycles with strong downside protection. Resilient nature of the business allows the target to sustain performance through any current / future disruption in the economy;

 

   

Can operate successfully under the scrutiny of public markets. History of strong internal and external reporting and robust corporate governance framework; and

 

   

Companies in which the specific background of our sponsor and leadership team can add further value. Potential targets with similar backgrounds of our sponsor and leadership team, in order to apply knowledge and best practices from prior experience with similar companies.

Our financial profile

 

   

Strong unit economics and highly variable cost structure, leading to higher profitability in the mid-term. The factors we will consider are the attractiveness and business profitability of unit economics in the target’s core market, the level of transferability of the unit economics to other markets as the target’s business expands and/or enters new markets and the level of the variability of the target’s cost structure; and

 

   

Primarily equity financed. Potential target companies which are primarily equity financed with a founders or top-tier investor base.

In order to implement its strategy, we intend to utilize the deal sourcing capabilities and investment experience of our board of directors, management team and Investcorp Group in order to identify and analyze appropriate target businesses for an initial business combination. Given our board of director’s investment track record in the Specified Sectors, we expect that attractive initial business combination candidates will be sourced via discussions with Investcorp Group’s existing sourcing network, management teams of portfolio assets held in the Specified Sectors, and various unaffiliated sources such as third party advisors, investment banking executives or other professional services firms.

Business Combination Criteria

We expect to seek to identify companies that we believe have significant growth potential and a combination of the following characteristics. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We expect that no individual criteria will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular target.

 

   

size and equity value of the target above $1.0 billion up to $2.0 billion;

 

   

scalable business model with strong unit economics;

 

   

compatibility with high corporate responsibility standards for sustainable and environmentally and socially responsible investments;

 

   

leadership in the Specific Sectors and proven track record;

 

   

brand recognition and potential;

 

   

size, secular growth rate, and strategic fundamentals of the target;

 

   

competitive dynamics, including barriers to entry, future competitive threats and the target business’ competitive position;

 

   

product positioning and life cycle;

 

   

development of detailed projections, quantification of sensitivity of drivers of growth and profit enhancement;

 

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attractiveness of the target business’ cash flow generation capability and return on capital employed;

 

   

readiness to become a listed company and enter the public markets;

 

   

quality and depth of the management team as it relates to current operations, as well as the envisioned operations in the future;

 

   

proprietary aspects of products and the extent of intellectual property or other protection for products or formulas;

 

   

costs and time associated with effecting the business combination; and

 

   

market leadership, sustainability of market share and attractiveness of market sectors, in which the target business operates within the Specific Sectors.

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into a business combination with a target business that does not meet some or all of the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC.

Our Business Combination Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information which will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience. Our acquisition criteria, due diligence processes and value creation methods are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC. Our search for a business combination, 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 by factors beyond our control. For example, see “Risk Factors—The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.”

The rules of Nasdaq and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions held in 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 (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will be able to make an independent determination

 

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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 the target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq’s rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. If we intend to close any business combination with a company with headquarters or significant operations in a country with secrecy laws that limit foreign access to business books and records and/or audit work papers or where PCAOB cannot freely inspect auditors, we must obtain Nasdaq’s approval prior to closing.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-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 shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post- transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.

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.

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. If we ultimately do not complete a specific initial business combination, any such costs incurred will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.

Investcorp Group, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, our sponsor, officers, and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

 

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Other Acquisition Considerations

Notwithstanding the past performance of our management team or Investcorp Group, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or we will be successful with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of management’s, Investcorp Group’s or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions for the type of company we are seeking to acquire or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying for a target is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the business judgment of our board of directors, which will have significant discretion in choosing the standard used to establish the fair market value of the target or targets, and different methods of valuation may vary greatly in outcome from one another. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

Members of our management team and our independent directors own or will own, directly or indirectly, founder shares and/or private placement warrants and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 per share and we are offering units at a price of $10.00 per unit in this offering; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Each of our directors and officers presently has, and in the future may further have, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including Investcorp and its affiliates pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present acquisition opportunities to such entity. Accordingly, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an acquisition opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will need to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such acquisition opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to identify targets for our initial business combination. Also, while Investcorp and its affiliates will not have any duty to offer acquisition opportunities to us, Investcorp or its affiliates may become

 

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aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for Investcorp or its affiliates but that is an attractive opportunity for us, which they may decide to share with us. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, certain of our officers and directors may have time and attention requirements for Investcorp or its affiliates; and, in addition, the compensation arrangements between such individuals and Investcorp or its affiliates (e.g., potential for such individuals to receive bonuses or payments of “carried interest” based on performance or investment results) may result in certain of such individuals prioritizing the interests of Investcorp or its affiliates over our interests. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, Investcorp and its affiliates, including our officers and directors who are affiliated with Investcorp Group, may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Currently, the equity interests in our sponsor are owned by Investcorp Group. Following the date hereof, Investcorp Group may transfer the equity interests in our sponsor to one or more investment funds or accounts managed by Investcorp Group for such consideration as Investcorp Group deems appropriate. Shareholders will not have the right to approve or receive notice of any such transfer.

An investment in us is not an investment in Investcorp Group or any fund managed by Investcorp Group. The past performance of Investcorp Group, funds managed by Investcorp Group, our management team or their respective affiliates, is not a guarantee of success with respect to a business combination that may be completed or the ability to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of Investcorp Group, management or their respective affiliates as indicative of the company’s future performance. See “Risk Factors—Past performance by our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.”

Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or 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 initial business combination.

Corporate Information

Our executive offices are located at Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, PO Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102, our telephone number is +1 (345) 949-5122.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on March 22, 2021 under the name Investcorp Asia Acquisition Corp I. On October 7, 2021, we changed our name to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted

 

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company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the government of the Cayman Islands that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from April 6, 2021, no law which is thereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of any relevant payment as defined in the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision).

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (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 compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We 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 ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates equals or 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 securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30th.

 

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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 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 promulgated 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 below entitled “Risk Factors”.

 

Securities offered

25,000,000 units (or 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of:

 

   

one Class A ordinary share; and

 

   

one-half of one redeemable warrant.

 

Proposed Nasdaq symbols

Units: “IVCBU”

 

  Class A Ordinary Shares: “IVCB”

 

  Warrants: “IVCBW”

 

Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants

The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the underwriters permit 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.

 

  Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.

 

Separate trading of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K

In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on

 

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Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which closing is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters’ over-allotment 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’ over-allotment option.

Units:

Number outstanding before this offering

0

 

Number outstanding after this offering

25,000,000(1)

Ordinary shares:

Number outstanding before this offering

7,187,500(2)

 

Number outstanding after this offering

31,250,000(1)(3)

Warrants:

Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering

12,900,000(1)

 

Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement

25,400,000(1)(4)

Exercisability

 

(1)

Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and 937,500 founder shares are surrendered to us for no consideration.

(2)

Includes up to 937,500 founder shares that will be surrendered to us for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

(3)

Comprised of 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units to be sold in this offering and 6,250,000 Class B ordinary shares (or founder shares) assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. Founder shares are currently classified as Class B ordinary shares, which shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment and in accordance with the promote schedule as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”

(4)

Comprised of 12,500,000 public warrants included in the units to be sold in this offering and 12,900,000 private placement warrants to be sold in the private placement.

 

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  Each whole warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.

 

  We structured each unit to contain one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, as compared to units issued by some other similar special purpose acquisition companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination as 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.

 

Exercise price

$11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as described herein.

 

  In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our initial shareholders 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 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we 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, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary 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 and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

 

Exercise period

The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky,

 

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laws of the state of residence of the holder (or holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement as a result of (i) our failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination as described in the immediately following paragraph or (ii) our delivery of a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”). 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 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 efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

 

  The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or 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 when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):

 

   

in whole and not in part;

 

   

at a price of $0.01 per warrant;

 

   

upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and

 

   

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

 

  We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. 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.

 

  Except as set forth below, none of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.

 

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):

 

   

in whole and not in part;

 

   

at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below);

 

   

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share

 

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equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like); and

 

   

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), the private placement warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms (except as described herein with respect to a holder’s ability to cashless exercise its warrants) as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

 

  The “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares shall mean the volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-day trading period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).

 

  No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information.

 

Founder shares

On April 1, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of founder shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering (of which 937,500 founder shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share.

 

 

Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per-share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder

 

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shares would represent 20% of the sum of our issued and outstanding shares immediately after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share capitalization or a share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the sum of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Any conversion of Class B ordinary shares described herein will take effect as a redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law.

 

  The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that:

 

   

only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination;

 

   

the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below;

 

   

the founder shares are entitled to registration rights;

 

   

our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any

 

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public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame; and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. If we submit our initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company) to our public shareholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,562,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company; and

 

   

the founder shares are convertible into our Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights and in accordance with the promote schedule, as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”

 

Transfer restrictions on founder shares

Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described

 

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herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination or (2) if we consummate a transaction after our initial business combination which results in our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up.

 

Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights

The founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, in accordance with the following schedule: (i) 50% on the trading day following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (ii) 50% if, post consummation of our initial business combination and prior to the ten year anniversary of our initial business combination, the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 10 trading days within a 15 trading day period exceeds $12.00, on the trading day following such trading period (the “promote schedule”), subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus (iii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination (including securities issued or issuable pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering but excluding the forward purchase warrants), excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (iv) the number of Class A ordinary shares redeemed by

 

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public shareholders; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

 

Appointment of Directors; Voting

Holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as required by the Companies Act or stock exchange rules, an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company is generally required to approve any matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, meaning, following our initial business combination, the holders of more than 50% of our ordinary shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors. Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to the rights of holders of Class B ordinary shares to appoint directors may be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of the founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.

 

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company), we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the

 

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company. In such case, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,562,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised).

 

  However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company.

 

Private placement warrants

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 12,900,000 private placement warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $12,900,000 in the aggregate (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of this offering $255,000,000 (or $293,250,000 if the underwriters exercise its over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants (i) will not be redeemable by us (except as set forth under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”), (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders 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. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the

 

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holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), the private placement warrants will expire worthless.

 

Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants

The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”

 

Proceeds to be held in trust account

Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $255,000,000, or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States at Citibank N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $5,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $850,000 will be used to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include $8,750,000 (or up to $10,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions.

 

 

Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a

 

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business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. 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 shareholders.

 

Anticipated expenses and funding sources

Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes and/or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $255,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year and the over-allotment option is not exercised; 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:

 

   

the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which initially will be approximately $2,050,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $850,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and

 

   

any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us; 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. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender.

 

Conditions to completing our initial business combination

The rules of Nasdaq and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discounts and commissions held in 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

 

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determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or a valuation or appraisal firm. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will 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 the target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or is otherwise not 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 shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the transactions together as our initial business combination for purposes of seeking shareholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable. If we intend to close any business combination with a company with headquarters or significant operations in a country with secrecy laws that limit foreign access to business books and records and/or audit work papers or where PCAOB cannot freely inspect auditors, we must obtain Nasdaq’s approval prior to closing.

 

Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately

 

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negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will not make any purchases if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.

 

  The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or 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 our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

 

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Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, 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 their founder shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

Manner of conducting redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.

 

 

The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are

 

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voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote.

 

  If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a shareholder meeting, 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.

 

 

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of a majority of issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our initial shareholders will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,562,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company) approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public

 

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shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the shareholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.

 

  If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

  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 under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

 

  Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

 

 

We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business

 

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combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.

 

  Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.

 

Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote

Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders 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

 

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management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% 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, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.

Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination

On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

 

Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account,

 

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including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of 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 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus).

 

 

If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months on two separate occasions (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a business combination). Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees), upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account for each three month extension (of which there may be no more than two such extensions) $2,500,000 or $2,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per share in either case), on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Any such payments would be funded from the proceeds of a non-interest bearing loan between our sponsor and us. Such loan may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The terms of the warrants would be identical to the terms of the private placement warrants. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. The letter agreement with our initial shareholders contains a provision pursuant to which our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to be repaid for such loans in the event that we do not complete a business combination. Our public shareholders will not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our extensions of time to consummate an initial business combination or redeem their shares in connection with such extensions. In the event that we determine to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether or not the funds

 

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had been timely deposited. Our sponsor and their affiliates or designees are not obligated to enter into any such loan agreement with us that would allow us to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination

 

  Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus). However, if our initial shareholders or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 15-month time period (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus).

 

  The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) 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 our public shares.

 

 

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described above under “Limitations on redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking shareholder approval of such proposal, and in connection therewith, provide our public

 

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shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon shareholder approval of such amendment.

 

Limited payments to insiders

There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or 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 our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, and, if made prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account:

 

   

Repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;

 

   

Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination;

 

   

Reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the independent directors in connection with fulfilling their roles as directors; and

 

   

Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

 

Audit Committee

We will establish and maintain an audit committee. Among its responsibilities, the audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates and monitor compliance with the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly 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 entitled “Management—Committees of the Board of Directors—Audit Committee.”

 

Conflicts of Interests

Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations,

 

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then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law or any other relevant fiduciary obligations, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any founder, director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.

 

  Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may, at our option, pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with Investcorp Group and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Investcorp Group, which is referred to as “Affiliated Joint Acquisition”. Such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such fund or vehicle.

 

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RISKS

We are a blank check company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues to date. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please 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”, including, among others, the following:

 

   

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

 

   

Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

 

   

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

 

   

The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

 

   

Affiliates of our sponsor have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we may not be presented investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us.

 

   

Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability continue as a “going concern”.

 

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If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.

 

   

Corporate governance standards in non-U.S. countries may not be as strict or developed as in the United States and such weakness may hide issues and operational practices that are detrimental to a target business. If the government of the country in which we effect our initial business combination finds that the agreements we entered into to acquire control of a target business through contractual arrangements with one or more operating businesses do not comply with local governmental restrictions on foreign investment, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to significant penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

 

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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.

 

     September 30, 2021  
     Actual     As Adjusted  

Balance Sheet Data:

 

Working capital (deficiency)(1)

   $ (359,997   $ 2,070,548  

Total assets(2)

     405,545       257,070,548  

Total liabilities(3)

     384,997       31,302,000  

Value of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption(4)

     —         255,000,000  

Shareholder’s equity(5)

     20,548       (29,231,452

 

(1)

The “as adjusted” calculation includes $2,050,000 of cash held outside the trust account, plus $20,548 of actual shareholder’s equity on September 30, 2021.

(2)

The “as adjusted” calculation includes $255,000,000 of cash held in trust account from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, plus $2,050,000 of cash held outside the trust account, plus $20,548 of actual shareholder’s equity on September 30, 2021.

(3)

The “as adjusted” calculation equals $8,750,000 of deferred underwriting commissions and 22,552,000 of warrant liability, assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised.

(4)

The “as adjusted” calculation equals the value of all the 25,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption.

(5)

Excludes 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares 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 the Class A ordinary shares that may be converted in connection with our initial business combination ($10.20 per share).

 

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RISK FACTORS

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

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

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

We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. In such case, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business—Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.

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

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

 

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The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.

Since late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial disruption to global economies and markets and the virus has continued to spread on a global scale. A significant outbreak of the COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, including the resurgence or variants thereof, could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally and could have a material adverse effect on the business of any potential target business with which we complete a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to the COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which the outbreak of 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 the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions to contain the COVID-19 or treat its impact, the possibility of its resurgence, among others. If the disruptions posed by the COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to complete a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.

In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing and the COVID-19 and other related events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise adequate financing.

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

Our initial shareholders will own 20% of the sum of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company), such initial business combination will be approved if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,562,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.

 

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

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

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

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If 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 are 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 ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The 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 shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

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

 

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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus). Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

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

In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination.

In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus). Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 and

 

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other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

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

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.

In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or 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 our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares 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.

 

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

We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights.”

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

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

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

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 that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares 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

 

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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 share price levels. Generally, following our initial public offering, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholder’s 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 share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. 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 an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

   

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

   

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

   

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

 

   

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

   

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

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. 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 having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that would otherwise provide protection to shareholders of other companies.

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

 

   

we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under Nasdaq rules;

 

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

 

   

we have independent director oversight of our director nominations.

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

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

Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants 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. 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 our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. 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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

 

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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We expect to encounter 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 similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.

Affiliates of our sponsor have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we may not be presented investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us.

Affiliates of our sponsor currently invest and plan to continue to invest in, incubate, and grow successful businesses in sectors such as business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology. There may be overlap of investment opportunities with affiliates of our sponsor that are actively investing and similar overlap with future affiliates. This overlap could create conflicts of interest. In particular, investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us may not be presented to us by our sponsor. This overlap could also create conflicts in determining to which entity a particular investment 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.

Certain members of our management team may be involved in and have a greater financial interest in the performance of other entities affiliated with our sponsor, and such activities may create conflicts of interest in making decisions on our behalf.

Certain members of our management team may be subject to a variety of conflicts of interest relating to their responsibilities to our sponsor and its other affiliates. Such individuals may serve as members of management or a board of directors (or in similar such capacity) to various other affiliated entities. Such positions may create a conflict between the advice and investment opportunities provided to such entities and the responsibilities owed to us. The other entities in which such individuals may become involved may have investment objectives that overlap with ours. Furthermore, certain of our principals and employees may have a greater financial interest in the performance of such other affiliated entities than our performance. Such involvement may create conflicts of interest in sourcing investment opportunities on our behalf and on behalf of such other entities. See “Management—Conflict of Interest.”

 

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Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability continue as a “going concern”.

As of September 30, 2021, we had $25,000 in cash and a working capital deficit of $359,997. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our finance and acquisition plans. Our 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.” We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will 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.

If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), 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 or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.

The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 15 months, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only $2,050,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 15 months; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.

In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $850,000, 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. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $850,000, 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. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be

 

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convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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 do not 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. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.20 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Because our trust account is expected to contain approximately $10.20 per Class A ordinary share at the time of our initial business combination, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.

Our trust account will initially contain $10.20 per Class A ordinary share. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies for which the trust account will only contain $10.00 per Class A ordinary share. As a result of the additional funds receivable by public shareholders upon redemption of public shares, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares.

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

Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present within a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders 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 business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material 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 shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain

 

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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 consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of this offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

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. 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 do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, 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 entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.

The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we do not to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus

 

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any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.

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

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.

We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and 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 shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

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

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

 

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

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

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;

 

   

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

   

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

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

We do not believe that our 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 either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial

 

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business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

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

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

If we do not consummate our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such to 15 months (or up to 21 months, as applicable) before redemption from our trust account.

If we do not consummate our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 15 months (or up to 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of this offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination.

 

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

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business or if the distribution was found to have been made in a manner that was not in compliance with our memorandum and articles of association or otherwise was not in compliance with Cayman Islands law. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of $18,292.68 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.

Our initial shareholders will control the appointment 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 appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.

In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our directors or officers, 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 ordinary shares. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

We may not hold an annual general meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.

In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to elect directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Directors are appointed for a term of two years. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

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A registration of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants 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 and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.

If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units.

While we have registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act as part of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we do not plan on keeping a prospectus current until required to do so pursuant to the warrant agreement. Pursuant to 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 efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable 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 ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.

In no event will warrants 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 or qualification is available.

If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold than they would have upon a cash exercise.

In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) 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 the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to

 

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

You may only be able to exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the public warrants for redemption. If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” is the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

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

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such units, shares, warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such 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 have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

 

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

Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or any region, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors, including the business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology sectors. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders 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 business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

Past performance by our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.

Information regarding our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team and their affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our shareholders, or of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experience of our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team, our sponsor or their affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.

 

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The prior investment track records of our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates may not be available on publicly available sources or may be subject to confidentiality agreements.

As the prior investment track records of our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including the investments and transactions in which they have participated in and businesses with which they have been associated with, are primarily private transactions, information regarding their involvement with such transactions may not be publicly available or is subject to confidentiality terms. This may limit the availability of information to our investors and potential target businesses pertaining to our team’s past track record which in turn may adversely affect our marketing efforts and ability to generate attractive business combination opportunities for our company.

We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.

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

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

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below.

 

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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.

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. 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 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. 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.

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

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

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 400,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 40,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 375,000,000 and 33,750,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option and the forfeiture of 937,500 Class B ordinary shares) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants, or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares or pursuant to any forward purchase or backstop arrangement we may enter into prior to or following the consummation of this offering. The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment and in accordance with the promote schedule as set forth herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination; provided that such conversion of Class B ordinary shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding.

We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares to redeem the warrants as described in “Description of

 

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Securities—Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.

In accordance with the promote schedule, the founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein and in accordance with the promote schedule. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus (iii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination (including securities issued or issuable pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering but excluding the forward purchase warrants), excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (iv) the number of Class A ordinary shares redeemed by public shareholders; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We 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

 

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management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

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

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. investor in our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. investor may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the start-up exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current taxable year). Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. investor a PFIC Annual Information Statement in order to enable the U.S. investor to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. U.S. investors should consult their tax advisers regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. See the section titled “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisers with respect to the tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of our securities.

Our initial business combination or transactions relating thereto may result in taxes imposed on us and our shareholders or warrant holders.

We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act and the articles of association, merge with and into another company (including the target company), or reincorporate or redomicile in or transfer our tax residence to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction or merge into a new entity in such jurisdiction.

Tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. A shareholder or warrant holder may be required to recognize taxable income with respect to our business combination or transactions relating thereto in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. In the event of a reincorporation or merger, any tax liability may attach

 

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prior to any consummation of redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our initial business combination or thereafter. Shareholders and warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination. In addition, we could be treated as tax resident in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, which could result in adverse tax consequences to us (e.g., taxation on our worldwide income in such jurisdiction) and to our shareholders or warrant holders (e.g., withholding taxes on dividends and taxation of disposition gains).

We intend that the Company will operate so as to be treated exclusively as a resident of the Cayman Islands for tax purposes until the initial business combination is consummated, but the tax authorities of other jurisdictions may treat it as also being a resident of, or as having a taxable presence in, another jurisdiction for tax purposes.

We intend that the Company, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, will have its residence for tax purposes exclusively in the Cayman Islands and that the Company will have no taxable presence in the form of a fixed place of business or permanent establishment in any other jurisdiction, prior to the initial business combination and related transactions.

Because the Company is incorporated under Cayman Islands law and has its registered office in the Cayman Islands, it is considered to be resident in the Cayman Islands for tax purposes. In addition, we intend that the Company will maintain its management, organizational and operational structures in such a manner that the Company should not be regarded as a tax resident of any other jurisdiction either for domestic law purposes and that we should not have a fixed place of business or permanent establishment outside the Cayman Islands (subject to the consummation of the initial business combination).

However, the determination of the Company’s tax residence, which primarily depends upon our place of effective management, as well as the characterization of fixed places of business or permanent establishments outside of our jurisdiction of incorporation, are questions of fact based on all circumstances. Because such determinations are highly fact-sensitive, we give no assurances regarding the outcome.

A failure to maintain exclusive tax residency in the Cayman Islands and / or not to maintain a fixed place of business or permanent establishment outside the Cayman Islands could result in significant adverse tax consequences to the Company. A failure to maintain exclusive tax residency in the Cayman Islands could also result in significant adverse tax consequences for the Company’s shareholders and warrant holders, including the application of a tax treatment that differs from that described in the section titled Taxation of this registration statement. The impact of this risk would differ based on the views taken by each relevant tax authority and, in respect of the taxation of the Company’s shareholders and warrant holders, on their specific situation.

Changes in tax law or accounting policies may reduce any net returns for investors

The tax treatment of shareholders, the Company, any special purpose vehicle that the Company may establish and any target company or business which the Company may acquire are all subject to changes in tax laws or practices in the Cayman Islands or any other relevant jurisdiction. The accounting policies of the Company relating to the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants are also subject to change. Any change may reduce any net return derived by investors from a shareholding in the Company.

We make no assurances that the Company will be able to make returns for the shareholders in a tax-efficient manner

The Company expects to take reasonable steps to generate returns for shareholders in a tax-efficient manner wherever practicable. Certain assumptions have been made in this regard, which may prove incorrect, or taxes

 

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may be imposed with respect to any of the Company’s assets, or the Company may be subject to tax on its income, profits, gains or distributions in a particular jurisdiction or jurisdictions in excess of taxes that were anticipated. This could alter the post-tax returns for the shareholders (or the shareholders in certain jurisdictions). The level of post-tax returns for the shareholders may also be adversely affected. Any change in laws or tax authority practices could also adversely affect any post-tax returns of capital to the shareholders or payments of dividends (if any, which the Company does not envisage making in the short to medium term). In addition, the Company may incur costs in taking steps to mitigate any such adverse effect on the post-tax returns for the shareholders.

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

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

Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result, certain of those persons may have been, and may become, involved in proceedings, investigations and litigation relating to the business affairs of the companies with which they were, are, or may in the future be, affiliated. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.

During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result of their involvement and positions in these companies, certain persons may have been, and may become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings arising out of or relating to the business affairs of such companies or transactions entered into by such companies. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert our management team’s and board’s attention and resources away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.

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

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

 

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

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel, at least until we have consummated our initial business combination. None of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to their other business activities, or if they elect to prioritize their other business affairs over our company’s activities, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.

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

Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands or other relevant law.

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 our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders 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 business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

 

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

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

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

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

Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in 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. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, Investcorp Group, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

 

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For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management—Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

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

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

The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. In certain circumstances this may amount to a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. See the section titled “Description of Securities—Certain Differences in Corporate Law—Shareholder Suits” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.

We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay such underwriters or their respective affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

 

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We may engage our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as an advisor or otherwise with respect to our business combinations and certain other transactions. Any salary or fee in connection with such engagement may be conditioned upon the completion of such transactions. This financial interest in the completion of such transactions may influence the advice such entity provides.

We may engage our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as an advisor or otherwise in connection with our initial business combination and certain other transactions and pay such person or entity a salary or fee in an amount that constitutes a market standard for comparable transactions. Pursuant to any such engagement, such person or entity may earn its salary or fee upon closing of the initial business combination. The payment of such salary or fee would likely be conditioned upon the completion of the initial business combination. Therefore, such persons or entities may have additional financial interests in the completion of the initial business combination. These financial interests may influence the advice such entity provides us, which advice would contribute to our decision on whether to pursue a business combination with any particular target.

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

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive 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 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 such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we consummate an initial business combination, and our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us in the event we consummate an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our ordinary shares to materially decline.

While we are offering our units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit and the amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share, implying an initial value of $10.20 per public share, our sponsor paid only a nominal aggregate purchase price of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.003 per share. As a result, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted in the event we consummate an initial business combination.

Our sponsor has committed to invest an aggregate of $12,925,000 in us in connection with this offering, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $12,900,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). As a result, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares significantly declines, our sponsor will stand to make significant profit on its investment in us. In addition, our sponsor could potentially recoup its entire investment in us even if the trading price of our ordinary shares is less than $1.00 per share and even if the private placement warrants are

 

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worthless. As a result, our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us even if we select and consummate an initial business combination that causes the trading price of our ordinary shares to decline, while our public shareholders who purchased their units in this offering could lose significant value in their public shares. Our sponsor may therefore be economically incentivized to consummate an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if our sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public shareholders paid for their public shares.

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

On April 1, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our expenses in exchange for 8,625,000 founder shares. On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of founder shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering (of which 937,500 founder shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the initial shareholders, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 per share and we are offering units at a price of $10.00 per unit in this offering; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 12,900,000 private placement warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) for an aggregate purchase price of $12,900,000 (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant. The private placement warrants will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 15-month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination unless we extend the deadline pursuant to our amended and restated articles of incorporation.

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

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

 

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for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

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

The net proceeds from this offering and the private placement of warrants will provide us with $246,250,000 (or $283,187,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $8,750,000, or up to $10,062,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

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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 simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence 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, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

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

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

 

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

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

In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition 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 memorandum and articles of association will require a special resolution under the Companies Act, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company (and will need to comply with any other relevant requirements of our memorandum and articles of association), and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of the public warrants (except for provisions of the warrant agreement enabling amendments without shareholder or warrant holder approval that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements). In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the 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.

 

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The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company (or 65% of the votes cast by our ordinary shares with respect to amendments to the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, under the Companies Act which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of the votes cast by our ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares 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 memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Our sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

Certain agreements related to this offering may be amended without shareholder approval.

Each of the agreements related to this offering to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreement (except for provisions of the warrant agreement enabling amendments without shareholder or warrant holder approval that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements) and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without shareholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders; and the private placement

 

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warrants purchase agreement between us and our sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain lock-up provisions with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and other securities held by our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers and directors. Amendments to such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our board of directors, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement. Any amendment entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. For example, amendments to the lock-up provision discussed above may result in our initial shareholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.

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.

We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.

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

Upon closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20% of the sum of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current

 

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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 ordinary shares. In addition, we may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors are likely to continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. Prior to the initial business combination, only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors.

Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per founder share and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary share and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A ordinary shares after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 146.8% (or $14.68 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering of $(4.68) and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination. 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 ordinary shares.

We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants, or for amendments necessary for the warrants to be classified as equity. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

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 shareholder or warrant holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, or to make any amendments that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements, but otherwise requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority 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 (i) in a manner adverse to a holder of public warrants if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment or (ii) to the extent necessary for the warrants in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements without the consent of any shareholder or warrant holder. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority 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 shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

 

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

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

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

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

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

If (i) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value of our Class A ordinary shares is below $9.20 per share, then 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 prices described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary 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 and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

 

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Our warrants are expected to be accounted for as a warrant liability and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.

We will issue an aggregate of 25,400,000 warrants in connection with this offering (comprised of the 12,500,000 warrants included in the units and the 12,900,000 private placement warrants, assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). We expect to account for these as a warrant liability and will record at fair value upon issuance any change in fair value during each period reported in earnings as determined by us based upon a valuation report obtained from an independent third party valuation firm. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek other special purpose acquisition company that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

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 at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the warrants holders and provided certain other conditions are met. We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, 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 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 to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.

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

We will be issuing warrants to purchase 12,500,000 of our Class A ordinary shares (or up to 14,375,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 12,900,000 private placement warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $1.00 per warrant. In addition, if the sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 2,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. Our public warrants are also redeemable by us for Class A ordinary shares as described in “Description of Securities—Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00.” To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

 

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The private 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 our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.

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

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 the representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, 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 ordinary shares 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 size, price and terms of the Units 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.

There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market 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 and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases). Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

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

The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial 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 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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or 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

 

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

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

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.

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

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

Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary and other responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English (and other Commonwealth) common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary and other responsibilities of our

 

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directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.

We have been advised by Travers Thorp Alberga, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

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

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which 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.

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

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

 

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Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries in General

If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.

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

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

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

 

   

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

 

   

rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

 

   

complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

 

   

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

 

   

exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;

 

   

tariffs and trade barriers;

 

   

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

 

   

local or regional economic policies and market conditions;

 

   

unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;

 

   

challenges in managing and staffing international operations;

 

   

longer payment cycles;

 

   

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

 

   

currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

 

   

rates of inflation;

 

   

challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

 

   

cultural and language differences;

 

   

employment regulations;

 

   

underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;

 

   

corruption;

 

   

protection of intellectual property;

 

   

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

 

   

regime changes and political upheaval;

 

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terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; and

 

   

deterioration of political relations with the United States.

Outbreaks of civil and political unrest and acts of terrorism have occurred in countries in Europe, Africa, South America, and the Middle East, including countries close to or where we may seek an acquisition. Continued or escalated civil and political unrest and acts of terrorism in the countries in which we may operate could result in our curtailing operations or delays in project completions. In the event that countries in which we may operate experience civil or political unrest or acts of terrorism, especially in events where such unrest leads to an unseating of the established government, our operations could be materially impaired. Our potential international operations may also be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by laws, policies, and regulations of the United States affecting foreign trade and taxation, including U.S. trade sanctions. Realization of any of the factors listed above could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

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

Corporate governance standards in non-US countries may not be as strict or developed as in the United States and such weakness may hide issues and operational practices that are detrimental to a target business.

General corporate governance standards in non-US countries are weaker than those in the United States. This could result in unfavorable related party transactions, over-leveraging, improper accounting, family company interconnectivity and poor management. Local laws often do not go far enough to prevent improper business practices. Therefore, shareholders may not be treated impartially and equally as a result of poor management practices, asset shifting, conglomerate structures that result in preferential treatment to some parts of the overall company, and cronyism. The lack of transparency and ambiguity in the regulatory process also may result in inadequate credit evaluation and weakness that may precipitate or encourage financial crisis. In our evaluation of a business combination we will have to evaluate the corporate governance of a target and the business environment, and in accordance with United States laws for reporting companies take steps to implement practices that will cause compliance with all applicable rules and accounting practices. Notwithstanding these intended efforts, there may be endemic practices and local laws that could add risk to an investment we ultimately make and that result in an adverse effect on our operations and financial results.

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements, including our memorandum and articles of association or equivalent constitutive document. 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.

We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.

We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.

Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.

 

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We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and any determination that we violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We will have operations, agreements with third parties and make sales in Europe, which may experience corruption. Our proposed activities in Europe create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of the employees, consultants, or sales agents of our Company, because these parties are not always subject to our control. It will be our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. Also, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, or sales agents of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.

We employ a mail forwarding service, which may delay or disrupt our ability to receive mail in a timely manner.

Mail addressed to the Company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by Company to be dealt with. None of the Company, its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused in mail reaching the forwarding address, which may impair your ability to communicate with us.

Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.

In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.

In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some of the statements contained in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’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” 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:

 

   

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

   

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

   

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

 

   

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

   

our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

 

   

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

 

   

our pool of prospective target businesses;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

 

   

the lack of a market for our securities;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We are offering 25,000,000 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 private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.

 

     Without
Over-allotment
Option
     Over-allotment
Option
Exercised
 

Gross proceeds

     

Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1)

   $ 250,000,000      $ 287,500,000  

Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement

   $ 12,900,000      $ 14,400,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total gross proceeds

   $ 262,900,000      $ 301,900,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Offering expenses(2)

     

Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3)

   $ 5,000,000      $ 5,750,000  

Legal fees and expenses

     381,250        381,250  

Printing and engraving expenses

     25,000        25,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     148,000        148,000  

SEC/FINRA expenses

     70,276        70,276  

Travel and road show expenses

     10,000        10,000  

Nasdaq listing and filing fees

     80,000        80,000  

Miscellaneous

     135,474        135,474  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions)

   $ 850,000      $ 850,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Proceeds after offering expenses

   $ 257,050,000      $ 295,300,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Held in trust account(3)

   $ 255,000,000      $ 293,250,000  

% of public offering size

     102%        102%  

Not held in trust account

   $ 2,050,000      $ 2,050,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The following table shows the use of the approximately $2,050,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account:(4)

 

     Amount      % of Total  

Director & Officers liability insurance premiums(5)

     1,500,000        73.2  

Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination(6)

     200,000        9.8  

Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations

     150,000        7.3  

Nasdaq and other regulatory fees

     100,000        4.9  

Consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during search for initial business combination target

     50,000        2.4  

Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses

     50,000        2.4  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 2,050,000        100.0

 

(1)

Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.

(2)

A portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $300,000 as described in this prospectus. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $850,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses other than underwriting commissions. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses.

 

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(3)

The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon and concurrently with the completion of our initial business combination, up to $8,750,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or up to $10,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account. See “Underwriting”. The remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming shareholders, 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. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.

(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 our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, 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. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account.

(5)

This amount represents the approximate amount of annualized director and officer liability insurance premiums we anticipate paying following the completion of this offering and until we complete a business combination.

(6)

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.

Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $262,900,000 in gross proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $301,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $255,000,000 ($10.20 per unit), or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit), will be deposited into a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $5,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $850,000 will be used to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. The proceeds held 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 meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $255,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year and the over-allotment option is not exercised; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. We expect that the interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay income taxes. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, as applicable, if any, until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as

 

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described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.

The net proceeds released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may use the balance of the cash released from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination.

We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. 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 business combination, 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 amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.

Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 (which was amended to March 31, 2022 on November 3, 2021) or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $850,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would 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 $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. 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 anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months on two separate occasions (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a business combination). Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust

 

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agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees), upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account for each three month extension (of which there may be no more than two such extensions) $2,500,000 or $2,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per share in either case), on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Any such payments would be funded from the proceeds of a non-interest bearing loan between our sponsor and us. Such loan may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The terms of the warrants would be identical to the terms of the private placement warrants. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. The letter agreement with our initial shareholders contains a provision pursuant to which our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to be repaid for such loans in the event that we do not complete a business combination. Our public shareholders will not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our extensions of time to consummate an initial business combination or redeem their shares in connection with such extensions. In the event that we determine to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsor and their affiliates or designees are not obligated to enter into any such loan agreement with us that would allow us to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the sum of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

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DILUTION

The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A ordinary shares 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 private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares.

At September 30, 2021, our net tangible book deficit was $359,997, or approximately $0.05 per ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 28,750,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2021 would have been $(29,231,452) or $(4.68) per share (or $(33,537,952) or $(4.67) per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate decrease in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash, or 28,750,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $4.63 per share (or $4.62 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution to public shareholders from this offering of $10.00 per share. Total dilution to public shareholders from this offering will be $14.68 per share (or $14.67 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).

The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:

 

     No exercise of over-
allotment option
    Exercise of over-
allotment option
in full
 

Public offering price

      $ 10.00       $ 10.00  

Net tangible book deficit before this offering

     (0.05)          (0.05)    

Increase attributable to public shareholders

     (4.63)          (4.62)    
  

 

 

      

 

 

   

Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants

        (4.68       (4.67
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Dilution to public shareholders

      $ 14.68       $ 14.67  
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Percentage of dilution to public shareholders

        146.8       146.7

For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $255,000,000 because holders 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 business days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders meeting, 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 Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.

 

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The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:

 

    

 

Purchased

    Total Consideration     Average
Price Per
Share
 
     Number      Percentage     Amount      Percentage  

Initial shareholders(1)

     6,250,000        20   $ 25,000        0.01   $ 0.004  

Public shareholders

     25,000,000        80   $ 250,000,000        99.99   $ 10.00  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

Total

     31,250,000        100   $ 250,025,000        100.00  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

(1)

Assumes that 937,500 founder shares are surrendered to us for no consideration after the closing of this offering in the event the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option.

The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:

 

    Without
Over-allotment
    With
Over-allotment
 

Numerator:

   

Net tangible book deficit before this offering

  $ (359,997   $ (359,997

Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants(1)

    257,050,000       295,300,000  

Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering

    380,545       380,545  

Less: Deferred underwriting commissions

    (8,750,000     (10,062,500

Less: Warrant liability

    (22,552,000     (25,546,000

Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption(2)

   
(255,000,000

   
(293,250,000

 

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $ (29,231,452   $ (33,537,952
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Denominator:

   

Class B ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering

   
7,187,500
 
   
7,187,500
 

Class B ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised(3)

   
(937,500

    —    

Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered

    25,000,000       28,750,000  

Less: Ordinary shares subject to redemption

   
(25,000,000

   
(28,750,000

 

 

 

   

 

 

 
   
6,250,000
 
   
7,187,500
 
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $850,000 and underwriting commissions of $5,000,000 (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.”

(2)

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.”

(3)

Assumes that 937,500 founder shares are surrendered to us for no consideration.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the sale of our units in this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option:

 

     September 30, 2021  
     Actual     As Adjusted  

Notes payable to related party(1)

   $ 185,784     $ —    

Warrant liability(2)

     —        
22,552,000
 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred underwriting commissions

     —        
8,750,000
 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 400,000,000 shares authorized; 0 and 25,000,000 shares are subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively(3)

      
255,000,000
 

Shareholder’s Equity:

    

Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively

    

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 400,000,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding (excluding -0- and 25,000,000 shares subject to redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively

    

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 40,000,000 shares authorized, 7,187,500 and 6,250,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively(4)

     719       625  

Additional paid-in capital

     24,281       —    

Accumulated deficit

     (4,452     (29,232,077
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total shareholder’s equity

   $ 20,548     $ (29,231,452
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capitalization

   $ 206,332     $ 257,070,548  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the repayment of any loans received from our sponsor out of the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As of September 30, 2021, we had $185,784 borrowed under the promissory note.

(2)

We will account for the 25,400,000 warrants to be issued in connection with this offering (the 12,500,000 warrants included in the units and the 12,900,000 private placement warrants, assuming the underwriters’ overallotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we will classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in our statement of operations. Such warrant classification is also subject to re-evaluation at each reporting period.

(3)

Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per-share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.

(4)

Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares and as adjusted amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and forfeiture of an aggregate of 937,500 founder shares.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated on March 22, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into prior to or following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.

The issuance of additional shares in connection with a business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, 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;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

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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 September 30, 2021, we had cash of $25,000 and deferred offering costs of $380,545. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete 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 after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through a payment of $25,000 from our sponsor to cover for certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for the issuance of the 7,187,500 founder shares, and up to $300,000 in loans available from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor. As of September 30, 2021, we had $185,784 borrowed under the unsecured promissory note issued by our sponsor.

We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the units in this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $12,900,000 (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), after deducting offering expenses of approximately $850,000 and underwriting commissions of $5,000,000 (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $8,750,000, or $10,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $257,050,000 (or $295,300,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). $255,000,000 (or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The remaining approximately $2,050,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $850,000, 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 $850,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting commissions) net of any redemptions, to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our taxes, if any. Our annual income

 

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tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete 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.

Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us approximately $2,050,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, as well as any funds from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team. We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants 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 complete a business combination.

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination other than funds available from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would 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 for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. 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.

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $1,500,000 for director and officer liability insurance; $200,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $100,000 for Nasdaq and other regulatory fees; $50,000 for consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the search for initial business combination target; and approximately $50,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.

These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust 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 or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into 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.

 

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Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. If we do not 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 addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.

Controls and Procedures

We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend 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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.

Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion 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 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 our initial 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.

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our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses 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 registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm 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 sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results

As of September 30, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have not conducted any operations to date.

JOBS Act

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 independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the report of the independent registered public accounting firm 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 this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

 

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Mark-to-Market Warrant Liability

We will account for the 25,400,000 warrants to be issued in connection with this offering (the 12,500,000 warrants included in the units and the 12,900,000 private placement warrants, assuming the underwriters’ overallotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we will classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in our statement of operations.

 

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PROPOSED BUSINESS

General

We are a recently incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not generated 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 have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor considered a target business nor have they had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Our management team is regularly made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) initiated or contacted any prospective target business or had, directly or indirectly, any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.

While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to capitalize on the experience and ability of our team to focus on opportunities in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey (the “Target Area”) and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology (the “Specific Sectors”).

Our Founder and Sponsor

Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, our sponsor, is a consolidated subsidiary of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C., or Investcorp and together with its consolidated subsidiaries are collectively referred to as Investcorp Group. Established in 1982, Investcorp Group is a leading global alternative asset investment manager. Over its 39-year history, Investcorp Group has raised approximately US$50 billion and made acquisitions valued at approximately US$71 billion in total. Investcorp Group had approximately US$37 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2021, compared to more than US$34 billion as of December 31, 2020; representing an increase of more than 8% YTD June-21.

Investcorp Group currently has 10 offices across the globe in private equity, credit management, real estate, infrastructure, hedge fund and other areas, with a strong franchise in Europe, as of June 30, 2021.

Investcorp Group is committed to contributing to the communities in which it operates and has a diverse and inclusive workforce of approximately 450 employees across 45 nationalities and diversified across gender, age groups, and other relevant metrics, as of June 30, 2021.

Since inception, Investcorp Group’s private equity business has invested US$19 billion in capital and completed 208 transactions. As of December 31, 2020, it had 72 portfolio companies under management, out of which 13 portfolio companies are managed by the team that focuses on Europe.

Our Team

Our board of directors is comprised of:

 

 

executive directors, including Hazem Ben-Gacem as Chairman appointed by Investcorp, and Peter McKellar as Vice-Chairman; and

 

 

independent directors, including Laurence Ponchaut, Pam Jackson and Adah Almutairi.

 

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Our management team has also been carefully selected, comprising of Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith as Chief Executive Officer; Alptekin Diler as Chief Investment Officer to identify and source potential Business Combinations and Craig Sinfield-Hain as Chief Financial Officer leveraging specialized execution capabilities.

Together, our board of directors and management team, have a broad and deep relationship network across all sectors in the Target Area. Their sourcing capabilities are also coupled with extensive experience in investing and managing companies.

Hazem Ben-Gacem. Hazem Ben-Gacem has been our Chairman of the board of directors since October 19, 2021. Hazem is Investcorp’s Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Executive Officer of CP Holdings Limited with over 25 years of experience in successfully leading private equity investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to Hazem’s appointment as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Investcorp and CP Holdings Limited in 2018, Hazem was previously the head of the European and Technology Private Equity platforms at Investcorp International Ltd from 2014 through 2018 and, prior to joining Investcorp International Ltd in 1994, worked at Credit Suisse First Boston’s M&A team from 1992 through 1994. Today, Hazem chairs the investment committees of the firm’s Private Equity activities in Europe, Middle East and Asia and is involved in multiple board directorships of reputable companies. Hazem is well-qualified to serve as our Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity along with his leadership experience.

Peter McKellar. Peter McKellar has been our Vice-Chairman of the board of directors since October 27, 2021. Peter is Deputy Chairman of AssetCo plc, a FTSE AIM listed company, since January 2021, a Non-Executive Director of 3i Group plc, a FTSE 100 listed company, since June 2021, a Non Executive Director of Concession Infrastructure Investments Manager Limited, a joint venture infrastructure manager for a Gulf Cooperation Council social infrastructure fund, jointly managed with Investcorp, since February 2019, and a member of the Board of Scottish Enterprise since February 2021. He is a director of a number of other privately held companies. Previously, Peter held roles as Executive Chairman and Global Head of Private Markets at Standard Life Aberdeen plc, the international asset and wealth manager, from 2017 through 2020 and Head of Private Equity and Infrastructure at Standard Life plc, from 2012 through 2017. Peter was also lead manager of Standard Life Private Equity Trust, a London-listed investment company, from 2001 through 2015. Peter is well-qualified to serve as our Vice-Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity, along with his leadership experience.

Pam Jackson. Pam Jackson will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Pam is CEO and Director of WPEI Ltd (trading as Level 20), a not-for-profit organization focused on improving gender diversity in the private equity industry. Prior to Pam’s appointment to Level 20 in 2019, Pam was a Partner and supervisory board member at PwC where she held various roles including Middle East Deals leader, private equity and corporate M&A from 1990 through 2019. She is a chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor. Pam is also a Non-Executive Director of ArtsEd International Ltd since 2019. Pam is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive experience in private equity along with her leadership experience.

Laurence Ponchaut. Laurence Ponchaut will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Laurence is the Founder and Managing Director of the consultancy firm Distinct Communication. Previously, Laurence was an economic expert for the European Commission (the Directorate-General for International Partnerships) (1993-1995), a Big4 strategy consultant and the Head of Corporate Reputation for ArcelorMittal (2004-2009). Laurence is involved in multiple board directorships including Letzpact (2021), ProRSE (2017) and was previously a Non-Executive Director of Merlux Maritime SA (2019-2020). Laurence is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.

Adah Almutairi. Adah Almutairi will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Adah is a member of the board of directors of eLux Medical Inc., a medical technology company, since January 2013, a member of the board of trustees of Future Investment Initiative Institute, a non-profit organization focusing on startup technology investments, since January 2020, and a member of the board of

 

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directors of Pharmaceutical Investment Company, a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology company, since January 2021. Previously, Adah was founder and chief executive officer of eLux Medical Inc. from January 2013 through August 2016. Adah is a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, faculty in the departments of bioengineering and nanoengineering and director of the Center for Excellence in nanomedicine and engineering in the Institute of Engineering in Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Adah’s work focuses on nanomedicine, nanotechnology, chemistry and polymer science. Adah is a 2016 Kavli Fellow and has received numerous honors and awards such as the NIH director’s new innovator award in 2009 for her work on “Chemically Amplified Response Strategies for Medical Sciences”. Adah’s work was highlighted by U.S. NIH director Francis Collins to Congress as one of the 4 most important American technology breakthroughs of the year 2012. Adah is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith. Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith has been our Chief Executive Officer since October 27, 2021. Ruby is currently the Chair of Mind Gym PLC and the President of the British Chambers of Commerce. Ruby also chairs the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the Airport Operators Association. She is a non-executive director for the Tideway Tunnel. Ruby was formerly the Chief Executive of the Mitie Group plc from 2007 through 2016, Business Ambassador for the UK Government from 2012 through 2019 and Senior Independent Director and Non- Executive Director at Page Group plc from 2007 through 2017.

Alptekin Diler. Alptekin Diler has been our Chief Investment Officer since October 27, 2021. Alptekin is a senior member of Investcorp’s Private Equity MENA team and its Investment Committee. Previously, Alptekin was a Director in Investcorp’s Global Capital Management team from 2011 through 2014, Investment Manager at ADM Capital from January 2011 through June 2011, FinansInvest from 2005 to 2008 and business development and M&A associate at Akenerji from 2002 through 2005. Alptekin is a Board member of Turkey-based Namet Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., a meat producer, as of 2018, Arvento M2M Elektronik Sistemler Sanayi Ticaret A.S. as of 2015 and Arvento Mobil Sistemler A.S. (a MENA telematics company) as of 2015.

Craig Sinfield-Hain. Craig Sinfield-Hain has been our Chief Financial Officer since October 27, 2021. Craig has been with Investcorp for 18 years. During his career at Investcorp he has held various roles within the Finance department including Group Financial Controller from 2009 through 2012. Craig is currently the Head of Business Analysis and Planning and also Head of Investment Structuring and Business Support in Europe. Craig joined Investcorp after completing an MBA with distinction at INSEAD in France in 2002. Prior to Investcorp he worked as an actuarial consultant for Watson Wyatt (now Willis Towers Watson) for nine years. Craig is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and holds a bachelor of sciences degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Illinois, from which he graduated summa cum laude with highest departmental distinction. Craig is also involved in multiple board directorships of Investcorp group companies and of holding companies for Investcorp’s investments in private equity and real estate.

Market Opportunity

While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to capitalize on the experience and ability of our team to focus on opportunities in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey (the “Target Area”) and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology (the “Specific Sectors”).

We believe that the Western European and Northern European markets present a very attractive investment opportunity for the following reasons:

 

 

Significant number of investment opportunities: we believe that there are numerous business combination opportunities with a compelling industry backdrop and growth outlook in Europe. We find the European markets especially attractive as there are a significant number of corporates with potential for ownership change, including both privately-owned corporates as well as spin-offs/carve-outs from larger conglomerates; and

 

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Stable institutional framework: Europe offers a stable market environment sustained by strong political and regulatory institutions which provides investors with a supportive and well-established framework. As a result of these reassuring market dynamics, we believe that Europe will continue to attract increasing attention from both domestic and international investors.

Furthermore, we believe that the current market environment in Turkey, while characterized by a degree of political and macroeconomic instability, may result in more attractive business combination opportunities becoming actionable in the near and medium term. We could opportunistically benefit from this current dislocated market environment in Turkey by capitalizing on both Investcorp and our leadership team’s unique network and investment experience within this geography.

We are aware of businesses with principal business operations in the Target Area. All of these potential target businesses are based in the Specific Sectors. We have defined these sub-sectors as follows:

 

 

Business services:

 

 

providers of services to businesses including but not limited to advertising, marketing, consultation, logistics, waste handling, staffing services, shipping, administration and security services;

 

 

uniquely positioned to benefit from changing landscapes and shifting business needs; and

 

 

offer differentiated and valued solutions to the many challenges facing traditional businesses across a broad range of industries.

 

 

Consumer and lifestyle:

 

 

strong branded consumer products/retail with established proof of concept including specialty consumer, consumable goods, online/internet and consumer retail and healthcare; and

 

 

defined branded/differentiated product or service that has the ability to disrupt large categories.

 

 

Niche manufacturing:

 

 

manufacturers of precision-manufactured custom products that are not mass produced and sold on the premise of product quality; and

 

 

characterized by focus on product quality and customer service.

 

 

Technology:

 

 

businesses revolving around the manufacturing of electronics, creation of software, computers, or products and services relating to information technology; and

 

 

technology companies which provide a mission critical product/service with a scalable platform and a defensible market position.

Competitive Strengths

In pursuing an attractive business combination, our competitive strengths include the following:

 

 

Seasoned, Pan-European Leadership Team: we believe that our ability to leverage the experience, network and complementary skillsets of our board of directors and management team and the broader Investcorp Group across the Specific Sectors should provide us with a competitive advantage in sourcing, evaluating and completing an attractive initial business combination. Our leadership team has deep experience in leading global private equity investments, including chairing investment committees for European acquisitions and direct management of companies, as well as extensive relevant networks with management teams, third party professional services firms and regulators. In particular, our leadership team has experience in developing strong operating knowledge of and management relationships with companies in the Specific Sectors through past executed investments;

 

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Leading global private equity investor, with high credibility and multi-sector focus: our sponsor is an affiliate of Investcorp Group, a global provider and manager of alternative investments, with approximately $37 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2021, including approximately $6.6 billion of assets under management in private equity investments, providing potential synergies for and immediate credibility with potential targets. Since its founding in 1982, the Investcorp Group has executed over 211 private equity investments, with a disciplined approach to growth designed to promote resilient performance during macroeconomic disruptions. Investcorp Group has consistently seen increases in its levels of investing activity and made $3.1 billion of aggregate investment in 2020;

 

 

Unique resources for value creation in the Specific Sectors: we plan to capitalize on Investcorp Group’s and our leadership team’s extensive operational, investment and strategic experience in the Specific Sectors. Our board of directors believes this experience will enable it to identify a target with appropriate value characteristics and, in partnership with management, create a comprehensive business plan to realize this value. Our view is the Investcorp Group’s dedicated investment professionals have the relevant backgrounds and requisite experience needed to develop and implement effective strategic operating plans, through both operational performance improvement and topline growth (organically and through synergistic add-on acquisitions, as appropriate). We also believe our board of director’s experience with and access to debt and equity capital markets will enhance value creation opportunities for our initial business combination through efficient capital structure management, which will be further supported via third party advisors. We believe that, in today’s investing environment, relevant sector experience is critical to identifying an appropriate target, structuring the transaction and effecting a value- enhancing business plan for the initial business combination;

 

 

Proven track-record of investing in Europe evidenced by industry leading returns: in the past 39 years, Investcorp Group has invested over $14.4 billion in capital in the Target Area, with 20 current portfolio companies in the region and 35 realized European investments. In addition, members of our board of directors and management team are strategically located in Europe. The combination of investment experience in the region and on-the-ground presence will enhance our endeavors to source relevant potential target businesses across the Target Area, as well as optimize opportunities to expand a potential target’s pan-European presence. Across Europe, Investcorp Group has deployed over €6 billion in more than 50 investments in 14 countries since inception. The depth of its experience and network in the region is underpinned by 26 private equity professionals in the region;

 

 

Strong sourcing capabilities through deep global network and relationships: Investcorp Group and our leadership team have an extensive investment track record in Europe supported by a large global network developed via Investcorp Group’s 211 executed private equity deals. In addition to Investcorp Group and our leadership team’s private equity sourcing network, we anticipate that target business candidates may also be brought to its attention from various unaffiliated sources, including executives of investment banking, strategic consultancy and other professional services firms, which we believe should assist it in sourcing potential initial business combination targets; and

 

 

Demonstrable commitment to embracing Diversity and ESG values: Investcorp Group has developed a systemic and integral approach to ESG. Investcorp Group’s commitment to ESG is visible across all activities, from the initial due diligence of the businesses to the management of its portfolio companies. The implementation of ESG practices in the last few years has resulted in significant value creation. As for diversity, Investcorp Group is proud of its achievements in this area so far. Investcorp Group continues working to enhance the geographic and gender diversity of its workforce.

Business Strategy

We intend to conduct an initial business combination with a business that can benefit from one or more of the following: (i) the deal execution capabilities of Investcorp Group and leadership team, including their experience in private equity investments in the Specified Sectors across the Target Area; (ii) additional capital to support its business and growth strategy; and (iii) access to public securities markets.

 

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Our investment and business development strategy will search for the following qualitative and quantitative features under three different filters: (1) industry, (2) our strategy and positioning, and (3) our financial profile:

Industry

 

 

High barriers to entry or other significant competitive advantages that can be sustained in the long run. These factors will help to maintain and the grow the market position and profitability of the target; and

 

 

Potential to participate in sector consolidation and/or ability to carry out bolt-ons to add further capabilities or expand geographically. These factors include but are not limited to, opportunities which allow the target to enhance its strategic position through external growth opportunities and which have further upside potential;

Our strategy and positioning

 

 

Seasoned management team with a successful track-record. Potential target companies in the defined Specified Sectors with outstanding management teams, which have demonstrated their capacity to develop their company successfully. We believe that the founders, investors and management of potential targets should be attracted by our investment philosophy and our leadership team’s historical track record of working closely with strong management teams;

 

 

Scalable and tech-driven business models. Potential target companies in the defined Target Area with scalable and tech-driven business models;

 

 

Market leaders in their respective markets. Potential target companies in the defined Target Sectors that are market leaders in their respective markets. The key factors we will consider on deciding the target include the target’s growth prospects, the competitive dynamics in the target’s key markets, the level of industry consolidation and the need for capital investment;

 

 

Resilient characteristics throughout macroeconomic cycles with strong downside protection. Resilient nature of the business allows the target to sustain performance through any current / future disruption in the economy;

 

 

Can operate successfully under the scrutiny of public markets. History of strong internal and external reporting and robust corporate governance framework; and

 

 

Companies in which the specific background of our sponsor and leadership team can add further value. Potential targets with similar backgrounds of our sponsor and leadership team, in order to apply knowledge and best practices from prior experience with similar companies.

Our financial profile

 

 

Strong unit economics and highly variable cost structure, leading to higher profitability in the mid- term. The factors we will consider are the attractiveness and business profitability of unit economics in the target’s core market, the level of transferability of the unit economics to other markets as the target’s business expands and/or enters new markets and the level of the variability of the target’s cost structure; and

 

 

Primarily equity financed. Potential target companies which are primarily equity financed with a founders or top-tier investor base.

In order to implement its strategy, we intend to utilize the deal sourcing capabilities and investment experience of our board of directors, management team and Investcorp Group in order to identify and analyze appropriate target businesses for an initial business combination. Given our board of director’s investment track

 

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record in the Specified Sectors, we expect that attractive initial business combination candidates will be sourced via discussions with Investcorp Group’s existing sourcing network, management teams of portfolio assets held in the Specified Sectors, and various unaffiliated sources such as third party advisors, investment banking executives or other professional services firms.

Business Combination Criteria

We expect to seek to identify companies that we believe have significant growth potential and a combination of the following characteristics. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We expect that no individual criteria will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular target.

 

 

size and equity value of the target above $1.0 billion up to $2.0 billion;

 

 

scalable business model with strong unit economics;

 

 

compatibility with high corporate responsibility standards for sustainable and environmentally and socially responsible investments;

 

 

leadership in the Specific Sectors and proven track record;

 

 

brand recognition and potential;

 

 

size, secular growth rate, and strategic fundamentals of the target;

 

 

competitive dynamics, including barriers to entry, future competitive threats and the target business’ competitive position;

 

 

product positioning and life cycle;

 

 

development of detailed projections, quantification of sensitivity of drivers of growth and profit enhancement;

 

 

attractiveness of the target business’ cash flow generation capability and return on capital employed;

 

 

readiness to become a listed company and enter the public markets;

 

 

quality and depth of the management team as it relates to current operations, as well as the envisioned operations in the future;

 

 

proprietary aspects of products and the extent of intellectual property or other protection for products or formulas;

 

 

costs and time associated with effecting the business combination; and

 

 

market leadership, sustainability of market share and attractiveness of market sectors, in which the target business operates within the Specific Sectors.

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into a business combination with a target business that does not meet some or all of the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC.

Our Business Combination Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews,

 

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interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information which will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience. Our acquisition criteria, due diligence processes and value creation methods are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC. Our search for a business combination, 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 by factors beyond our control. For example, see “Risk Factors—The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.”

The rules of Nasdaq and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions held in 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 (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will 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 the target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq’s rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. If we intend to close any business combination with a company with headquarters or significant operations in a country with secrecy laws that limit foreign access to business books and records and/or audit work papers or where PCAOB cannot freely inspect auditors, we must obtain Nasdaq’s approval prior to closing.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-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 shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post- transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves

 

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more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.

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.

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. If we ultimately do not complete a specific initial business combination, any such costs incurred will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.

Investcorp Group, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, our sponsor, officers, and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

Other Acquisition Considerations

Notwithstanding the past performance of our management team or Investcorp Group, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or we will be successful with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of management’s, Investcorp Group’s or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions for the type of company we are seeking to acquire or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying for a target is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the business judgment of our board of directors, which will have significant discretion in choosing the standard used to establish the fair market value of the target or targets, and different methods of valuation may vary greatly in outcome from one another. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

 

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Members of our management team and our independent directors own or will own, directly or indirectly, founder shares and/or private placement warrants and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 per share and we are offering units at a price of $10.00 per unit in this offering; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Each of our directors and officers presently has, and in the future may further have, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including Investcorp and its affiliates pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present acquisition opportunities to such entity. Accordingly, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an acquisition opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will need to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such acquisition opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to identify targets for our initial business combination. Also, while Investcorp and its affiliates will not have any duty to offer acquisition opportunities to us, Investcorp or its affiliates may become aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for Investcorp or its affiliates but that is an attractive opportunity for us, which they may decide to share with us. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, certain of our officers and directors may have time and attention requirements for Investcorp or its affiliates; and, in addition, the compensation arrangements between such individuals and Investcorp or its affiliates (e.g., potential for such individuals to receive bonuses or payments of “carried interest” based on performance or investment results) may result in certain of such individuals prioritizing the interests of Investcorp or its affiliates over our interests. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, Investcorp and its affiliates, including our officers and directors who are affiliated with Investcorp Group, may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Currently, the equity interests in our sponsor are owned by Investcorp Group. Following the date hereof, Investcorp Group may transfer the equity interests in our sponsor to one or more investment funds or accounts managed by Investcorp Group for such consideration as Investcorp Group deems appropriate. Shareholders will not have the right to approve or receive notice of any such transfer.

An investment in us is not an investment in Investcorp Group or any fund managed by Investcorp Group. The past performance of Investcorp Group, funds managed by Investcorp Group, our management team or their respective affiliates, is not a guarantee of success with respect to a business combination that may be completed

 

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or the ability to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of Investcorp Group, management or their respective affiliates as indicative of the company’s future performance. See “Risk Factors—Past performance by our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.”

Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or 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 initial business combination.

Corporate Information

Our executive offices are located at Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, PO Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102, our telephone number is +1 (345) 949-5122.

Status as a Public Company

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

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

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

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. 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 ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or 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 during the prior three-year period.

 

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Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 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 shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30.

Financial Position

With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $246,250,000 (assuming no redemptions), after payment of $8,750,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $283,187,500 (assuming no redemptions) after payment of $10,062,500 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

General

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into prior to or following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing of the initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to capitalize on the experience and ability of our team to focus on opportunities in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey, and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology. 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

 

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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 affect a target business.

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering. 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. None of our sponsors, officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.

Sources of Target Businesses

We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the track record and business relationships of our officers and directors. 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 to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee 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. We may also engage our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor for advisory or other services in connection with our initial business combination and may pay such person or entity a salary or fee in an amount that constitutes a market standard fee for comparable transactions. Any such payments prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than the foregoing, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or 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 our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).

 

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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Investcorp Group. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion and they may not be able to rely upon such opinion.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. See “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”

Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a 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 applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. If we ultimately do not complete a specific initial business combination, any such costs incurred will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.

Lack of Business Diversification

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

 

   

subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and

 

   

cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target

 

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business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

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

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

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

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

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

 

   

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

 

   

Any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest earned on the trust account (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 ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

 

   

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

Permitted Purchases of Our Securities

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

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In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.

The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder 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 our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on a negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.

Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, 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 their founder shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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Limitations on Redemptions

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.

The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment.

If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a shareholder meeting, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

   

conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and

 

   

file proxy materials with the SEC.

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

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of

 

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the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of a majority of issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,562,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company) approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreement of our sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.

If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will:

 

   

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.

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two

 

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business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.

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

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.

However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights

As described above, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver

 

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their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the broker submitting or tendering shares a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to submit or 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.

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

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

If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 15 months from the closing of this offering (or 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus).

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such 15-month period (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which

 

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redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of 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 the 15-month time period (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus).

Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus). However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 15-month time period (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus).

Our sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, 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. If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $2,050,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. 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 and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or

 

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to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. 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. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of this offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. 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 $10.20 per share.

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any

 

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kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $2,050,000 from the proceeds of this offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $850,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the 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 $850,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

If we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of our initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.

Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination and if We Fail to Complete Our Initial Business Combination

The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus).

 

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Redemptions in Connection
with our Initial Business
Combination

  

Other Permitted Purchases of
Public Shares by our Affiliates

  

Redemptions if we fail to
Complete an Initial Business
Combination

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 shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on    If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these    If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), 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
   deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per share), 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, 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 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination.    transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules    $10.20 per share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.

Impact to remaining shareholders

   The redemptions in connection with our    If the permitted purchases described    The redemption of our public shares if we fail to

 

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Redemptions in Connection
with our Initial Business
Combination

  

Other Permitted Purchases of
Public Shares by our Affiliates

  

Redemptions if we fail to
Complete an Initial Business
Combination

   initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay our taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account).    above are made, there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us.    complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders 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 over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.

 

    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Escrow of offering proceeds

   $255,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.    Approximately $212,625,000 of the offering proceeds, 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.

Investment of net proceeds

   $255,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.   

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.

Receipt of interest on escrowed funds

   Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (i) any taxes paid or    Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   payable and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation.    only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination.

Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business

   We must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions 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.

Trading of securities issued

   The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the underwriters permit 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. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which closing is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the over-allotment 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 over-allotment option.    No trading of the units or the underlying Class A ordinary shares 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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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Exercise of the warrants

   The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or 12 months from the closing 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.

Election to remain an investor

   We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per-share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the    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 no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a
   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, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, 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. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, 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 shareholder approval of our initial business    post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require 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 are automatically returned to the shareholder. 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

   combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company), we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. If our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation   
   with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.   

Business combination deadline

   If we do not complete an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible    If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 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

   but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law.   

Release of funds

   Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated    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.

 

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Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.   

Delivering share certificates in connection with the exercise of redemption rights

   We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we   

Many blank check companies provide that a shareholder can vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating that such shareholder is seeking to exercise its redemption rights.

 

After the business combination is approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for delivery of its share certificates to verify ownership.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights.   

Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote

   If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares without our prior consent. However, we would not restrict our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.    Many blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination.

Competition

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public

 

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shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our issued and 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 utilize office space at Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, PO Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102 from our sponsor and the members of our management team as our executive offices. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Employees

We currently have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business 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 may plan to have full time employees other than the executive officers prior to the completion of our initial business combination.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

We will register our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may 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 business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.

 

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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 voluntarily 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 initial business combination.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on March 22, 2021. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the government of the Cayman Islands that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from April 6, 2021, no law which is thereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of any relevant payment as defined in the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision).

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

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We 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 ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates equals or 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 during the prior three-year period.

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.

 

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MANAGEMENT

Officers, Directors and Director Nominees

Our officers, directors and director nominees are as follows:

 

Name

   Age    Position

Hazem Ben-Gacem

   51    Chairman

Peter McKellar

   56    Vice-Chairman

Pam Jackson

   63    Director nominee

Laurence Ponchaut

   51    Director nominee

Adah Almutairi

   45    Director nominee

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith

   58    Chief Executive Officer

Alptekin Diler

   43    Chief Investment Officer

Craig Sinfield-Hain

   49    Chief Financial Officer

Hazem Ben-Gacem. Hazem Ben-Gacem has been our Chairman of the board of directors since October 19, 2021. Hazem is Investcorp’s Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Executive Officer of CP Holdings Limited with over 25 years of experience in successfully leading private equity investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to Hazem’s appointment as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Investcorp and CP Holdings Limited in 2018, Hazem was previously the head of the European and Technology Private Equity platforms at Investcorp International Ltd from 2014 through 2018 and, prior to joining Investcorp International Ltd in 1994, worked at Credit Suisse First Boston’s M&A team from 1992 through 1994. Today, Hazem chairs the investment committees of the firm’s Private Equity activities in Europe, Middle East and Asia and is involved in multiple board directorships of reputable companies. Hazem is well-qualified to serve as our Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity along with his leadership experience.

Peter McKellar. Peter McKellar has been our Vice-Chairman of the board of directors since October 27, 2021. Peter McKellar is Deputy Chairman of AssetCo plc, a FTSE AIM listed company, since January 2021, a Non-Executive Director of 3i Group plc, a FTSE 100 listed company, since June 2021, a Non Executive Director of Concession Infrastructure Investments Manager Limited, a joint venture infrastructure manager for a Gulf Cooperation Council social infrastructure fund, jointly managed with Investcorp, since February 2019, and a member of the Board of Scottish Enterprise since February 2021. He is a director of a number of other privately held companies. Previously, Peter held roles as Executive Chairman and Global Head of Private Markets at Standard Life Aberdeen plc, the international asset and wealth manager, from 2017 through 2020 and Head of Private Equity and Infrastructure at Standard Life plc, from 2012 through 2017. Peter was also lead manager of Standard Life Private Equity Trust, a London-listed investment company, from 2001 through 2015. Peter is well-qualified to serve as our Vice-Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity, along with his leadership experience.

Pam Jackson. Pam Jackson will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Pam is CEO and Director of WPEI Ltd (trading as Level 20), a not-for-profit organization focused on improving gender diversity in the private equity industry. Prior to Pam’s appointment to Level 20 in 2019, Pam was a Partner and supervisory board member at PwC where she held various roles including Middle East Deals leader, private equity and corporate M&A from 1990 through 2019. She is a chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor. Pam is also a Non-Executive Director of ArtsEd International Ltd since 2019. Pam is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive experience in private equity along with her leadership experience.

Laurence Ponchaut. Laurence Ponchaut will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Laurence is the Founder and Managing Director of the consultancy firm Distinct Communication. Previously, Laurence was an economic expert for the European Commission (the Directorate-

 

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General for International Partnerships) (1993-1995), a Big4 strategy consultant and the Head of Corporate Reputation for ArcelorMittal (2004-2009). Laurence is involved in multiple board directorships including Letzpact (2021), ProRSE (2017) and was previously a Non-Executive Director of Merlux Maritime SA (2019-2020). Laurence is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.

Adah Almutairi. Adah Almutairi will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Adah is a member of the board of directors of eLux Medical Inc., a medical technology company, since January 2013, a member of the board of trustees of Future Investment Initiative Institute, a non-profit organization focusing on startup technology investments, since January 2020, and a member of the board of directors of Pharmaceutical Investment Company, a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology company, since January 2021. Previously, Adah was founder and chief executive officer of eLux Medical Inc. from January 2013 through August 2016. Adah is a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, faculty in the departments of bioengineering and nanoengineering and director of the Center for Excellence in nanomedicine and engineering in the Institute of Engineering in Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Adah’s work focuses on nanomedicine, nanotechnology, chemistry and polymer science. Adah is a 2016 Kavli Fellow and has received numerous honors and awards such as the NIH director’s new innovator award in 2009 for her work on “Chemically Amplified Response Strategies for Medical Sciences”. Adah’s work was highlighted by U.S. NIH director Francis Collins to Congress as one of the 4 most important American technology breakthroughs of the year 2012. Adah is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith. Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith has been our Chief Executive Officer since October 27, 2021. Ruby is currently the Chair of Mind Gym PLC and the President of the British Chambers of Commerce. Ruby also chairs the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the Airport Operators Association. She is a non-executive director for the Tideway Tunnel. Ruby was formerly the Chief Executive of the Mitie Group plc from 2007 through 2016, Business Ambassador for the UK Government from 2012 through 2019 and Senior Independent Director and Non-Executive Director at Page Group plc from 2007 through 2017.

Alptekin Diler. Alptekin Diler has been our Chief Investment Officer since October 27, 2021. Alptekin is a senior member of Investcorp’s Private Equity MENA team and its Investment Committee. Previously, Alptekin was a Director in Investcorp’s Global Capital Management team from 2011 through 2014, Investment Manager at ADM Capital from January 2011 through June 2011, FinansInvest from 2005 through 2008 and business development and M&A associate at Akenerji from 2002 through 2005. Alptekin is a Board member of Turkey-based Namet Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., a meat producer, as of 2018 Arvento M2M Elektronik Sistemler Sanayi Ticaret A.S., as of 2015, and Arvento Mobil Sistemler A.S. (2015), a MENA telematics company, as of 2015.

Craig Sinfield-Hain. Craig Sinfield-Hain has been our Chief Financial Officer since October 27, 2021. Craig has been with Investcorp for 18 years. During his career at Investcorp he has held various roles within the Finance department including Group Financial Controller from 2009 through 2012. Craig is currently the Head of Business Analysis and Planning and also Head of Investment Structuring and Business Support in Europe. Craig joined Investcorp after completing an MBA with distinction at INSEAD in France in 2002. Prior to Investcorp he worked as an actuarial consultant for Watson Wyatt (now Willis Towers Watson) for nine years. Craig is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and holds a bachelor of sciences degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Illinois, from which he graduated summa cum laude with highest departmental distinction. Craig is also involved in multiple board directorships of Investcorp group companies and of holding companies for Investcorp’s investments in private equity and real estate.

 

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Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect our board of directors will consist of five members. Each of our directors will hold office for a two-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq.

Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Director Independence

The rules of Nasdaq require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. 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. Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have three “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of this offering. Our board of directors has determined that each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut Adah Almutairi is an “independent director” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Officer and Director Compensation

None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.

On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share.

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be

 

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responsible for determining officer 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 constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Both our audit committee and our compensation committee will be composed solely of independent directors. Each committee will operate under a charter that will be approved by our board and will have the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee will be available on our website following the closing of this offering.

Audit Committee

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi will serve as members of our audit committee, and Pam Jackson will chair the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent.

Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Pam Jackson qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.

We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the audit committee, including:

 

   

assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;

 

   

pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;

 

   

setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;

 

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meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and

 

   

reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

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. Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi will serve as members of our compensation committee. Adah Almutairi will chair the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards, all the directors on the compensation committee must be independent.

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;

 

   

reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive compensation and equity based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other 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 officers and employees;

 

   

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

 

   

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

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.

The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent 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.

 

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Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. The initial members of our nominating and corporate governance will be Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi. Laurence Ponchaut will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards, all the directors on the nominating and corporate governance committee must be independent.

We will adopt a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:

 

   

identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;

 

   

developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines;

 

   

coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and

 

   

reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary.

The charter will also provide that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.

We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters of the committees of our board of directors will be provided without charge upon request from us. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.” If we make any amendments to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or Nasdaq rules, we will disclose the nature of such

 

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amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form S-1 or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.

Conflicts of Interest

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

 

  (i)

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

 

  (ii)

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

 

  (iii)

directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;

 

  (iv)

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

 

  (v)

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

 

  (vi)

duty to exercise independent judgment.

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

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

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity (including other special purpose acquisition companies) pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:

 

Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

Hazem Ben-Gacem    CP Holdings Ltd    Trading firm    Co-CEO
Peter McKellar   

AssetCo plc

   Investment management   

Deputy Chairman

   3i Group plc    Investment management    Non-Executive Director

 

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Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

   Concession Infrastructure Investment Managers Limited    Investment management    Non-Executive Director
   Umrigar Investment Limited    Personal investment company    Sole Director
   Heather Club Limited    Sporting company    Non-Executive Director
   Moy Sheep Farm LLP    Land owner    Non-Executive Director
   Scottish Enterprise    National development agency    Non-Executive Board Member
Pam Jackson   

WPEI Ltd (Trading as Level 20)

  

Private equity firm

  

CEO and Director

   ArtsEd International Ltd    Performing Arts Education    Chair
Laurence Ponchaut    Distinct Communication    ESG, Reputation Management    Managing Partner
Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith   

Mind Gym plc

  

Behavioral science company

  

Chair

   Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education    Education    Non-Executive Chair
   Airport Operators Association    Trade association    Non-Executive Chair
   British Chamber of Commerce    Business network    President
   Tideway Tunnel    Infrastructure    Non-Executive Director, Member of Audit Committee and Workforce Representative
   Department of Education    Education    Non-Executive Director
   Risk Assessment and Risk Planning Committee, House of Lords    Government    Committee Member
Alptekin Diler    Investcorp    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Principal
Craig Sinfield-Hain    Investcorp Europe S.A.    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Principal, Finance

 

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Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

   Investcorp Securities Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   Investcorp Europe Holdings Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   Investcorup Management Services Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   Investcorp Nominee Holder Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   Investcorp Opportunity Fund Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   Investcorp Credit Manager Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   Investcorp Credit Management EU Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   CIP Limited    Trading firm    Vice President
   Investcorp Management Holdings GP Limited    Global Manager of Alternative Investment Products    Director
   Gulf Investors Agro Sarl   

Private equity holding company

   Class A Manager
   Turkish Fashion Investors Sarl   

Private equity holding company

   Class A Manager
   Darter Holdings I Sarl   

Private equity holding company

   Class A Manager
   Darter Holdings II Sarl   

Private equity holding company

   Class A Manager
   Gulf Delicatessen Investors Sarl   

Private equity holding company

   Class A Manager
   Track Holdings Sarl   

Private equity holding company

   Class A Manager
   Eden Investments Sarl   

Private equity holding company

   Class A Manager
   Campus Wangen Holdings Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Anderlecht Property NV   

Real estate holding company

   Director

 

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Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

   The Mark Cooperatief UA   

Real estate holding company

   Managing Director A
   Campus KO Acquisition Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Lyoner Holding Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Airport Centre Investment Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Airport Centre Management Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Airport Centre Management GP Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Immo Germany Airport Hamburg SCS   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Sunrise Holding Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Sunrise Munich Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Kantoor Holdings Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Anderlecht Holding Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Class A Manager
   Investcorp Technology Partners V-Lux SCSp   

Private equity fund

   Director
   Investcorp Technology Partners V GP Sarl   

Private equity fund

   Director
   Investcorp European Private Equity Fund III-Lux SCSp   

Private equity fund

   Director
   Investcorp European Private Equity Fund III-GP Sarl   

Private equity fund

   Director
   Juno Lux SCSp   

Real estate holding company

   Director
   Juno Lux General Partner Sarl   

Real estate holding company

   Director
   Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I. SA   

Private equity holding company

   Director
Adah Almutairi    Future Investment Initiative    Startup technology investment    Member of the Board of Trustees
   Pharmaceutical Investment Company    Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology    Director
   eLux Medical Inc.    Medical devices    Director

 

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

 

   

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

 

   

Our initial shareholders purchased founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our sponsor, 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 their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our officers and director nominees will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.

 

   

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

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion and they may not be able to rely upon such opinion. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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

In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

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

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

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

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

 

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PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:

 

   

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

 

   

each of our officers, directors and director nominees; and

 

   

all our officers and directors 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 of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.

On April 1, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of founder shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering (of which 937,500 founder shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. The post-offering percentages in the following table assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that 937,500 founder shares have been surrendered to us for no consideration, and that there are 31,250,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.

 

     Number of Shares
Beneficially Owned(2)
     Approximate
Percentage of
Outstanding Ordinary
Shares
 
     Before
Offering
     After
Offering
     Before
Offering
    After
Offering
 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

          

Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited(3)(4)

     5,899,583        5,141,771        82.1     16.5

Hazem Ben-Gacem

     —          —          —         —    

Peter McKellar(5)(6)

     479,167        407,292        6.7     1.3

Pam Jackson(5)

     30,000        30,000        *       *  

Laurence Ponchaut(5)

     30,000        30,000        *       *  

Adah Almutairi(5)

     30,000        30,000        *       *  

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith(5)(7)

     718,750        610,937        10.0     2.0

Alptekin Diler

     —          —          —         —    

Craig Sinfield-Hain

     —          —          —         —    

All officers, directors and director nominees as a group
(8 individuals)

     1,287,917        1,108,229        17.9     3.5

 

*

Less than one percent.

 

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(1)

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the beneficial owners named in the table below is Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, PO Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102.

(2)

Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment and in accordance with the promote schedule, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.”

(3)

Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, our sponsor, is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited is a consolidated subsidiary of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C., which is domiciled in Bahrain as a holding company with shares listed on the Bahrain Bourse.

(4)

Includes up to 757,812 founder shares that will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

(5)

Such shares shall vest and the forfeiture restrictions with respect to such shares shall lapse, upon the successful completion of our initial business combination.

(6)

Includes up to 71,875 founder shares that will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

(7)

Includes up to 107,813 founder shares that will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 12,900,000 private placement warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $12,900,000 in the aggregate (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, 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 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders 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. The private placement warrants may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of this offering $255,000,000 (or $293,250,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below.

Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, our sponsor, and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.

 

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Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants

The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and management team. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliate or family member of any of our officers or directors, any affiliate of our sponsor or to any member of the sponsor or any of their affiliates, (b) in the case of an individual, as a gift to such person’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such person’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of such person; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares or warrants were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or our sponsor’s articles of association upon dissolution of our sponsor, (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to our consummation of our initial business combination; or (h) in the event that, subsequent to our consummation of an initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements.

Registration Rights

The holders of the (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full and $2,000,000 of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 23,587,500 Class A ordinary shares and 16,400,000 warrants. The number of Class A ordinary shares includes (i) 7,187,500 Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares, (ii) 14,400,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and (iii) 2,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes (i) 14,400,000 private placement warrants and (ii) 2,000,000 private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans. 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. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

On April 1, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of founder shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering (of which 937,500 founder shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the sum of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

Our sponsor has committed to, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 12,900,000 private placement warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $12,900,000 in the aggregate (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, 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 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders 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. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.

Pursuant to a letter agreement with our sponsor, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding a business combination without the prior written consent of our sponsor.

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 a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us, and they may have financial or other incentives relating to their other business affairs that cause them to elect to prioritize such other business affairs over the activities of our company. We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.

No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target

 

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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.

Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor may loan us funds to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans would be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 (which was amended to March 31, 2022 on November 3, 2021) or the closing of this offering.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. 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 anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months on two separate occasions (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a business combination). Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor (or its affiliates or designees) upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account for each three month extension (of which there may be no more than two such extensions) $2,500,000 or $2,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per share in either case), on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Any such payments would be funded from the proceeds of a non-interest bearing loan between our sponsor and us. Such loan may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The terms of the warrants would be identical to the terms of the private placement warrants. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. The letter agreement with our initial shareholders contains a provision pursuant to which our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to be repaid for such loans in the event that we do not complete a business combination. Our public shareholders will not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our extensions of time to consummate an initial business combination or redeem their shares in connection with such extensions. In the event that we determine to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsor and their affiliates or designees are not obligated to enter into any such loan agreement with us that would allow us to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination.

Any of the foregoing payments to our sponsor, repayments of loans from our sponsor or repayments of working capital loans prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account.

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 shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as

 

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applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.

We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares and private placement warrants, which is described under the heading “Principal Shareholders—Registration Rights.”

Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions

The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the company’s total assets at year end for the prior two completed fiscal years in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy will include: (i) our directors, nominees for director or officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 440,000,000 ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, including 400,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 40,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, as well as 1,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes certain terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.

Units

Public Units

Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share 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 its warrants only for a whole number of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. For example, if a warrant holder holds one-half of one warrant to purchase a Class A ordinary share, such warrant will not be exercisable. If a warrant holder holds two-halves of one warrant, such whole warrant will be exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units are expected to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the underwriters permit 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.

In no event will the Class A ordinary shares 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. If the underwriters’ over-allotment 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’ over-allotment option.

Ordinary Shares

Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial shareholders, so that our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. Upon the closing of this offering, 31,250,000 of our ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding surrender for no consideration of 937,500 founder shares) including:

 

   

25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying units issued as part of this offering; and

 

   

6,250,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.

 

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If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20% of the sum of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Directors are appointed for a term of two years. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors. However, only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, meaning that holders of Class A ordinary shares will not have the right to appoint any directors until after the completion of our initial business combination. Our shareholders 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 memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 400,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.

In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings or appoint directors. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, 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 their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Unlike many special purpose acquisition companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business

 

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combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many special purpose acquisition 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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company), we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any general meeting. If our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,562,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company) approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger

 

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or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.

Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), 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 interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus). However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.

In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders 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 shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per-share price 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, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein.

Founder Shares

The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and, except as described below, are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights; (iii) our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (A) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (1) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or

 

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(2) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, (C) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), 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 such time period and (D) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination, (iv) the founder shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment and in accordance with the promote schedule as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and (v) only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

The founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, in accordance with the following schedule: (i) 50% on the trading day following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (ii) 50% if, post consummation of our initial business combination and prior to the ten year anniversary of our initial business combination, the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 10 trading days within a 15 trading day period exceeds $12.00, on the trading day following such trading period (the “promote schedule”), subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus (iii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination (including securities issued or issuable pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into prior to or following consummation of this offering but excluding the forward purchase warrants), excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (iv) the number of Class A ordinary shares redeemed by public shareholders; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

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 sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination, and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Up to 937,500 founder shares will be surrendered to us for no consideration depending on the exercise of the over-allotment option.

 

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Register of Members

Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members (shareholders) and there will be entered therein:

 

   

the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, of the number and category of shares of each member, and the voting rights of the shares of each member and whether such rights are conditional;

 

   

the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and

 

   

the date on which any person ceased to be a member.

Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.

Preference Shares

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 1,000,000 preference shares and provide that preference shares 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 thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder 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 preference shares outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are being issued or registered in this offering.

 

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Warrants

Public Shareholders’ Warrants

Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a 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 two 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.

We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares 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, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.

We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fifteen (15) business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (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 ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering each such warrant for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied the excess of the “fair market value” less the

 

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exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.

Redemptions of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement 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 last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (which we refer to as the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like).

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. However, we will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period.

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 his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Any such exercise would not be done on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:

 

   

in whole and not in part;

 

   

at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below);

 

   

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemptions for warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like); and

 

   

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

The numbers in the table below represent the number of Class A ordinary shares that a warrant holder will receive upon exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the

 

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“fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined based on volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.

Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A ordinary shares shall include a security other than Class A ordinary shares into which the Class A ordinary shares have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.

The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted as set forth in the first three paragraphs under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. The adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant.

 

     Fair Market Value of Class A Ordinary Shares  

Redemption Date
(period to expiration of warrants)

   £
$10.00
     $11.00      $12.00      $13.00      $14.00      $15.00      $16.00      $17.00      ³
$18.00
 

60 months

     0.261        0.281        0.297        0.311        0.324        0.337        0.348        0.358        0.361  

57 months

     0.257        0.277        0.294        0.310        0.324        0.337        0.348        0.358        0.361  

54 months

     0.252        0.272        0.291        0.307        0.322        0.335        0.347        0.357        0.361  

51 months

     0.246        0.268        0.287        0.304        0.320        0.333        0.346        0.357        0.361  

48 months

     0.241        0.263        0.283        0.301        0.317        0.332        0.344        0.356        0.361  

45 months

     0.235        0.258        0.279        0.298        0.315        0.330        0.343        0.356        0.361  

42 months

     0.228        0.252        0.274        0.294        0.312        0.328        0.342        0.355        0.361  

39 months

     0.221        0.246        0.269        0.290        0.309        0.325        0.340        0.354        0.361  

36 months

     0.213        0.239        0.263        0.285        0.305        0.323        0.339        0.353        0.361  

33 months

     0.205        0.232        0.257        0.280        0.301        0.320        0.337        0.352        0.361  

30 months

     0.196        0.224        0.250        0.274        0.297        0.316        0.335        0.351        0.361  

27 months

     0.185        0.214        0.242        0.268        0.291        0.313        0.332        0.350        0.361  

24 months

     0.173        0.204        0.233        0.260        0.285        0.308        0.329        0.348        0.361  

21 months

     0.161        0.193        0.223        0.252        0.279        0.304        0.326        0.347        0.361  

18 months

     0.146        0.179        0.211        0.242        0.271        0.298        0.322        0.345        0.361  

15 months

     0.130        0.164        0.197        0.230        0.262        0.291        0.317        0.342        0.361  

12 months

     0.111        0.146        0.181        0.216        0.250        0.282        0.312        0.339        0.361  

9 months

     0.090        0.125        0.162        0.199        0.237        0.272        0.305        0.336        0.361  

6 months

     0.065        0.099        0.137        0.178        0.219        0.259        0.296        0.331        0.361  

3 months

     0.034        0.065        0.104        0.150        0.197        0.243        0.286        0.326        0.361  

0 months

     —          —          0.042        0.115        0.179        0.233        0.281        0.323        0.361  

The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and

 

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the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).

This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at or above $10.00 per share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “—Redemptions of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.

As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer Class A ordinary shares than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for Class A ordinary shares if and when such Class A ordinary shares were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.

No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, the Company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.

Redemption Procedures. 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% (as specified by the holder) of the Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.

 

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Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, 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) “historical fair market value” means the volume-weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Class A ordinary shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant) does not exceed $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ 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 Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.

If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A ordinary shares.

Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.

In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good

 

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faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsors or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsors or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we 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, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “ “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary 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 and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), 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 issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares), 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 Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Class A ordinary shares 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. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the company as provided for in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as a result of the redemption of Class A ordinary shares by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the shareholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon the completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer in accordance with the terms thereof, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A ordinary shares 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

 

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reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.

The 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 shareholder or warrant holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision (including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the warrants and the warrant agreement in this prospectus), or to make any amendments that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements, but otherwise requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then-outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be 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 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 ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.

We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See “Risk Factors—Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.”

Private Placement Warrants

The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such 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 “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us (except as described under “—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor, members of our sponsor or their permitted transferees. The sponsor or its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private 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.

Except as described under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00,” if holders of the private placement warrants elect to

 

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exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” will mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is received by 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 the sponsor or its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a 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 shareholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the Class A ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.

Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we increase the size of this offering, then we will effect a share capitalization or a share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent

The transfer agent for our ordinary shares 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, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees 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 or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity. Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company has agreed that it has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account, and has irrevocably waived any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account that it may have now or in the future. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied, or a claim will only be able to be pursued, solely against us and our assets outside the trust account and not against the any monies in the trust account or interest earned thereon.

Certain Differences in Corporate Law

Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act was originally modeled on English Law with certain amendments and does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.

 

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Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).

Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two-thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company where the parent and subsidiary company are both incorporated under the Companies Act) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.

Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.

Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands company, the directors of the Cayman Islands company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.

Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of their shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice

 

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from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company must (and any dissenting shareholder may) file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition by the company must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.

Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, including by way of court-sanctioned shareholders’ scheme of arrangement. Schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies and, when implemented, would have substantially the same effect as a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:

 

   

we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with;

 

   

the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;

 

   

the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and

 

   

the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”

If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.

Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates is made within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.

 

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Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.

Shareholders’ Suits. Our Cayman Islands counsel is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:

 

   

a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority;

 

   

the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or

 

   

those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”

A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.

Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.

We have been advised by Travers Thorp Alberga, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability (meaning the liability of our public shareholders is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil)) under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:

 

   

annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act;

 

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an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection;

 

   

an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

 

   

an exempted company may issue shares or shares with no par value;

 

   

an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation;

 

   

an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

 

   

an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and

 

   

an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company.

Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

The Business Combination Article of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a special resolution must be approved by either (i) the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.

Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of the sum of our ordinary shares 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 memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:

 

   

If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus), 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 interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law;

 

   

Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination;

 

   

Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of

 

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shared ownership with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion and they may not be able to rely upon such opinion;

 

   

If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will 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 completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;

 

   

We must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination;

 

   

If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares 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 and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein; and

 

   

We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide we will not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets requirement.

The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provide otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.

 

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Anti-Money Laundering—Cayman Islands

If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.

Cayman Islands Data Protection

We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act of the Cayman Islands (the “DPA”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.

Privacy Notice

Introduction

This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPA (“personal data”).

In the following discussion, the “company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.

Investor Data

We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.

In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPA, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the DPA or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.

We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.

Who this Affects

If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data

 

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on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the Company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.

How the Company May Use Your Personal Data

The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:

 

  (i)

where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements;

 

  (ii)

where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or

 

  (iii)

where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms.

Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.

Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data

In certain circumstances, we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.

We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the US, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.

The Data Protection Measures We Take

Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA.

We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.

Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

Our authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and preference shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

 

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Securities Eligible for Future Sale

Immediately after this offering we will have 31,250,000 (or 35,937,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares outstanding. Of these shares, the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering (25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 28,750,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any Class A ordinary shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the outstanding founder shares (6,250,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 7,187,500 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (12,900,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be 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 or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their 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.

Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:

 

   

1% of the total number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 312,500 shares immediately after this offering (or 359,375 if the underwriters exercise in full their over-allotment option); or

 

   

the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A ordinary shares 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 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies

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. However, Rule 144 also includes 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 Current Reports on Form 8-K; 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.

 

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As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.

Registration Rights

The holders of the (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full and $2,000,000 of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 23,587,500 Class A ordinary shares and 16,400,000 warrants. The number of Class A ordinary shares includes (i) 7,187,500 Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares, (ii) 14,400,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and (iii) 2,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes (i) 14,400,000 private placement warrants and (ii) 2,000,000 private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans. 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. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Listing of Securities

We intend to apply to have our units listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “IVCBU” commencing on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “IVCB” and “IVCBW,” respectively.

 

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TAXATION

The following summary of certain Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to an investment in our units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant, which we refer to collectively as our securities, is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.

Prospective investors should consult their advisors on the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.

Cayman Islands Tax Considerations

The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the Company. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.

Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws:

Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the warrants. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant is subject to stamp duty if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our Class A ordinary shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares.

The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and has applied for and received an undertaking pursuant to the Tax Concessions Act (formerly known as the Tax Concessions Law) from the government of the Cayman Islands dated April 6, 2021 in the following form:

“The Tax Concessions Law

Undertaking as to Tax Concessions

In accordance with the Tax Concessions Law, the following undertaking is hereby given to

Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I “the Company”

 

  (a)

That no Law which is hereafter enacted in the Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and

 

  (b)

In addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable:

 

  (i)

on or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or

 

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  (ii)

by way of the withholding in whole or part of any relevant payment as defined in the Tax Concessions Law.

These concessions shall be for a period of THIRTY years from the 6th day of April 2021”.

In connection with the Company’s name change, we received the following endorsement from the government of the Cayman Islands:

“The Change of Name of Investcorp Asia Acquisition Corp I to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I on 7th October 2021 has been noted. The Tax Undertaking set out herein has been extended to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I for a period of thirty years from 6th April 2021.”

United States Federal Income Tax Considerations

The following summarizes certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition by a U.S. Holder (as defined below) of our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants, to which we refer to collectively as our securities. Because the components of a unit are generally separable at your option, you should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the owner of the underlying Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant components of the unit. As a result, the discussion below with respect to beneficial owners of Class A ordinary shares and warrants should also apply to beneficial owners of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that compose the units).

This discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations applies to you only if (i) you are an initial purchaser of a unit pursuant to this offering, (ii) you are a U.S. Holder and (iii) you hold the unit and each component of the unit as capital assets under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). You are a U.S. Holder if for U.S. federal income tax purposes you are a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants and are:

 

   

an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

 

   

a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

   

an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or

 

   

a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person.

This discussion assumes that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our Class A ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by you in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to your ownership and disposition of units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants in your particular circumstances, or if you are subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws, including if you are:

 

   

our sponsor or founder (or an officer, director, employee or affiliate thereof);

 

   

persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation or in connection with services;

 

   

a financial institution or financial services entity;

 

   

a dealer or trader in securities that uses a mark-to-market method of tax accounting with respect to the securities;

 

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a government or agency or instrumentality thereof;

 

   

a regulated investment company;

 

   

a real estate investment trust;

 

   

an expatriate or former long-term resident of the United States;

 

   

an insurance company;

 

   

a person that actually or constructively owns five percent or more of our voting shares or five percent or more of the total value of our shares;

 

   

a person holding the securities as part of a “straddle,” integrated transaction or similar transaction;

 

   

a person holding our securities in connection with a trade or business outside the United States;

 

   

a U.S. person whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;

 

   

a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes or a beneficial owner of such an entity; or

 

   

a tax-exempt entity.

Moreover, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof, which may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not discuss the alternative minimum tax, and does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or any state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.

We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion. You should consult your tax adviser 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 non-U.S. taxing jurisdiction.

This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other passthrough entities or persons who invest in our securities through those entities or arrangements. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership or other passthrough entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner or member in the partnership or other passthrough entity generally will depend on the status of the partner or member and the activities of the partnership or other passthrough entity. If you are a partnership or other passthrough entity holding our securities, or a partner or member thereof, you should consult your own tax adviser.

This discussion does not address the tax consequences of our business combination or owning the target company’s securities after the business combination.

THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. YOU ARE URGED TO CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISER WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO YOU OF THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS.

 

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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. Under general U.S. federal income tax principles, the acquisition of a unit should be treated as the acquisition of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant, a whole one of which is exercisable to acquire one Class A ordinary share. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you agree to adopt such treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, you must allocate the purchase price paid for a unit between the one Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. You must make your own determination of these values based on all the facts and circumstances. Therefore, you should consult with your tax adviser regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to each Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant will be your initial tax basis in the 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 Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant composing the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on their respective relative fair market values (as determined by you based on all the relevant facts and circumstances) at the time of disposition. The separation of the Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant composing a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The foregoing treatment of the units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants and your purchase price allocation is not binding on the IRS or the courts. No assurance can be given that the IRS or a court will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. The remainder of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Taxation of Distributions

The following discussion is subject to the discussion under “—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” below.

You generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any distribution of cash or other property (other than certain distributions of our shares or rights to acquire our shares) paid on our Class A ordinary shares to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Distributions in excess of earnings and profits generally will be applied against, and reduce, your tax basis in your Class A ordinary shares (but not below zero), and any remaining excess will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of the Class A ordinary shares (the treatment of which is described under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below). However, it is possible that financial intermediaries may report the entire amount of any distributions we make as dividends if they cannot determine the amount of our earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

If you are a corporate U.S. Holder, dividends paid by us will be taxable to you at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. If you are a non-corporate U.S. Holder, dividends generally will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate that applies to qualified dividend income only if our Class A ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, which they will be if our shares are traded on the Nasdaq, we are not a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend was paid or the previous year, and certain other requirements, including certain holding period requirements, are met. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the availability of this lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our Class A ordinary shares.

 

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Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants

The following discussion is subject to the discussion under “—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” below.

Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, which, in general, would include a redemption of Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is treated as a sale of those securities 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, you generally will recognize capital gain or loss as described below. This capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if your holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of exceeds one year. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. Holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements for this purpose. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders are currently eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.

Generally, the amount of gain or loss you recognize will equal the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in the disposition (or, if the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares or the warrants, as the case may be, based upon the then fair market values of the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) your adjusted tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. Your adjusted tax basis in your Class A ordinary shares or warrants generally will equal your acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a Class A ordinary share or one-half of one warrant or, as discussed below, your initial basis for Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of warrants), increased as described below in “—Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares” in respect of certain redemptions of Class A ordinary shares that are treated as corporate distributions and by prior deemed distributions under Section 305 of the Code that are treated as dividends as described below in “—Possible Constructive Distributions,” and decreased by any prior distributions (including deemed distributions) treated as returns of capital. The gain or loss will generally be U.S.-source gain or loss for foreign tax credit purposes.

Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares

The following discussion is subject to the discussion under “—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” below.

In the event that your Class A ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase your Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction (in either case referred to herein as a “redemption”), the treatment of the redemption for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, you will be treated as described under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, you will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “—Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by you (including any shares constructively owned by you) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of Class A ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares (rather than as a corporate distribution) if the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to you, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of your interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to you. These tests are explained more fully below.

 

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In determining whether any of the foregoing tests is satisfied, you must take into account not only our Class A ordinary shares actually owned by you, but also our Class A ordinary shares that are constructively owned by you. In addition to shares you own directly, you may be treated as constructively owning shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which you have an interest or that have an interest in you, as well as any shares you have a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which likely would include Class A ordinary shares 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 shares actually and constructively owned by you immediately following the redemption of Class A ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting and Class A ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by you immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the Class A ordinary shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of your interest if either (i) all of our Class A ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by you are redeemed or (ii) all of our Class A ordinary shares actually owned by you are redeemed and you are eligible to waive, and effectively waive in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and you do not constructively own any other shares of ours. The redemption of the Class A ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if the redemption or purchase results in a “meaningful reduction” of your proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction of your 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 shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” You should consult your tax adviser as to the tax consequences of a redemption.

If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax consequences of the redemption will be as described under “—Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares will be added to your adjusted tax basis in your remaining shares. If there are no remaining shares, you should consult your tax adviser as to the allocation of any remaining basis.

Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant

The following discussion is subject to the discussion under “—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” below.

Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of warrants, you generally will not recognize taxable gain or loss on the acquisition of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of warrants for cash. Your tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of the warrants generally will be an amount equal to the sum of your initial investment in the warrants (i.e., the portion of your purchase price for the units that is allocated to the exercised warrants, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. It is unclear whether your holding period for the Class A ordinary shares received upon exercise of warrants will begin on the date following the date of exercise or on the date of exercise of the warrants; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which you held the warrants. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, you generally will recognize a capital loss equal to your 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 realization event or because it is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either of these two situations, your basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would equal your aggregate basis in the warrants exercised and surrendered. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a realization event (and not a recapitalization), it is unclear whether your holding period in the Class A ordinary shares would be treated as commencing on the date following the date of exercise or on the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period would not include the

 

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period during which you held the warrants. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A ordinary shares would include the holding period of the warrants exercised.

Although we expect a U.S. Holder’s cashless exercise of our warrants (including after we provide notice of our intent to redeem warrants for cash) to be treated as a recapitalization, a cashless exercise could be alternatively treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In that event, a portion of the warrants to be exercised on a cashless basis could, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, be deemed to have been surrendered in consideration of the exercise price of the remaining warrants, which would be deemed to be exercised. For this purpose, you could be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants having an aggregate value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants deemed exercised. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, you would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the total exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised and your adjusted tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, your tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would equal the sum of your initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of your purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrants, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of the warrants. It is unclear whether your holding period for the Class A ordinary shares would commence on the date following the date of exercise or on the date of exercise of the warrants; in either case, the holding period would not include the period during which you held the warrants.

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. Accordingly, you should consult your tax adviser as to the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.

Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants— Public Shareholders’ Warrants” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, the redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to you, taxed as described above under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants.”

Possible Constructive Distributions

The terms of the warrants provide for an adjustment to the number of Class A ordinary shares for which warrants may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrants in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment that has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. You would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases your proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of Class A ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result of a taxable distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our Class A ordinary shares. A constructive distribution to you would be treated as if you had received a cash distribution from us generally equal to the fair market value of the increased interest (taxed as described above under “—Taxation of Distributions” above). For certain information reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any constructive distributions. Proposed Treasury regulations, which we may rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

A non-U.S. corporation will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including

 

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its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of assets giving rise to passive income. Cash is generally a passive asset for these purposes.

Because we are a blank check company with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year in which the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) it is established to the satisfaction of the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year and, perhaps, until after the end of our two taxable years following our start-up year. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition, the amount and value of our passive income and assets, respectively, as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the start-up exception to our current taxable year, perhaps until after the end of our two taxable years following our start-up year). Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year.

The Code provides that, to the extent provided in Treasury regulations, if any person has an option to acquire shares of a PFIC, the shares will be considered as owned by that person. Under proposed Treasury regulations that have a retroactive effective date, an option to acquire shares of a PFIC is generally treated as ownership of those PFIC shares. The remainder of this discussion assumes that the PFIC rules will apply to our warrants if we are PFIC. However, you should consult your tax adviser regarding the application of the PFIC rules to our warrants prior to the finalization of the proposed Treasury regulations.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in your holding period and, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, you did not make either a timely mark-to-market election or a qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which you held (or were deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares, as described below, you generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i) any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of your Class A ordinary shares or warrants and (ii) any “excess distribution” made to you (generally, any distributions to you during a taxable year that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by you in respect of the Class A ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, your holding period for the Class A ordinary shares).

Under these rules:

 

   

your gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over your holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or warrants;

 

   

the amount allocated to the taxable year in which you recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in your holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income; and

 

   

the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) and included in your holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to you (without regard to other items of income and loss for such year), and an additional amount equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed with respect to the tax attributable to each such other taxable year.

 

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If we are a PFIC during any taxable year during which you own our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, we will generally continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to your Class A ordinary shares or warrants unless (a) we cease to be a PFIC, and (b) you make a purging election as described below.

In general, if we are a PFIC, you may be able to avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above with respect to our Class A ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making a timely and valid QEF election to include in income your pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year in which or with which our taxable year ends. You generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.

It is not entirely clear how various aspects of the PFIC rules apply to the warrants. However, you may not make a QEF election with respect to your warrants. As a result, if you sell or otherwise dispose of warrants (other than upon exercise of warrants) and we were a PFIC at any time during your holding period for the warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If you properly make a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (or had previously made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares. Notwithstanding the QEF election, the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (which will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period you held the warrants), unless you make a “purging” election under the PFIC rules. Under one type of purging election, you will be deemed to have sold your shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of this election, you will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized in the deemed sale) and, solely for purposes of the PFIC rules, a new holding period in the Class A ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants. You should consult your tax adviser as to the application of the rules governing purging elections to your particular circumstances (including a potential separate “deemed dividend” purging election that may be available if we are a controlled foreign corporation).

The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. You generally make a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621, including the information provided in a PFIC Annual Information Statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under your particular circumstances.

In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, you must receive a PFIC Annual Information Statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide you a PFIC Annual Information Statement, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide this information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the information that you would need to provide in order to make a valid election.

If you have made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, and the excess distribution rules discussed above do not apply to the shares (because you have made a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which you hold (or are deemed to hold) the shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our Class A ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no additional interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year and you have made a valid QEF election, you will be currently taxed on your pro rata share of our earnings and profits, whether or not distributed for the relevant year. A subsequent distribution of earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable when distributed to you. The tax basis of your shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the rules above.

 

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Although a determination as to our PFIC status will be made annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held Class A ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. A U.S. Holder who makes the QEF election discussed above for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares, however, will not be subject to the PFIC tax and interest charge rules discussed above in respect to such shares. In addition, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to such shares for any taxable year of us that ends within or with a taxable year of the U.S. Holder and in which we are not a PFIC. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder makes a purging election, as described above, and pays the tax and interest charge with respect to the gain inherent in such shares attributable to the pre-QEF election period.

Alternatively, if we are a PFIC and our Class A ordinary shares constitute “marketable stock,” you may avoid the adverse PFIC tax consequences discussed above if, at the close of the first taxable year in which you own (or are deemed to own) our Class A ordinary shares, you make a mark-to-market election with respect to the shares for the taxable year. You generally will include for each taxable year as ordinary income the excess, if any, of the fair market value of your Class A ordinary shares at the end of the taxable year over your adjusted basis in the Class A ordinary shares. These amounts of ordinary income are not eligible for the favorable tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains. You also will be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of your adjusted basis in your Class A ordinary shares over the fair market value of the shares at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election. Your basis in your Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect these income and loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of your Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. A mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to warrants.

The mark-to-market election is available only for stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Nasdaq (on which we intend to list the Class A ordinary shares), or on a non-U.S. exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. In general, the Class A ordinary shares will be treated as regularly traded in any calendar year in which more than a de minimis quantity of Class A ordinary shares is traded on a qualified exchange on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter. If made, a mark-to-market election is effective for the taxable year for which the election was made and for all subsequent taxable years unless the Class A ordinary shares cease to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the PFIC rules or the IRS consents to the revocation of the election. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect of our Class A ordinary shares in your particular circumstances.

If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, you generally will be deemed to own a portion of the shares of the lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or you otherwise are deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. The mark-to-market election discussed above will not apply to any lower-tier PFIC. Accordingly, you may continue to be subject to tax under the rules described above with respect to excess distributions with respect to any lower-tier PFIC, notwithstanding a mark-to-market election for the Class A ordinary shares. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide the information that may be required in order for you to make or maintain a valid QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. There can be no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance that we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide any information you may need in order to make a valid QEF election. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.

 

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If you own (or are deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year, you generally will be required to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and any other information that may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department.

The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, you should consult your adviser concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our securities under your particular circumstances.

Tax Reporting and Backup Withholding

You may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to any investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Specified foreign financial assets generally include any financial account maintained with a non-U.S. financial institution and should also include the Class A ordinary shares and warrants if they are not held in an account maintained with a U.S. financial institution. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.

Dividend payments with respect to our Class A ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible U.S. backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, if you furnish a correct taxpayer identification number and make other required certifications, or are otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establish your exempt status.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, and you generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.

The U.S. federal income tax discussion set forth above is included for general information only and may not be applicable depending upon your particular situation. You should consult your tax adviser with respect to the tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants, including the tax consequences under state, local, estate, non-U.S. and other laws and tax treaties and the possible effects of changes in U.S. or other tax laws.

 

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UNDERWRITING

Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below the following respective numbers of units:

 

Underwriter

   Number of
Units
 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

                   
  

 

 

 

Total

     25,000,000  
  

 

 

 

The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the units in this offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.

We have granted to the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 3,750,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.

The underwriters propose to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $             per unit.

The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. $0.35 per unit, or $8,750,000 (or $10,062,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), of deferred underwriting commissions will be paid to the underwriters upon the completion of our initial business combination.

 

     Paid by Investcorp Europe
Acquisition Corp I
 
     No Exercise      Full Exercise  

Per Unit(1)

   $ 0.55      $ 0.55  

Total(1)

   $ 13,750,000      $ 15,812,500  

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $8,750,000 in the aggregate (or $10,062,500 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon the consummation of an initial business combination.

We estimate that our non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $850,000. We have agreed to pay for certain out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the underwriters’ in connection with this offering, in an amount not to exceed $            .

The underwriters have informed us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.

We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of the representatives for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any); (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement entered into prior to or at the time of the closing of this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares issuable upon

 

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exercise of the warrants and the founder shares; and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to any current or future independent director of the company (as long as such current or future independent director is subject to the terms of the letter agreement, filed herewith, at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). The representatives in their sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.

Our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor and our directors and executive officers with respect to any founder shares.

The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.

We have been approved to list our units on Nasdaq under the symbol “IVCBU.” Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “IVCB” and “IVCBW,” respectively.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters.

The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.

The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission, including any accrued interest thereon, held in the trust account in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 21 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) 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 our public shares.

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

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Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.

 

   

Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of units in excess of the number of units the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of units over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of units that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of units involved is greater than the number of units in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing units in the open market.

 

   

Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of units to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more units than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could 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.

 

   

Penalty bids permit the representative to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions.

These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on Nasdaq or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

We are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, but we may do so at our discretion. However, the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses, provide financial advisory services to us in connection with a business combination or assist us in raising additional capital in the future, including by acting as a placement agent in a private offering or underwriting or arranging debt financing. 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 that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering, and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination. Any fees we may pay the underwriters or their affiliates for services rendered to us after this offering may be contingent on the completion of a business combination and may include non-cash compensation. The underwriters or their affiliates that provide these services to us may have a potential conflict of interest given that the underwriters are entitled to the deferred portion of their underwriting compensation for this offering only if an initial business combination is completed within the specific timeframe.

The underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.

In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities)

 

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and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a number of units for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

The units are offered for sale in the United States and other jurisdictions where it is lawful to make such offers. Certain of the underwriters are expected to make offers and sales both inside and outside the United States through their respective selling agents. Any offers or sales in the United States will be conducted by broker-dealers registered with the SEC.

The underwriters have represented and agreed that they have not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.

Notice to European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each a “Relevant State”), no securities have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offering to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that offers of the securities may be made to the public in that Relevant State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:

 

  (a)

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation;

 

  (b)

to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives of the underwriters named above for any such offer; or

 

  (c)

in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,

provided that no such offer of the securities shall require us or any representative to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the securities in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.

Notice to Investors in the United Kingdom

In relation to the United Kingdom, no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that either (i) has

 

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been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority or (ii) is to be treated as if it had been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in accordance with the transitional provisions in Regulation 74 of the Prospectus (Amendment etc.) (EU exit) Regulations 2019, except that offers of units may be made to the public in the United Kingdom at any time under the following exemptions under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended, as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the “UK Prospectus Regulation”):

 

  (a)

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the UK Prospectus Regulation;

 

  (b)

to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or

 

  (c)

in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the “FSMA”),

provided that no such offer of units shall require the issuer or the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units.

In the United Kingdom, this prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation who are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) and/or (ii) high net worth entities or other persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order; or (iii) other persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the FSMA in connection with the issue or sale of any units may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons being referred to as “relevant persons”).

Notice to Residents of Japan

The underwriters will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.

Notice to Residents of Hong Kong

The underwriters and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong

 

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(except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.

Notice to Residents of Singapore

This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.

Solely for the purposes of its obligations pursuant to sections 309B(1)(a) and 309B(1)(c) of the Securities and Futures Act and the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018 of Singapore (the “CMP Regulations 2018”), the issuer has determined, and hereby notifies all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A of the SFA) that the units are (A) prescribed capital markets products (as defined in the CMP Regulations 2018) and (B) Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).

Notice to Residents of Germany

Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier-Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, the underwriters have represented that they have not engaged and have agreed that they will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Notice to Residents of France

The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and decrét no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.

Notice to Residents of the Netherlands

Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in

 

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The Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”); provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in The Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands

No invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.

Notice to Canadian Residents

Resale Restrictions

The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.

Representations of Canadian Purchasers

By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:

 

   

the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106—Prospectus Exemptions;

 

   

the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103—Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations;

 

   

where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and

 

   

the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions.

Conflicts of Interest

Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriters are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105—Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.

Statutory Rights of Action

Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a

 

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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 of these securities in Canada 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.

Enforcement of Legal Rights

All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.

Taxation and Eligibility for Investment

Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

Shearman & Sterling LLP, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Travers Thorp Alberga, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP advised the underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I as of April 1, 2021 and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March 22, 2021 (inception) through April 1, 2021 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such 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.

 

 

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INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page  

Audited Financial Statements of Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I:

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2  

Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and April 1, 2021

     F-3  

Statements of Operations for the period from March  22, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and from March 22, 2021 (inception) through April 1, 2021

     F-4  

Statements of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity for the period from March 22, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and from March 22, 2021 (inception) through April 1, 2021

     F-5  

Statements of Cash Flows for the period from March  22, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and from March 22, 2021 (inception) through April 1, 2021

     F-6  

Notes to Financial Statements

     F-7  

 

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholder and Board of Directors of

Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I (the “Company”) as of April 1, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March 22, 2021 (inception) through April 1, 2021, 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 April 1, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 22, 2021 (inception) through April 1, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Explanatory Paragraph—Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s ability to execute its business plan is dependent upon its completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 3 to the financial statements. The Company has a working capital deficiency as of April 1, 2021 and lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans with regard to these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Marcum LLP

Marcum LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.

West Palm Beach, FL

April 30, 2021, except for the name change in Note 1, as to which the date is November 23, 2021.

 

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INVESTCORP EUROPE ACQUISITION CORP I

BALANCE SHEETS

 

     September 30,
2021
(unaudited)
    April 1, 2021  

ASSETS:

    

Current assets:

    

Cash

   $ 25,000     $ 25,000  

Total current assets

     25,000       25,000  

Deferred offering costs associated with the proposed public offering

     380,545       75,544  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Assets

   $ 405,545     $ 100,544  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY:

    

Current liabilities:

    

Accrued expenses

   $ 4,452     $ 4,452  

Accrued offering costs

     194,761       75,544  

Promissory note payable

     185,784       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   $ 384,997     $ 79,996  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Shareholder’s Equity:

    

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

   $ —       $ —    

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 400,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —         —    

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 40,000,000 shares authorized; 7,187,500 shares issued and outstanding(1)(2)

     719       863  

Additional paid-in capital

     24,281       24,137  

Accumulated deficit

     (4,452     (4,452
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total shareholder’s equity

     20,548       20,548  

Total Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity

   $ 405,545     $ 100,544  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes up to 937,500 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).

(2)

On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500 (see Note 5).

 

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

 

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INVESTCORP EUROPE ACQUISITION CORP I

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

 

     For the period
from March 22,
2021 (inception)
through September 30,
2021 (unaudited)
    For the period
from March 22,
2021 (inception)
through
April 1, 2021
 

EXPENSES:

    

Formation, general and administrative expenses

   $ (4,452   $ (4,452
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (4,452   $ (4,452
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding(1)(2)

     7,104,922       681,818  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per Class B ordinary share

   $ (0.00   $ (0.01
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Excludes up to 937,500 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).

(2)

On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500 (see Note 5).

 

 

 

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

 

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INVESTCORP EUROPE ACQUISITION CORP I

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

For the period from March 22, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and from March 22, 2021 (inception) through April 1, 2021

 

     Class B
Ordinary Shares(1)
    Additional
Paid-In
Capital
     Accumulated
Deficit
    Total
Shareholder’s
Equity
 
     No. of
Shares
    Amount  

Balance as of March 22, 2021 (inception)

     —       $ —       $ —        $ —       $ —    

Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor(1)

     8,625,000       863       24,137        —         25,000  

Net loss during the period

     —         —                (4,452     (4,452
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of April 1, 2021

     8,625,000     $ 863     $ 24,137      $ (4,452   $ 20,548  

Surrender of founder shares(2)

     (1,437,500     (144     144        —         —    

Net loss during the period

     —         —         —          —         —    

Balance as of September 30, 2021 (unaudited)

     7,187,500     $ 719     $ 24,281      $ (4,452   $ 20,548  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes up to 937,500 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).

(2)

On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500 (see Note 5).

 

 

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

 

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INVESTCORP EUROPE ACQUISITION CORP I

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

     For the period
from March 22,
2021 (inception)
through September 30,
2021 (unaudited)
    For the period
from March 22,
2021 (inception)
through
April 1, 2021
 

Cash Flow from Operating Activities:

    

Net loss

   $ (4,452   $ (4,452

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Accrued expenses and offering costs

     4,452       4,452  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     —         —    

Cash Flow from Financing Activities:

    

Proceeds from founder shares:

     25,000       25,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

     25,000       25,000  

Net Change in Cash

     25,000       25,000  

Cash—Beginning of period

     —         —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash—End of period

   $ 25,000     $ 25,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities:

    

Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs

   $ 194,761     $ 75,544  

Deferred offering costs included in promissory note

   $ 185,784       —    

 

 

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

 

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INVESTCORP EUROPE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 1—ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS BACKGROUND, AND GOING CONCERN

Investcorp Asia Acquisition Corp I (the “Company”) was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on March 22, 2021. On October 7, 2021, the Company changed its name to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I. The Company was formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets (the “Business Combination”).

The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination but is focused on identifying a business combination target with operations or prospective operations in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, or Northern Europe and, opportunistically, in Turkey, and businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology. 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 September 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 22, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering (“Proposed Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a 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 Public 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 Public Offering of 25,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 12,900,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”), at $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, in a private placement to Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited (the “Sponsor”) that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete a Business Combination with one or more operating businesses or assets that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts previously disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions held in the trust account) at the time of the Company’s signing a definitive agreement in connection with its initial 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 an interest in the target business or assets sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States and invested only in U.S. government treasury bills, 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 investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the Trust Account, as described below.

 

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The Company will provide its public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.

The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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 public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

The Company will only proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5), and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or do not vote at all.

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

The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to its Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provides the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.

The Company will have until 15 months from the closing of Proposed Public Offering (or up to 21 months, if the Company extends the time to complete a Business Combination as described in this prospectus) (the “Combination Period”). If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as

 

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reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.

The Sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor acquires Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to its deferred underwriting commission (see Note 8) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Proposed Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).

In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $10.20 per Public Share or (2) such lesser amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay franchise and income taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

Going Concern Consideration

At September 30, 2021 and April 1, 2021, the Company had $25,000 cash and a working capital deficit of $359,997 and $54,996, respectively. 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 for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. Management plans to address this uncertainty through the Proposed Public 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 Window. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

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Risks and Uncertainties

Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 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 Public 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.

NOTE 2—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying audited 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. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of a normal recurring nature, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, operating results and cash flows for the period presented. The results for the period from March 22, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021 or for any future interim periods. All amounts disclosed in the financial statements after April 30, 2021 are unaudited.

Emerging Growth Company

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments, which include short-term bank deposits that are not restricted as to withdrawal or use, and short-term debentures, with original periods to maturity not exceeding three months, to be cash equivalents.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of

 

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contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Income taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). Under the asset and liability, method as required by this accounting standard, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted income tax rates expected to apply to the period when assets are realized or liabilities are settled. Any effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the operation of statement in the period that includes the enactment date. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

ASC 740 prescribes a comprehensive model for how companies should recognize, measure, present, and disclose in their financial statements uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. Under ASC 740, tax positions must initially be recognized in the financial statements when it is more likely than not the position will be sustained upon examination by the tax authorities. Such tax positions must initially and subsequently be measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the tax authority assuming full knowledge of the position and relevant facts.

There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2021 and April 1, 2021. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of September 30, 2021 and April 1, 2021, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties.

There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

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 Public Offering. FASB ASC 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options addresses the allocation of proceeds from the issuance of convertible debt into its equity and debt components. The Company applies this guidance to allocate Proposed Public Offering proceeds from the Units between Class A ordinary shares and warrants, using the residual method by allocating Proposed Public Offering proceeds first to fair value of the warrants and then the Class A ordinary shares. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.

 

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Net Loss Per Ordinary Share

Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 937,500 ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 6). At September 30, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company applies ASC 820, which establishes a framework for measuring fair value and clarifies the definition of fair value within that framework. ASC 820 defines fair value as an exit price, which is the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the Company’s principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy established in ASC 820 generally requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the entity’s own assumptions based on market data and the entity’s judgments about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are to be developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.

Level 1—Assets and liabilities with unadjusted, quoted prices listed on active market exchanges. Inputs to the fair value measurement are observable inputs, such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2—Inputs to the fair value measurement are determined using prices for recently traded assets and liabilities with similar underlying terms, as well as direct or indirect observable inputs, such as interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals.

Level 3—Inputs to the fair value measurement are unobservable inputs, such as estimates, assumptions, and valuation techniques when little or no market data exists for the assets or liabilities.

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

 

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Related Parties

Parties, which can be a corporation or individual, are considered to be related if the Company has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other party in making financial and operational decisions. Companies are also considered to be related if they are subject to common control or common significant influence.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity. The update simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments by removing certain separation models in Subtopic 470-20, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options for convertible instruments and introducing other changes. As a result of ASU No. 2020-06, more convertible debt instruments will be accounted for as a single liability measured at its amortized cost and more convertible preferred stock will be accounted for as a single equity instrument measured at its historical cost, as long as no features require bifurcation and recognition as derivatives. The amendments are effective for smaller reporting companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted ASCU No. 2020-06 upon its incorporation. The impact to our balance sheets, statements of operations and cash flows was not material.

The Company has considered all new accounting pronouncements and has concluded that there are no new pronouncements that may have a material impact on the results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows, based on the current information.

Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.

NOTE 3—PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING

Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale up to 25,000,000 Units (or 28,750,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit is expected to consist of one share of Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant is anticipated to entitle the holder to purchase one share of Class A ordinary at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).

NOTE 4—PRIVATE PLACEMENT

The Company anticipates entering into an agreement with the Sponsor pursuant to which the Sponsor will purchase an aggregate of 12,900,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or $12,900,000 in the aggregate (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private

 

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placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is anticipated to be exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6). A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public 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 Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.

NOTE 5—RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Founder Shares

On April 1, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 8,625,000 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On October 25, 2021, the Sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 Founder Shares to the Company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of Founder Shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of Founder Shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of the Proposed Public Offering (of which 937,500 Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share.

The Sponsor and the Company’s directors and executive officers have agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after a Business Combination, or (y) if the Company consummates a transaction after the initial business combination which results in shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property.

Promissory Note—Related Party

On April 1, 2021, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 (which was amended to March 31, 2022 on November 3, 2021) or the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. As of September 30, 2021 and April 1, 2021, there was $185,784 and $0 outstanding under the Promissory Note.

Related Party Loans

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor may, but is not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company may repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. At the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The terms of the warrants would be identical to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants. As of September 30, 2021 and April 1, 2021, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

 

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NOTE 6—SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

Preference Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of September 30, 2021, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.

Class A Ordinary Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 400,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. As of September 30, 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.

Class B Ordinary Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 40,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of April 1, 2021, there were 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. On October 25, 2021, the Sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 Founder Shares to the Company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of Founder Shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of Founder Shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of the Proposed Public Offering (of which 937,500 Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option).

Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders except as required by law.

Class B ordinary shares (founder shares) will convert into Class A ordinary shares following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, in accordance with the following schedule: (i) 50% on the trading day following the consummation of a Business Combination, and (ii) 50% if, post consummation of a Business Combination and prior to the ten year anniversary of our initial business combination, the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 10 trading days within a 15 trading day period exceeds $12.00, on the trading day following such trading period, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares 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).

NOTE 7—WARRANT LIABILITIES

Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination.

The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.

 

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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, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if the Class A ordinary share is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but it will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th day after 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 will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the Public 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 closing price of the Class A ordinary share 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 Public Warrants become redeemable by the Company, it may exercise its redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

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

 

   

in whole and not in part;

 

   

at $0.10 per warrant;

 

   

upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A ordinary shares;

 

   

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like); and

 

   

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

 

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In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A ordinary shares (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, then 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 $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.

The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Proposed Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private 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 Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees (except for a number of Class A ordinary shares as described above under Redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares). If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.

The Company will account for the 25,400,000 warrants to be issued in connection with the Proposed Public Offering (including 12,500,000 Public Warrants and 12,900,000 Private Placement Warrants assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. The warrant agreement contains an Alternative Issuance provision that if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of the Class A ordinary shares in the Business Combination is payable in the form of common equity in the successor entity, and if the holders of the warrants properly exercises the warrants within thirty days following the public disclosure of the consummation of Business Combination by the Company, the warrant price shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference.

NOTE 8—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Registration and Shareholder Rights

The holders of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights and shareholder agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Public Offering, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

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Underwriters Agreement

The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 3,750,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price less the underwriting discount.

The underwriters will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $5,000,000 in the aggregate (or $5,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. In addition, the underwriter will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,750,000 in the aggregate (or up to $10,062,500 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full). The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter 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 9—SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

In accordance with ASC Topic 855, “Subsequent Events”, which establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued, the Company has evaluated all events or transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through November 23, 2021, the date that the financial statements were available to be issued. Based upon this review, the Company identified a subsequent event that required adjustment in the financial statements.

During October 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 1,437,500 Founder Shares to the Company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of Founder Shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of Founder Shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of the Proposed Public Offering (of which 937,500 Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). The financial statements have been adjusted to reflect this surrender.

On November 3, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 1,287,917 Founder Shares (the “Sale Shares”) to certain directors and officers of the Company, which resulted in a benefit recognized by the Company from the excess fair value of shares issued over the nominal purchase price. The excess grant date fair value of the Sale Shares over their nominal purchase price is $5,292,600 and will be recorded as compensation expense upon closing of the Business Combination.

 

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Through and including                 , 2021, (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in the securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery requirement is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriters and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.

25,000,000 Units

Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I

 

 

P R O S P E C T U S

 

 

 

Citigroup   Credit Suisse

            , 2021

 

 

 


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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:

 

Legal fees and expenses

   $  381,250  

Printing and engraving expenses

     25,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     148,000  

SEC/FINRA expenses

     70,276  

Travel and road show expenses

     10,000  

Nasdaq listing and filing fees

     80,000  

Miscellaneous

     135,474  
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 850,000  
  

 

 

 

Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

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

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

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

On April 1, 2021, our initial shareholders paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our expenses in exchange for 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “founder shares”). On October 25, 2021, the Sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 Founder Shares to the Company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of Founder Shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of Founder Shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of the Proposed Public Offering (of which 937,500 Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture if the underwriters do not

 

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exercise their overallotment option). 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. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of these shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share.

Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, our sponsor, is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D. Each of the equity holders in our sponsor is an accredited investor under Rule 501 of Regulation D. The sole business of our sponsor is to act as the company’s sponsor in connection with this offering. The articles of association of our sponsor provides that its shares may only be transferred to our officers or directors or other persons affiliated with our sponsor, or in connection with estate planning transfers.

Our sponsor has committed to, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us an aggregate of 12,900,000 private placement warrants (or 14,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $12,900,000 (or $14,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)). 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.

 

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Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
No.
    

Description

  1.1      Form of Underwriting Agreement.
  3.1      Memorandum and Articles of Association.
  3.2      Form of Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
  4.1      Specimen Unit Certificate.
  4.2      Specimen Ordinary Share Certificate.
  4.3      Specimen Warrant Certificate.
  4.4      Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.
  5.1      Opinion of Shearman & Sterling LLP.
  5.2      Opinion of Travers Thorp Alberga, Cayman Islands counsel to the Registrant.
  10.1      Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited and each of the officers and directors of the Registrant.
  10.2      Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.
  10.3      Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant, Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited and the Holders signatory thereto.
  10.4      Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement among the Registrant and Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited.
  10.5      Form of Indemnity Agreement.
  10.6      Amended and Restated Promissory Note, dated November 3, 2021 issued to Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited.
  10.7      Securities Subscription Agreement, dated April 1, 2021 between Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited and the Registrant.
  10.8      Surrender Share Letter.
  14.1      Form of Code of Ethics.
  23.1      Consent of Marcum LLP.
  23.2      Consent of Shearman & Sterling LLP (included on Exhibit 5.1).
  23.3      Consent of Travers Thorp Alberga (included on Exhibit 5.2).
  24.1      Power of Attorney (included in the signature page of this Registration Statement).
  99.1      Consent of Pam Jackson.
  99.2      Consent of Laurence Ponchaut.
  99.3      Consent of Adah Almutairi.

Item 17. Undertakings.

 

  (a)

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, 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 of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission 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 proceeding) is asserted by such director,

 

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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 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 of 1933, 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 of 1933, 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 of 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 London, United Kingdom, on the 23rd day of November, 2021.

 

INVESTCORP EURPOE ACQUISITION CORP I

By:

  /s/ Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith
Name:   Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith
Title:   Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, Craig Sinfield-Hain and Peter McKellar his true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments including post-effective amendments to this registration statement and any and all registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

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/ Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith

   Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)   November 23, 2021

/s/ Craig Sinfield-Hain

Craig Sinfield-Hain

   Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)   November 23, 2021

/s/ Hazem Ben-Gacem

Hazem Ben-Gacem

   Chairman of the board of directors   November 23, 2021

/s/ Peter McKellar

Peter McKellar

   Vice-Chairman of the board of directors   November 23, 2021

 

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AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned has signed this registration statement, solely in its capacity as the duly authorized representative of Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I, in the City of San Diego, California on the 23rd day of November, 2021.

 

By:  

/s/ Adah Almutairi

  Name: Adah Almutairi

 

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