UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended
OR
For the transition period from ____________ to ____________
Commission File Number:
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant | ACAQ.U | NYSE American LLC | ||
| Redeemable warrants, each exercisable for one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share | ACAQ WS | NYSE American LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a
well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not
required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
(1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405
of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
| Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check
mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting
standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial
reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or
issued its audit report.
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
The Registrant’s units began trading on
the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) on October 20, 2021 and the Registrant’s Class A common stock began separate
trading on the NYSE on December 10, 2021. At June 30, 2022, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second
fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons
who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, was approximately $
As of March 30, 2023, there were
Auditor Firm id: Auditor Name:
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
Table of Contents
i
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this annual report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) 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.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K 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. 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. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:
| ● | our being a company with no operating history and no revenues; | |
| ● | our ability to complete our initial business combination, including the e.GO Business Combination (as defined below); | |
| ● | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses, including the business of e.GO (as defined below); | |
| ● | 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 ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the continued uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets; | |
| ● | 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; | |
| ● | our financial performance; | |
| ● | risks and uncertainties related to technology and consumer businesses; and | |
| ● | the other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K. |
ii
PART I
References in this report to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Athena Consumer Acquisition Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. References to our “initial stockholders” are to the holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering.
Item 1. Business.
Introduction
We are a blank check company formed as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “business combination”). While we may pursue an acquisition in any business industry or sector, we intend to focus our efforts identifying businesses offering technology-enabled consumer goods and/or service sectors. We intend to focus on companies that have powerful and differentiated relationships with their customers, and that have market-leading insight into how their consumers live, what they need, and how to communicate with them effectively. These companies may serve both domestic and international audiences.
We are focused on identifying companies that would benefit from becoming publicly-traded entities. We believe that our business strategy creates a compelling alternative for a growing company in a traditionally underfunded area to become a public entity and thus gain liquidity, diversify funding sources, and benefit from public market participation.
We have developed the following high-level, non-exclusive investment criteria that we will use to screen for and evaluate target businesses.
We will seek to acquire a business that have strong business fundamentals and that:
Would Benefit Uniquely from our Capabilities — a business where the collective capabilities of our management and advisors can be leveraged to tangibly improve the operations and market position of the target.
Is Sourced Through our Proprietary Channels — we do not expect to participate in broadly marketed processes, but rather will aim to leverage our extensive network to source potential targets.
Has a Committed and Capable Management Team — a business with a professional management team whose interests are aligned with those of our investors and complement the expertise of our founders. Where necessary, we may also look to complement and enhance the capabilities of the target business’s management team by recruiting additional talent through our network of contacts.
Has the Potential to Grow Through Further Acquisition Opportunities — a business that has the platform to grow inorganically through acquisitions.
Offers an Attractive Potential Return for our Stockholders, weighing potential growth opportunities and operational improvements in the target business against any identified downside risks.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as on 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 stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
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Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash. We have generated no operating revenues to date and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our initial business combination.
On October 22, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 23,000,000 units (the “units”), including the issuance of 3,000,000 units as a result of the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option in full. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $230 million.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO, we completed the private sale (the “private placement”) of an aggregate of 1,060,000 units (the “private placement units”) to Athena Consumer Acquisition Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”) at a purchase price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating gross proceeds of $10,600,000.
Prior to the consummation of the IPO, on June 29, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 5,900,000 shares of our Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “founder shares”), and on September 23, 2021, the Company effected a 1.36440678 for 1 stock split of its common stock, resulting in the Sponsor owning an aggregate of 8,050,000 founder shares. Up to 1,050,000 founder shares were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. In connection with the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option on October 22, 2021, the 1,050,000 founder shares were no longer subject to forfeiture.
A total of $234,600,000, comprised of $230,000,000 of the proceeds from the IPO (which amount includes $8,650,000 of the underwriters’ deferred underwriting commissions, which commissions were subsequently waived in full by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citi”) on December 8, 2022) and $4,600,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account (the “Trust Account”) maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
The funds held in the Trust Account are 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 of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.
On December 21, 2022, we held a special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”), at which our stockholders voted in favor of a proposal to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Charter Amendment”) to provide us with the right to extend the date (the “Deadline Date”) by which we must consummate an initial business combination up to six times for an additional one month each time (each, an “Extension”), from January 22, 2023 to up to July 22, 2023. On the same date, we filed the Charter Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. A total of 20,951,064 shares of our Class A common stock were presented for redemption in connection with the Special Meeting, and there were 2,048,936 shares of Class A common stock held by public stockholders (the “public shares”) remaining outstanding following such redemptions.
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If an Extension is implemented, the Sponsor or its designees will deposit into the Trust Account, as a loan, the lesser of (x) $121,000 or (y) $0.055 per public share multiplied by the number of public shares outstanding (the “Contribution”), on each of the following dates: (i) January 23, 2023; and (ii) one business day following our public announcement disclosing that our board of directors (the “Board”) has determined to extend the date by which we must consummate an initial business combination for an additional month in accordance with the Extension. As there were 2,048,936 public shares outstanding following redemptions in connection with the Special Meeting, the Contribution amount for each month of the Extension is equal to $112,691.48, which is the product of $0.055 per public share multiplied by the 2,048,936 public shares outstanding, or up to an aggregate of $676,148.88 in the event the Extension is effectuated for the full six months.
As of March 20, 2023, our Board has implemented three Extensions and has extended the Deadline Date from January 22, 2023 for three additional months to April 22, 2023. In connection with these Extensions, the Sponsor has deposited an aggregate of $338,074.44 into the Trust Account, with each Contribution of $112,691.48 deposited on January 23, 2023, February 17, 2023 and March 21, 2023.
As of December 31, 2022, there was $21,752,492 in cash and securities held in the Trust Account, which includes interest income available to us of $3,259,199. $13,612 of cash is held outside the Trust Account, available for working capital needs.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of the IPO and the private placement of the private placement units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of the IPO 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.
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 apply the balance of the cash released from the Trust Account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
While we may pursue an acquisition in any business industry or sector, we intend to focus our efforts identifying businesses offering technology-enabled consumer goods and/or services. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
The rules of the NYSE 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 discount held in trust) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our Board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions. While we consider it unlikely that our Board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects.
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We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders 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 stockholders 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 or shares of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% fair market value test described above. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination; however, in the event that the business combination does involve more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of a seeking stockholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which will encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, code reviews, security audits, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry.
Each of our directors and officers will own founder shares and/or private placement units following the IPO 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, such 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.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties (including Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II). Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our Sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity (including Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II) prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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e.GO Business Combination
On July 28, 2022, we entered into a Business Combination Agreement (as amended by that certain first amendment to the Business Combination Agreement on September 29, 2022, and as it may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Business Combination Agreement”), by and among the Company, Next.e.GO Mobile SE, a German company (“e.GO”), Next.e.GO B.V., a Dutch private limited liability company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of e.GO (“TopCo”), and Time is Now Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of TopCo (“Merger Sub”), for the Company’s initial business combination (the “e.GO Business Combination”). Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, among other things, (i) TopCo will issue to the holders of e.GO’s equity securities (the “e.GO Shareholders”) and convertible loan lenders of e.GO (the “Lenders”) an aggregate of up to 79,019,608 newly issued ordinary shares, par value $10.20 per share, of TopCo (the “TopCo Ordinary Shares”), representing aggregate consideration to the e.GO Shareholders of $800,000,000, 30,000,000 of such shares will be unvested and subject to an earn-out (the “Earn-Out Shares”), in exchange for the contribution by the e.GO Shareholders of all of the paid up no-par value shares of e.GO to TopCo and the convertible loans held by the Lenders, assuming that all e.GO Shareholders and Lender participate in the exchange; (ii) each issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Class A common stock will be automatically cancelled and extinguished and converted into one share of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the surviving company (the “Surviving Company Common Stock”), (iii) each issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Class B common stock will be automatically cancelled and extinguished and converted into a number of shares of Surviving Company Common Stock calculated as the sum of (x) one plus (y) the lower of (a) the total amount funded under the credit agreement, dated September 29, 2022, between e.GO, Brucke Funding LLC, Brucke Agent LLC and certain lenders party thereto (the “Bridge Financing”), divided by $15,000,000 and multiplied with one-fifth and (b) one-fifth; (iv) TopCo will change its legal form from a Dutch private limited liability company (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) to a Dutch public limited liability company (naamloze vennootschap); (v) Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company being the surviving company and, after giving effect to the merger, becoming a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of TopCo; (vi) each share of the Company’s common stock will be converted into one share of the Surviving Company Common Stock; (vii) immediately thereafter, each of the resulting shares of Surviving Company Common Stock will be automatically exchanged for one TopCo Ordinary Share; and (viii) each outstanding warrant to purchase a share of the Company’s Class A common stock will be converted into a warrant to purchase a TopCo Ordinary Share on the same contractual terms and conditions as were in effect with respect to each warrant prior to the e.GO Business Combination.
Shareholder Undertakings
On July 28, 2022, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, substantially all of the shareholders of e.GO (who will receive TopCo Ordinary Shares pursuant to and in accordance with the Business Combination Agreement) entered into a shareholder undertaking (the “Shareholder Undertaking”), by and among the Company, e.GO, and the e.GO shareholders party thereto, pursuant to which, among other things, each such e.GO shareholder (i) agreed to grant one or more powers of attorney authorizing the respective persons identified in such powers of attorney (acting on behalf of such e.GO shareholder), among other things, to execute and deliver the documents relating to the e.GO Business Combination to which such e.GO shareholder is or will be a party (including Dutch deeds of issue and German share transfer deeds, among other documents), (ii) undertook to take all necessary or desirable actions in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the other transaction documents, and (iii) agreed to certain covenants to support the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the other transaction documents (including by way of restrictions on the sale, disposition or transfer of such e.GO shareholder’s holdings in e.GO), in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Shareholder Undertaking.
Lender Undertaking
On July 28, 2022, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, Lenders holding substantially all of the outstanding amount under the existing convertible loans entered into a lender undertaking (the “Lender Undertaking”), by and among the Company, e.GO, and the Lenders thereto, pursuant to which, among other things, each such Lender (i) agreed to grant one or more powers of attorney authorizing the respective persons identified in such powers of attorney (acting on behalf of such Lender), among other things, to execute and deliver the documents relating to the e.GO Business Combination to which such Lender is or will be a party, (ii) undertook to take all necessary or desirable actions in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the other transaction documents, and (iii) agreed to certain covenants to support the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the other transaction documents (including by ways of restriction on sale, transfer, disposition or conversion of the Lender’s respective rights and obligations as convertible loan lender), in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Lender Undertaking.
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Shareholder Lock-Up Agreement
On July 28, 2022, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, substantially all of e.GO’s shareholders entered into a lock-up agreement, pursuant to which they agreed not to effect any sale or distribution of any equity securities of TopCo issued to them at the closing of the e.GO Business Combination (the “Closing”) until the date that is six months after the Closing (each, a “Shareholder Lock-Up Agreement”) on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Shareholder Lock-Up Agreement.
Sponsor Letter Agreement
On July 28, 2022, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, the Company, the Sponsor, e.GO, TopCo and certain of the Company’s officers and directors (the “Athena Insiders”) entered into a Sponsor Letter Agreement, which was amended on September 29, 2022 (as it may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Sponsor Letter Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, the Sponsor and the Athena Insiders have agreed to (i) vote all of its, his or her shares of the Company’s Class A common stock to approve and adopt the Business Combination Agreement and the e.GO Business Combination, (ii) waive its, his or her redemption rights with respect to its, his or her shares of the Company’s Class A common stock in connection with the e.GO Business Combination, (iii) not transfer any of its, his or her shares of the Company’s Class A common stock until the Closing or termination of the Business Combination Agreement (except in limited circumstances), (iv) not transfer (a) with respect to the Sponsor, 75% of its TopCo shares and (b) with respect to all other Athena Insiders any of its, his or her TopCo ordinary shares until the date that is 180 days after the Closing (except in limited circumstances), (v) waive any adjustment to the conversion ratio set forth in the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation or any other anti-dilution or similar protection with respect to the shares of the Company’s Class B common stock held by the Sponsor or the Athena Insiders, in each case, subject to the terms and conditions contemplated by the Sponsor Letter Agreement.
Pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement, TopCo will indemnify the Sponsor from and against certain liabilities relating to the e.GO Business Combination for a period of six years after the Closing and subject to an aggregate maximum indemnity of $4,000,000.
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers 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 stockholders, directors, officers, or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the NYSE rules. However, (apart from the purchase of the private placement units) 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 be restricted from making 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.
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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. We expect 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.
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 stockholder 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. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock 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.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), 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 anticipated to be $10.86 per public share as of March 30, 2023. Our initial stockholders, 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 any founder shares, private placement shares and public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. 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 shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares in connection with such initial business combination, and all shares of Class A common stock 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, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
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Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder 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 stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE American, we will be required to comply with the NYSE’s stockholder approval rules.
The requirement that we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above is contained in provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on the NYSE American. Such provisions may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. If we amend such provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a stockholder meeting.
If we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a stockholder 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 stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and private placement shares they hold and any public shares purchased during or after the IPO (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As of the date hereof and as a result of redemptions in connection with the Special Meeting, our initial stockholders own approximately 81.6% of the total outstanding shares of our common stock. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will be able to approve our initial business combination, even if none of our public stockholders vote in favor of approving the initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, whether they participate in or abstain from voting, or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
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If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal 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 stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If public stockholders 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 redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our Sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
We intend to require our public stockholders 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 stock 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 vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, we intend to require a public stockholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the 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 stockholders 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 stockholders, 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 stockholders who elected to redeem their shares.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if We Seek Stockholder Approval
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our Sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in the IPO without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
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Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
We originally had up to 15 months from the closing of our IPO, or until January 22, 2023, to consummate an initial business combination. However, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to six times for an additional one month each time, from January 22, 2023 to up to July 22, 2023 (the date which is 21 months from the closing of our IPO). As of March 20, 2023, our Board has implemented three Extensions and has extended the Deadline Date from January 22, 2023 for three additional months to April 22, 2023. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date.
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 greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events in a Current Report on Form 8-K. Such reports and other information filed by the Company with the SEC are available free of charge on the Company’s website at www.athenaspac.com when such reports are available on the SEC’s website. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website is located at www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 442 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10018 or by telephone at (970) 925-1572. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K 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.
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We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or 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 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.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of the IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Form 10-K, 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.
Risk Factor Summary
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in this section titled “Risk Factors,” that represent challenges that we face in connection with the successful implementation of our strategy. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in this section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may adversely affect our ability to effect a business combination, and may have an adverse effect on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
| ● | newly formed company without an operating history; |
| ● | delay in receiving distributions from the Trust Account; |
| ● | lack of opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination; |
| ● | lack of protections afforded to investors of blank check companies; |
| ● | deviation from acquisition criteria; |
| ● | issuance of equity and/or debt securities to complete a business combination; |
| ● | lack of working capital; | |
| ● | third-party claims reducing the per-share redemption price; | |
| ● | negative interest rate for securities in which we invest the funds held in the Trust Account; | |
| ● | our stockholders being held liable for claims by third parties against us; | |
| ● | failure to enforce our Sponsor’s indemnification obligations; | |
| ● | warrant holders limited to exercising warrants only on a “cashless basis;” | |
| ● | the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company; | |
| ● | dependence on key personnel; |
| ● | conflicts of interest of our Sponsor, officers and directors; | |
| ● | the delisting of our securities by the NYSE American; | |
| ● | dependence on a single target business with a limited number of products or services; |
| ● | our stockholders’ inability to vote or redeem their shares in connection with our extensions; |
| ● | shares being redeemed and warrants becoming worthless; |
| ● | our competitors with advantages over us in seeking business combinations; |
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| ● | ability to obtain additional financing; |
| ● | our initial stockholders controlling a substantial interest in us; |
| ● | warrants adverse effect on the market price of our common stock; |
| ● | disadvantageous timing for redeeming warrants; |
| ● | registration rights’ adverse effect on the market price of our common stock; |
| ● | impact of COVID-19 and related risks; |
| ● | uncertain geopolitical conditions resulting from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia; |
| ● | business combination with a company located in a foreign jurisdiction; |
| ● | changes in laws or regulations; |
| ● | impact of rising inflation and interest rates; |
| ● | uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to SPAC; |
| ● | impact of the excise tax included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 on the value of our securities following the business combination and the amount of funds available for distribution; |
| ● | tax consequences to business combinations; |
| ● | exclusive forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation; and |
| ● | our ability to continue as a going concern. |
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
Our public stockholders 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 and private placement shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the initial business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law or the rules of the NYSE, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or will allow stockholders 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 stockholder approval. Even if we seek stockholder approval, the holders of our founder shares and private placement 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 public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the founder shares and private placement shares. As of the date hereof and as a result of redemptions in connection with the Special Meeting, our initial stockholders own approximately 81.6% of the total outstanding shares of our common stock. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will be able to approve our initial business combination, even if none of our public stockholders vote in favor of approving the initial business combination.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
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 may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the 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 stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 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 stockholders 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 make us unable to satisfy a minimum cash 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 stockholders 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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock results in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
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The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your 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.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date 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 stockholders.
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 by the Deadline Date, which is currently April 22, 2023 but may be extended by the Company up to three more times for an additional one month each time, to up to July 22, 2023. 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.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date, 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 stockholders may only receive $10.86 per share based on the amount held in the Trust Account as of March 30, 2023, 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 by the Deadline Date. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be adversely impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. 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 10 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.86 per share based on the amount held in the Trust Account as of March 30, 2023, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted global supply chains, lowered equity market valuations, created significant volatility and disruption in financial markets, and increased unemployment levels, all of which may become heightened concerns upon another wave of infection or future developments. The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to, and an outbreak of other infectious diseases could in the future, result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions resulting from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent sanctions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.
U.S. and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. In response to such invasion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine during the ongoing military conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions with Russia. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable, the conflict could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in energy and other commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. Additionally, Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets.
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Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, could adversely affect our search for a business combination and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination. The extent and duration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described elsewhere in this Form 10-K. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the impact of sanctions against Russia and the potential for retaliatory acts from Russia, could result in increased cyber-attacks against U.S. companies.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers 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 stockholders, directors, officers or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the NYSE rules. However, other than as expressly stated herein, 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 stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.
In the event that our Sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. 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 stockholder 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. We expect 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.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the 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 stockholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such stockholder 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 stockholders 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 stock 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 vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, we intend to require a public stockholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a stockholder 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.
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 stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earlier to occur of (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial business combination activity, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by the Deadline Date, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if our plan to redeem our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by the Deadline Date is not completed for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our Trust Account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond the Deadline Date before they receive funds from our Trust Account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Account. Holders of warrants will not have any 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.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means 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 the IPO 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.
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As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
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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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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, 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 the IPO and the sale of the private placement units, 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 stockholder 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least until April 22, 2023, 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.
Of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement units, only $1,450,000 will be available to us initially outside the Trust Account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon closing of the IPO, the funds available to us outside of the Trust Account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least until April 22, 2023; 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.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account. If we are unable to 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 stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.86 per share based on the amount held in the Trust Account as of March 30, 2023, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders 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 materials or tender offer documents, 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 stockholders may be less than the $10.86 per share held in the Trust Account as of March 30, 2023.
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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management 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. The underwriters of the IPO as well as our independent registered public accounting firm 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 are unable to 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 stockholders could be less than the $10.86 per public share held in the Trust Account as of March 30, 2023, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, 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 public 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 the IPO 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.
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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 stockholders.
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 public 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 our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account and to not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our Board may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our Board and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, by paying public stockholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
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Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the Deadline Date in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with the NYSE American corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our initial listing on the NYSE. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
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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 the initial public 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 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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders 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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek business combination opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm 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 stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our Board 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 another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our Board, 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.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
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, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such 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.
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.
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 stockholders or warrant holders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. 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 stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our Sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares in connection with such initial business combination, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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In order to effectuate an initial business combination, 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 certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate 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 certificate of incorporation requires the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our public warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of the public warrants (which may include public warrants acquired by our Sponsor or its affiliates in the IPO or thereafter in the open market). In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by the Deadline Date or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption 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 in the IPO, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account) may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the IPO and the sale of private placement units into the Trust Account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. If we amend such provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a stockholder meeting. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own approximately 81.6% of our common stock (including the private placement shares), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our Sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by the Deadline Date or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our Sponsor, executive officers, or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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Certain agreements related to the IPO may be amended without stockholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to the IPO to which we are a party, other than the public warrant agreement and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without stockholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial stockholders, Sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our initial stockholders; the private placement units purchase agreement between us and our Sponsor; and the administrative services agreement among us, our Sponsor and an affiliate of our Sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public stockholders 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 units and other securities held by our initial stockholders, 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, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our Board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our Board, 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 stockholders, 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 stockholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own approximately 81.6% of our issued and outstanding common stock. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Form 10-K. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our Board, whose members were elected by our Sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” Board, only a minority of the Board will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our stockholders and warrant holders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain.
Although we will attempt to structure our initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner, 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. For example, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to any requisite stockholder approval, we may structure our business combination in a manner that requires stockholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, or reincorporate in a different jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). We do not intend to make any cash distributions to stockholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a stockholder or a warrant holder may need to satisfy any liability resulting from our initial business combination with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of the shares received. In addition, stockholders and warrant holders may also be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination.
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In addition, we may effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the United States, and possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions. If we effect such a business combination, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in other jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable.
Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 Delaware 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 adversely impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders 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 adversely impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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 adversely impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| ● | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| ● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| ● | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| ● | longer payment cycles; |
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| ● | 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; |
| ● | terrorist attacks and wars; and |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. 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, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the Company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. 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.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, in addition to our Notes (as defined below) issued in connection with the first Extension, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus adversely impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
We have, and we may choose to incur additional, substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the Trust Account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the Trust Account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
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| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock; |
| ● | 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 common stock, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement units, 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 adversely impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the private placement units provided us with $234,600,000 that we could use to complete our initial business combination (which amount included the $8,650,000 of deferred underwriting commissions that were subsequently waived in full by Citi on December 8, 2022). On December 21, 2022, we held a Special Meeting at which our stockholders voted in favor of the Charter Amendment, which provides us with the right to extend our Deadline Date up to six times for an additional one month each time, from January 22, 2023 to up to July 22, 2023. A total of 20,951,064 shares of our Class A common stock were presented for redemption in connection with the Special Meeting. Following the redemptions, there was approximately $21,750,000 in cash left in the Trust Account as of December 31, 2022. In addition, as of March 20, 2023, our Board has implemented three Extensions and has extended the Deadline Date from January 22, 2023 for three additional months to April 22, 2023. In connection with these Extensions, the Sponsor has deposited an aggregate of $338,074.44 into the Trust Account. As of March 30, 2023, there is $22,256,212 in cash held in the Trust Account, which we may use to complete our initial business combination.
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| ● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
| ● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
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We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions). The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-business combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time.
Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team
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. 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 employ 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. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination 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 initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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 shares of common stock to materially decline.
While we offered our units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit and the amount in the Trust Account was initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share, implying an initial value of $10.00 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.
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Our Sponsor invested an aggregate of $10,625,000 in us in connection with the IPO, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $10,600,000 purchase price for the private placement units. As a result, even if the trading price of our shares of common stock 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 shares of common stock is less than $1.17 per share. 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 shares of common stock to decline, while our public stockholders who purchased their units in the IPO 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 stockholders paid for their public shares.
Since our Sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after the IPO), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In June 2021, our Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 5,900,000 founder shares, and in September 2021, we effected a 1.36440678 for 1 stock split of our common stock, so that our Sponsor owns an aggregate of 8,050,000 founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the 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 the IPO would be a maximum of 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 25.07% of the outstanding shares (including the private placement shares) after the IPO. Up to 1,050,000 of the founder shares were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment was exercised. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 1,060,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit, or $10,600,000, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. Each private placement unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share of common stock at $11.50 per share. These securities will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination and our Sponsor and members of our Board acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 per share and we offered units at a price of $10.00 per unit in the IPO; as a result, our Sponsor and members of our Board 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.
Additionally, on January 17, 2023, we issued an Extension Note (as defined below) and a Working Capital Note (as defined below) to our Sponsor with a principal amount equal to $676,148.88 and $400,000.00, respectively. If a business combination is not consummated, any loans or advances under such Notes will be repaid only from funds held outside of the Trust Account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven.
The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the Deadline Date nears, which is the current deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
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Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive 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 executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Directors and Executive Officers.”
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.
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 our directors’ and officers’ fiduciary duties under the DGCL. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may Sponsor, invest in, form or otherwise become involved with any other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours, including in connection with their initial business combinations, 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 ventures may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Directors and Executive Officers,” “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or executive officers, 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 officers and directors 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 stockholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Delaware law and we or our stockholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our stockholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
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We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our Sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — 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 and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or 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 stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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 stockholders 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 stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s 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.
Members of our management team and Board have significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result, certain of those persons have been, or may become, involved in proceedings, investigations and litigation relating to the business affairs of the companies with which they were, are, or may be in the future be, affiliated. These activities may have an adverse effect on us, which may impeded our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and Board 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 of those persons, are now, or may in the future become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings relating to the business affairs of such companies or transactions entered into by such companies. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert the attention and resources of the members of both our management team and our Board 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.
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Risks Relating to our Securities
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 stockholders may be less than the $10.86 per share held in the Trust Account as of March 30, 2023.
The proceeds held in the Trust Account are 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the Trust Account, plus 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 to pay dissolution expenses). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than the $10.86 per share held in the Trust Account as of March 30, 2023.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| ● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| ● | restrictions on the issuance of securities, |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| ● | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| ● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our 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. The IPO is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The Trust Account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by Deadline Date or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination by Deadline Date, our return of the funds held in the Trust Account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Recent increases in inflation and interest rates in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Recent increases in inflation and interest rates in the United States and elsewhere may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and may lead to other national, regional and international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. To mitigate the risk of that result, on or prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our IPO, we may instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company to liquidate the securities held in the Trust Account and instead hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash. As a result, following such change, we would likely receive minimal, if any, interest, on the funds held in the Trust Account, which would reduce the dollar amount that our public stockholders would otherwise receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company if the assets in the Trust Account had remained in U.S. government securities or money market funds.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules (the “SPAC Rule Proposals”), relating, among other things, to circumstances in which special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) such as us could potentially be subject to the Investment Company Act and the regulations thereunder. The SPAC Rule Proposals would provide a safe harbor for such companies from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, provided that a SPAC satisfies certain criteria. To comply with the duration limitation of the proposed safe harbor, a SPAC would have a limited time period to announce and complete a de-SPAC transaction. Specifically, to comply with the safe harbor, the SPAC Rule Proposals would require a company to file a report on Form 8-K announcing that it has entered into an agreement with a target company for an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the registration statement for its initial public offering. The company would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of the registration statement for its initial public offering. As indicated above, we completed our IPO on October 22, 2021 and have operated as a blank check company searching for a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination since such time. On July 28, 2022, or approximately nine months after the effective date of the registration statement for our IPO, we entered into the Business Combination Agreement for our initial business combination. However, we may be unable to complete the e.GO Business Combination within 24 months after the effective date of the registration statement for our IPO (assuming that we were to amend our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the amount of time we have to complete our initial business combination to or beyond 24 months from the closing of our IPO).
There is currently uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC. It is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company, including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, based on the current views of the SEC. If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we might be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. If we are required to liquidate the Company, our investors would not be able to realize the benefits of owning shares in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares and warrants or rights following such a transaction, and our warrants or rights would expire worthless.
The funds in the Trust Account have, since our IPO, been held only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. As of December 31, 2022, amounts held in Trust Account included approximately $3,259,199 of accrued interest. To mitigate the risk of us being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may, in our discretion, on or prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our IPO (assuming that we are to amend our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the amount of time we have to complete our initial business combination to or beyond 24 months from the closing of our IPO), or October 19, 2023, instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash (i.e., in one or more bank accounts) until the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or our liquidation. Following such liquidation of the assets in our Trust Account, we would likely receive minimal interest, if any, on the funds held in the Trust Account, which would reduce the dollar amount our public stockholders would otherwise receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company if the assets in the Trust Account had remained in U.S. government securities or money market funds. This means that the amount available for redemption may not increase in the future.
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In addition, even prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our IPO, we may be deemed to be an investment company. The longer that the funds in the Trust Account are held in short-term U.S. government securities or in money market funds invested exclusively in such securities, even prior to the 24-month anniversary, there is a greater risk that we may be considered an unregistered investment company, in which case we may be required to liquidate. For so long as the funds in the Trust Account are held in short-term U.S. government securities or in money market funds invested exclusively in such securities, the risk that we may be considered an unregistered investment company and required to liquidate is greater than that of a SPAC that has elected to liquidate such investments and to hold all funds in its Trust Account in cash (i.e., in one or more bank accounts). Accordingly, we may determine, in our discretion, to liquidate the securities held in the Trust Account at any time, even prior to the 24-month anniversary, and instead hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash, which would further reduce the dollar amount our public stockholders would receive upon any redemption or our liquidation.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem 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.
The NYSE American 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 cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the NYSE American in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE American prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels, including maintaining a minimum amount of stockholders’ equity and a minimum number of public stockholders. In addition to objective standards, the NYSE American may delist our securities if, in their discretionary opinion: (i) our financial condition and/or operating results appear unsatisfactory; (ii) it appears that the extent of public distribution or the aggregate market value of the security has become so reduced as to make further dealings on NYSE American inadvisable; (iii) we sell or otherwise dispose of principal operating assets or cease to be an operating company; (iv) we fail to comply with the listing requirements of the NYSE American; or (v) any other event occurs or any condition exists which makes further dealings on the NYSE American unwarranted.
Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE American’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE American’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE American. For instance, we will generally be required to have a stock price of at least $2.00 per share, a global market capitalization of at least $50,000,000, an aggregate market value of publicly-held shares of at least $15,000,000, stockholders’ equity of at least $4,000,000, a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our securities and a minimum of 1,000,000 publicly-held shares. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
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If the NYSE American 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 common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| ● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| ● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A common stock and warrants are listed on the NYSE American, our units, Class A common stock and warrants are covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE American, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
Since our Sponsor paid only approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares, certain of our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we acquire a target business that subsequently declines in value.
In June 2021, we issued 5,900,000 founder shares to our Sponsor in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, and in September 2021, we effected a 1.36440678 for 1 stock split of our common stock, so that our Sponsor owns an aggregate of 8,050,000 founder shares. Our Sponsor paid approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares. Certain of our officers and directors have a significant economic interest in our Sponsor. As a result, the low acquisition cost of the founder shares creates an economic incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we complete a business combination with a target business that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors.
We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the 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 in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after the IPO, there were 75,940,000 and 1,950,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, 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 common stock. The Class B common stock is automatically convertible into Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Immediately after the IPO, there were no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
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We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, 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 as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond April 22, 2023 or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or shares of preferred stock:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the IPO; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock; |
| ● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of Class A common stock is issued, which 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 common stock and/or warrants. |
Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 25.07% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding (including the private placement shares) after such conversion, including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement units issued to our Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. This is different than some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies in which the initial stockholders will only be issued an aggregate of 25.07% of the total number of shares to be outstanding (including the private placement shares) prior to our initial business combination.
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A common stock or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A common stock 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 common stock included in the units.
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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 best efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement relating to the IPO or a new registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the public 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 shares of Class A common stock 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 best efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (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.
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 shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The public 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 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the public warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the shares of Class A common stock is 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 shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our shares of Class A common stock (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing price of the shares of Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
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We may amend the terms of the public 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. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our public warrants will be issued in registered form under a public warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The public warrant agreement provides that the terms of the public warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 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 in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 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 public warrants, convert the public warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a public warrant.
Our public warrant agreement designates 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 public warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our public warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the public warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the public 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. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our public warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our public warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the public 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 public 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 public 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.
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We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption provided that on the date we give notice of redemption. We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock 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.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares of Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 11,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 1,060,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit, or $10,600,000. Each private placement unit consists of one private placement share and one-half of one private placement warrant and each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In addition, if our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors makes any working capital loans, such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 150,000 private placement-equivalent units, at the price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the private placement units. To the extent we issue common stock to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock 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 shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock 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.
The private placement warrants included in the private placement units are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they (including the Class A common stock 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 and (ii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
Because each unit contains one-half of one public 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 public warrant. Pursuant to the public warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the public 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 shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one common 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.
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A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, if we issue additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our Board, and in the case of any such issuance to our initial stockholders or their respective affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by them, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the Newly Issued Price.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and holders of our private placement units 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 shares of Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the IPO, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the founder shares, the shares of Class A common stock included in the private placement units and holders of unit that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such Class A common stock, warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such units and 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 common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the shares of common stock owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our private placement units or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our shares of Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered Board and the ability of the Board to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
An investment in the IPO may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to our units, their treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes is uncertain, and the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one redeemable warrant included in each unit could be challenged by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or the courts. In addition, if we are determined to be a personal holding company for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our taxable income would be subjected to an additional 20% federal income tax, which would reduce the net after-tax amount of interest income earned on the funds placed in our Trust Account. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in our units is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our shares suspend the running of a U.S. holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether (i) any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A common stock is long-term capital gain or loss, (ii) any dividends we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for U.S. federal income tax purposes and (iii) any dividend we pay would be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
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A new 1% U.S. federal excise tax could be imposed on us in connection with redemptions by us of our shares or our liquidation.
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”), which, among other things, generally imposes a 1% U.S. federal excise tax (the “Excise Tax”) on certain repurchases of stock by “covered corporations” (which include publicly traded domestic (i.e., U.S.) corporations) occurring on or after January 1, 2023. The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from which the stock is repurchased. Because we are a Delaware corporation and our securities are trading on the NYSE American, we are a “covered corporation” for this purpose. The amount of the Excise Tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the Excise Tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the Excise Tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the Excise Tax. On December 27, 2022, the Treasury issued a notice that provides interim operating rules for the Excise Tax, including rules governing the calculation and reporting of the Excise Tax, on which taxpayers may rely until the forthcoming proposed Treasury regulations addressing the Excise Tax are published. Although such notice clarifies certain aspects of the Excise Tax, the interpretation and operation of other aspects of the Excise Tax remain unclear, and such interim operating rules are subject to change.
Whether and to what extent we would be subject to the Excise Tax on a redemption of our shares of Class A common stock or other stock issued by us would depend on a number of factors, including (i) whether the redemption is treated as a repurchase of stock for purposes of the Excise Tax, (ii) the fair market value of the redemption treated as a repurchase of stock in connection with our initial business combination, an extension or otherwise, (iii) the structure of our initial business combination, (iv) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances (whether in connection with our initial business combination or otherwise) issued within the same taxable year of a redemption treated as a repurchase of stock and (v) the content of forthcoming regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. As noted above, the Excise Tax would be payable by us, and not by the redeeming holder, and only limited guidance on the mechanics of any required reporting and payment of the Excise Tax on which taxpayers may rely have been issued to date. The imposition of the Excise Tax could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete our initial business combination or for effecting redemptions and may affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, fund future operations or make distributions to stockholders. In addition, the Excise Tax could cause a reduction in the per share amount payable to our public stockholders in the event we liquidate the Trust Account due to a failure to complete our initial business combination within the requisite timeframe.
Whether a redemption of Class A common stock will be treated as a sale of such Class A common stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on a stockholder’s specific facts.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a redemption of Class A common stock will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of such Class A common stock under Section 302(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which will depend largely on the total number of shares of our stock treated as held by the stockholder electing to redeem Class A common stock (including any shares of stock constructively owned by the holder as a result of owning private placement warrants or public warrants or otherwise) relative to all of the shares of our stock outstanding both before and after the redemption. If such redemption is not treated as a sale of Class A common stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the redemption will instead be treated as a corporate distribution of cash from us.
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Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Additionally, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal courts shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act against us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or agents. Section 22 of the Securities Act, however, created concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce these exclusive forum provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. While the Delaware courts have determined that such exclusive forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions; however, we note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
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General Risk Factors
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 State of Delaware with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through the IPO. 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.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team or businesses associated with them as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
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.
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.
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We may face risks related to technology and consumer businesses.
Business combinations with technology and consumer businesses entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks after the business combination:
| ● | we may invest in new lines of business that could fail to attract or retain users or generate revenue; |
| ● | we will face significant competition and if we are not able to maintain or improve our market share, our business could suffer; |
| ● | the loss of one or more members of our management team, or our failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future, could seriously harm our business; | |
| ● | if our security is compromised or if our platform is subjected to attacks that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access our products and services, our users, advertisers, and partners may cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether, which could seriously harm our business; | |
| ● | mobile malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, spamming, and improper or illegal use of our products could seriously harm our business and reputation; | |
| ● | if we are unable to successfully grow our user base and further monetize our products, our business will suffer; | |
| ● | if we are unable to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and our business may be seriously harmed; | |
| ● | we may be subject to regulatory investigations and proceedings in the future, which could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a way that could seriously harm our business; | |
| ● | an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth; and | |
| ● | an inability to build strong brand identity and improve subscriber or customer satisfaction and loyalty. |
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the technology and consumer businesses. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
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Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” we have determined that if the Company is unable to complete a business combination by the Deadline Date, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this Form 10-K do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
We currently utilize office space at 442 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10018 from our Sponsor. We have agreed to pay our Sponsor, through the earlier of our consummation of a business combination or our liquidation, a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. 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.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are traded on the NYSE American under the symbols “ACAQ.U,” “ACAQ” and “ACAQ WS,” respectively.
Holders
As of March 1, 2023, there were two holders of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock and one holder of record of our warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. 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. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our Board at such time.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
In June 2021, we issued to the Sponsor an aggregate of 5,900,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, and in September 2021, we effected a 1.36440678 for 1 stock split of our common stock, so that our Sponsor owns an aggregate of 8,050,000 founder shares. Up to 1,050,000 founder shares were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. In connection with the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option on October 22, 2021, the 1,050,000 shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, resulting in the Sponsor holding 8,050,000 founder shares. The foregoing issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
On October 22, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 23,000,000 units, including the issuance of 3,000,000 units as a result of the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option in full. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $230,000,000. Citi acted as the sole bookrunner and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. acted as co-manager. The securities sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-258050). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on October 19, 2021.
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Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO, we consummated the private placement of 1,060,000 private placement units to the Sponsor at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $10,600,000. Each private placement unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share of common stock at $11.50 per share. Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
The private placement units are identical to the units sold in the IPO, except that the private placement units (and the shares of Class A common stock and private placement warrants underlying the private placement units) are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions, and the private placement warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis.
Of the gross proceeds received from the IPO and private placement of private placement units, $234,600,000 was placed in the Trust Account.
On October 22, 2021, we paid a total of $4,000,000 in underwriting fees and $466,818 for other costs and expenses related to the IPO. In addition, on October 19, 2021, the underwriters agreed to defer $8,650,000 in underwriting fees, which fees would become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completed a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. On December 8, 2022, Citi, as representative of the underwriters, agreed to formally waive the deferred underwriting commissions of $8,650,000 in full, pursuant to a deferred fee waiver letter agreement between Citi and the Company.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
References in this Form 10-K to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Athena Consumer Acquisition Sponsor LLC. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. was incorporated in Delaware on June 4, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business transaction with one or more businesses.
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On July 28, 2022, the Company entered into a Business Combination Agreement, by and among the Company, e.GO, TopCo, and Merger Sub, for the Company’s initial business combination. Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, among other things, (i) TopCo will issue to the e.GO Shareholders and Lenders an aggregate of up to 79,019,608 TopCo Ordinary Shares, representing aggregate consideration to the e.GO Shareholders of $800,000,000, which will include 30,000,000 Earn-Out Shares, in exchange for the contribution by the e.GO Shareholders of all of the paid up no-par value shares of e.GO to TopCo and the convertible loans held by the Lenders, assuming that all e.GO Shareholders and Lender participate in the exchange; (ii) each issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Class A common stock will be automatically cancelled and extinguished and converted into one share of Surviving Company Common Stock, (iii) each issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Class B common stock will be automatically cancelled and extinguished and converted into a number of shares of Surviving Company Common Stock calculated as the sum of (x) one plus (y) the lower of (a) the total amount funded under the Bridge Financing, divided by $15,000,000 and multiplied with one-fifth and (b) one-fifth; (iv) TopCo will change its legal form from a Dutch private limited liability company (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) to a Dutch public limited liability company (naamloze vennootschap); (v) Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company being the surviving company and, after giving effect to the merger, becoming a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of TopCo; (vi) each share of the Company’s common stock will be converted into one share of the Surviving Company Common Stock; (vii) immediately thereafter, each of the resulting shares of Surviving Company Common Stock will be automatically exchanged for one TopCo Ordinary Share; and (viii) each outstanding warrant to purchase a share of the Company’s Class A common stock will be converted into a warrant to purchase a TopCo Ordinary Share on the same contractual terms and conditions as were in effect with respect to each warrant prior to the e.GO Business Combination.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our business combination plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete the e.GO Business Combination or any business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation and the IPO, and since the offering, the search for a prospective business combination. 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 IPO placed in the Trust Account. Most of the Company’s expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022 are related to the transaction described in Note 6 of the financial statements.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had a net loss of $2,241,341, which consists of operating expenses of $4,510,308, change in fair value of derivative forward purchase agreement of $300,000 and income tax expense of $690,232, offset by income on cash and investments held in Trust account of $3,259,199.
For the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $217,801 which consists of operating expenses of $237,285 offset by income on investments held in Trust Account of $4,169 and other income of $16.
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Going Concern and Capital Resources
The registration statement on Form S-1, as amended, for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on October 19, 2021. On October 22, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 20,000,000 units. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of a redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000, which is discussed in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 1,000,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit in a private placement to the Company’s Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $10,000,000, which is described in Note 4.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the closing of the sale of 3,000,000 additional units upon receiving notice of the underwriter’s election to fully exercise its over-allotment option, generating additional gross proceeds of $30,000,000. Simultaneously with the exercise of the over-allotment, the Company consummated the Private Placement of an additional 60,000 private placement units to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $600,000.
Following the closing of the IPO and exercise of the over-allotment, $234,600,000 ($10.20 per unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the IPO and the private placement units was placed in the Trust Account and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) 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 Trust Account.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, $943,033 of cash was used in operating activities.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less taxes payable), to complete our business combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our 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.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a business combination, the Company will repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the private placement units. As of December 31, 2022, there were no Working Capital Loans outstanding.
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We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a 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 business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB ASU 2014-15, the Company has until April 22, 2023 to consummate the proposed business combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate the proposed business combination by this time. If a business combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a business combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution and liquidity condition, raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after April 22, 2023. The Company intends to complete the proposed business combination before the mandatory liquidation date. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to consummate any business combination by April 22, 2023.
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities. The underwriter is entitled to deferred underwriting commissions of $8,650,000 consisting of the $8,050,000 deferred portion and the $600,000 cash discount agreed to be deferred until business combination. 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. On December 8, 2022, Citi, as representative of the underwriters, agreed to formally waive the deferred underwriting commissions of $8,650,000 in full, pursuant to a deferred fee waiver letter agreement between Citi and the Company.
The Company also agreed, commencing on October 19, 2021 through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a business combination and its liquidation, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space and administrative support services.
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Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Derivative Liabilities
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815-15. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period. The Company has determined forward purchase agreements are derivative instruments.
ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition.
The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”). Common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheets. We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date of the security. Immediately upon the closing of the IPO, we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item.
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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Reference is made to pages F-1 through F-24 comprising a portion of this Form 10-K.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2022. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were effective. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
| (1) | pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company, |
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| (2) | provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and |
| (3) | provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. |
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2022. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by COSO in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.
Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Directors and Executive Officers
Our officers and directors are as follows:
| Name | Age | Position | ||
| Isabelle Freidheim | 42 | Chairperson of the Board of Directors | ||
| Jane Park | 53 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
| Jennifer Carr-Smith | 51 | Chief Operating Officer and President | ||
| Angelina Smith | 49 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Kay Koplovitz | 77 | Director | ||
| Doris Robinson | 62 | Director | ||
| Sarah Kauss | 47 | Director |
Isabelle Freidheim has served as our Chairperson of the Board of Directors since June 2021. Isabelle is the founder and Chair of Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: ATHN), one of the first all women SPACs. Isabelle is also the founder of Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: ATEK) and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since August 2021 and its Chairperson of the Board of Directors since November 2021. She is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur; she was a co-founder of Magnifi, a fintech company, and was a co-founder and managing partner of Castle VC (formerly Starwood VC), a venture investment firm, and a venture partner at MissionOG, a venture capital firm. Ms. Freidheim co-founded Magnifi, an artificial intelligence and machine learning fintech company which was acquired by The Tifin Group in December 2020. In addition to co-founding the company, Ms. Freidheim acted as the Chief Executive Officer of Magnifi and led the company’s early growth.
Ms. Freidheim was a venture partner at MissionOG, a venture capital firm, where she sourced investments in high-growth technology companies. MissionOG funds technology businesses with a focus on B2B companies and partners with portfolio companies to provide deep market expertise and hands-on operational support and execution capabilities.
Ms. Freidheim was a co-founder and managing partner of Castle VC (formerly Starwood VC), making investments in technology companies across stages with a current focus on late-stage investments in the sectors of financial technologies, data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and SaaS. Ms. Freidheim has led investments in both early-stage and late-stage, pre-IPO growth companies. She is engaged in all aspects of the deal process. Ms. Freidheim was also a co-founder of the London Fund, a fund that invests in IP-rich high-growth companies with a particular focus on emerging technologies.
Ms. Freidheim started her career in investment banking at Lehman Brothers and then joined one of Invesco’s private equity funds to invest in European assets. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Jane Park has served as our Chief Executive Officer since June 2021, and as a director since January 3, 2022. Ms. Park is the founder of TokkiWrap LLC (dba Tokki), a Seattle-based sustainable gifting technology company that offers a unique patent pending social gifting experience. Since launching Tokki in September of 2019, Ms. Park has served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to founding Tokki, Ms. Park was the CEO and Founder of Julep, an on-line first beauty brand distributed that gained national distribution at Sephora, Nordstrom, Ulta and Target. A disruptor in the beauty space, Julep innovated rapidly by co-creating with its customers through social media and personalizing offerings to each subscriber. Ms. Park successfully raised venture capital financing from Silicon Valley firms including Andreessen Horowitz, and led Julep to an exit in 2016 to a beauty rollup funded by Warburg Pincus. Ms. Park was also an executive at Starbucks in the New Ventures division where she launched new consumer businesses. She was also a leader at the Boston Consulting Group in the Retail and Consumer Goods practice group, and a founding director of the CEO Forum for Education and Technology with luminaires such as Steve Jobs (CEO Apple) and Eckhard Pfeiffer (CEO Compaq). Ms. Park began her career as a corporate litigation attorney at Shaw Pittman (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman). Ms. Park has been appointed by Jay Inslee, the Governor of Washington State to serve as a Director on the Board of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, an innovative public-private scholarship program serving low-income college students pursuing STEM education. Ms. Park’s industry recognitions include Geekwire’s CEO of the Year, 2014 and the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40. Ms. Park holds a JD from Yale Law School and an AB in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. Ms. Park is well-qualified to serve as our Chief Executive Officer due to her extensive experience in consumer goods along with her leadership experience.
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Jennifer Carr-Smith has served as our Chief Operating Officer and President since June 2021. She is a seasoned board director who thrives in organizations undergoing rapid growth and transformation. She has a proven track record of building, scaling and transforming businesses across sectors, including: CPG, Fashion/Apparel, Food/Grocery, Retail and Ecommerce. Ms. Carr-Smith was a pioneer in Internet/ecommerce and during her 25-year career in digital retail she has built a reputation as an innovative leader who is strategic, passionate, curious and transparent. With a diversity of experience spanning early stage start-up, high growth, mid-sized and large global organizations, she has demonstrated her range and versatility leading businesses of all sizes: from $5M to $1B+ in revenue, and organizations ranging from 20 to more than 5,000 associates. Jennifer has worked across business models and possesses broad management experience across functions, including: Strategy, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, E-commerce, Analytics, Supply Chain and Customer Experience & Technology. Her strengths include: developing strategy, building & leading teams, building & scaling businesses, simplifying complexity and developing talent.
Ms. Carr-Smith is currently founder and President of JCS Advisory, LLC, an independent advisory and consulting services firm (2015-present). She currently serves as an independent director, chair of the compensation committee and as a member or the audit committee at Blue Apron, Inc. (NYSE: APRN), which operates direct-to-consumer platforms and an e-commerce market (2020-present). Ms. Carr-Smith also currently serves as a non-executive director and member of the nomination, sustainability and people performance committees at Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), a retail store operator (2019-present). In addition to her public company board service, Ms. Carr-Smith also currently serves as an independent director for venture capital-backed companies, Full Harvest Technologies, which operates a B2B marketplace connecting food and beverage companies with farms to buy surplus and imperfect produce (2020-present), and Zeal Grass Milk Creamery, a milk products company (2020-present), and as an independent director and member of the Audit, Compensation and Nomination Committees at Perdue Farms, a private food and agriculture company (2019-present). Ms. Carr-Smith has also served as Chair of the Board at Swap.com (2018-2019) and as an independent director and member of the audit and compensation committees at F&W Media (2009-2014). In addition to her board experience, between 2015 and present, Ms. Carr-Smith has also served as SVP, General Manager, North America at Groupon and as Chief Executive Officer/President at Peapod, an Ahold Delhaize company.
Angelina Smith has served as our Chief Financial Officer since September 2021. Ms. Smith is currently the founder of Conta Consulting LLC, an independent consulting services firm specializing in financial and operational processes for emerging companies. From August 2018 to September 2019, Ms. Smith served as the Chief Operating Officer of Inspo Network, Inc., a premium lifestyle content company showcasing social media influencers across beauty, fashion, fitness, food, home and life. From January 2017 through July 2017, Ms. Smith served as the Chief Financial Officer of Thrive Causemetics, Inc., an online beauty brand focused on vegan and cruelty-free skincare and makeup. From June 2015 through January 2017, Ms. Smith served as the Chief Financial Officer of glassybaby, LLC, a manufacturer and retailer of unique hand-blown glass votives. For each glassybaby purchased, the company donates a portion of the sale price to charities through its White Light Foundation. From April 2010 through November of 2014, Ms. Smith served as the Vice President of Finance of zulily, Inc., an online retailer offering special, limited time only finds at discounts from standard retail prices. Ms. Smith also served in various leadership roles at aQuantive (prior to Microsoft’s acquisition). She started her career at Deloitte, focusing on emerging technology and retail companies.
In addition to her financial leadership roles, Ms. Smith also teaches various accounting, management, and entrepreneurship classes for Central Washington University. She also serves as the Chair Emeritus of the Central Washington University Foundation. Ms. Smith holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Management, both from Central Washington University.
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Kay Koplovitz has served as a director of Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. since June 2021. Ms. Koplovitz currently serves as a director and chair of the audit committee at Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: ATHN), one of the first all women SPACs. Since March 2000, Ms. Koplovitz has served as the co-founder and chair of Springboard Enterprises, a non-profit accelerator that has trained women entrepreneurs of technology and life sciences companies to raise capital. Since April 2016, Ms. Koplovitz has served as the co-founder and managing partner of Springboard Growth Capital, an investment partnership supporting entrepreneurs and companies positioned to be market leaders. Previously, Ms. Koplovitz was the founder and former chair & chief executive officer of USA Networks, the SyFy Channel (formerly Sci-Fi Channel) and USA Networks International, a television cable network. From May 2010 to January 2021, Ms. Koplovitz served on the board of directors of ION Media Networks (“ION”), where she was a member of the ION’s compensation and audit committees. Since March 2018, Ms. Koplovitz has served on the board of directors of Veniam, a technology start-up focused on building wifi networks using moving vehicles, and has served as a member of the compensation committee of Veniam’s board. Previously, from 2008 to 2018, Ms. Koplovitz served as a director on the board of CA Technologies, where she served on the compensation and HR committee and the mergers & acquisitions committee. From April 2014 to February 2018, Ms. Koplovitz served as a director on the board of Time Inc., a media corporation (“Time”), and served on the Time’s compensation committee and governance and nominating committee. From May 1992 to May 2015, Ms. Koplovitz served on the board of Liz Claiborne, which was sold in November 2011, the name of the remaining brands in the company were rebranded to Fifth & Pacific and later became Kate Spade, where she served on the board until May 2015. During that period, she served as the non-executive chair of the company from December 2006 to May 2013. Ms. Koplovitz has also served on the boards of Oracle (1998-2002), Instinet (2002-2005), Nabisco (1994-2000) and General Re (1990-1998). In 1998, Ms. Koplovitz was appointed as Chair of the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council by President Clinton. Ms. Koplovitz received her B.S. in Communications & Biology from the University of Wisconsin and her M.S. in Communications from Michigan State University. Ms. Koplovitz is well-qualified to serve on our Board because of her extensive experience in communications and media industries.
Doris Robinson has served as a director of Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. since the effective date of the registration statement. Ms. Robinson is a growth strategist and entrepreneurial leader who leverages strategic and analytical thinking to find innovative solutions that scale businesses. The common thread throughout her career is the ability to drive growth by integrating a deep understanding of customers, mission, operations and untapped opportunities. She is lauded for creating value and leveraging talent as a strategic asset. Drawing on her varied experience in food & beverage, retail, consumer products, advertising and banking, she founded Robinson Hill in 1995, a concessions management firm specializing in retail and restaurants at airports and other non-traditional venues. She successfully turned concepts into sustainable revenues and led organization from inception to over 500 employees. Ms. Robinson has scaled operations while forging successful joint ventures and partnerships that now encompass over 60 airport restaurants and retail stores. She has worked and partnered with notable brands and companies, including Hudson Group, Ben & Jerry’s, Frontera Grill, and Lettuce Entertain You.
As CEO of Robinson Hill, Inc., Ms. Robinson deploys, allocates and manages revenues and assets while building necessary capacity vis-a-vis capital, talent development and training for successful market presence. Leveraging comprehensive go-to-market strategies tailored to key audiences has driven business expansion. She spearheaded multiple capital development efforts to fund growth and penetration.
Prior to her tenure at Robinson Hill, Ms. Robinson worked as an Associate Product Director with Johnson & Johnson and subsequently with Leo Burnett. Prior to this, she worked as a commercial loan officer with AmeriTrust Bank and financial analyst with Northern Trust.
Ms. Robinson serves as a director for Accel Entertainment (NYSE: ACEL) (Nominating/Governance and Compliance committees), one of the leading terminal operators of slot machines and amusement equipment; and Wintrust Bank, N.A. (Audit and Risk), the largest commercial chapter bank of Wintrust Financial (Nasdaq: WTFC). She is chairwoman of PGA WORKS and trustee of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America; serves on the executive committee of C200; and the advisory board of Women Business Collaborative. Previous board experience includes the Illinois Gaming Board, Meridian Health Care, La Rabida Children’s Hospital and Fetzer Institute. Since 2020, Ms. Robinson also serves as Principal at Disruption Global, a firm specializing in innovative strategies, training and metrics to win at diversity and inclusion. Ms. Robinson has been recognized as a HistoryMaker, Chicago United Business Leader of Color, Private Company Director Magazine’s Director to Watch, WomenInc.’s 2019 Most Influential Corporate Director and Diversity MBA Magazine’s Top 100 Women of Influence. Recently, she received the National Civic Award. Her memberships include Women Corporate Directors, The Chicago Network and the Chicago Economics Club.
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Ms. Robinson earned an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business Building a High Performing Business Executive Education Program. Ms. Robinson is well-qualified to serve on our Board because of her extensive experience in consumer products along with her entrepreneurial experience.
Sarah Kauss has served as a director of Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. since January 3, 2022. Ms. Kauss has also served as an advisor with Avignon Partners, an advisory and consulting services firm, since March 2022. Ms. Kauss is the Founder of S’well, a reusable, insulated products manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer, and served as its Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman from 2010 until March 2022. Previously, Ms. Kauss worked as a CPA for Ernst & Young. Ms. Kauss is a consumer products leader with a track record in launching companies, building multi-million dollar successful brands, and assembling high performance senior leadership teams. Ms. Kauss is a successful global entrepreneur, product design expert and has deep experience in partnering with multinational corporations to become more sustainable and meet environmental goals. Ms. Kauss received a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Colorado Boulder and a MBA from Harvard Business School. Ms. Kauss is well-qualified to serve on our Board because of her extensive entrepreneurial experience and experience in consumer goods.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our Board consists of five members and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE American corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our initial listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Doris Robinson, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Kay Koplovitz and Sarah Kauss, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Isabelle Freidheim and Jane Park, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
Our officers are appointed by the Board and serve at the discretion of the Board, rather than for specific terms of office. Our Board is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our Board has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE American and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE American require that the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that has been approved by our board and has the composition and responsibilities described below.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the Board. Kay Koplovitz, Doris Robinson and Sarah Kauss serve as members of our audit committee, and Kay Koplovitz chairs the audit committee. Under the NYSE American listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent and the audit committee must have at least three members. Each of Kay Koplovitz, Doris Robinson and Sarah Kauss meet the independent director standard under the NYSE American listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our Board has determined that Kay Koplovitz qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
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We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details 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 registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; | |
| ● | reviewing the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm 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 registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; | |
| ● | reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; | |
| ● | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ● | 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 registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the independent registered public accounting 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; |
| ● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, 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 registered public accounting firm, 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
We have established a compensation committee of the Board. Doris Robinson and Kay Koplovitz serve as members of our compensation committee. Doris Robinson chairs the compensation committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| ● | reviewing and making recommendations to our Board with respect to (or approving, if such authority is so delegated by our Board) 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. |
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to our Sponsor of $10,000 per month, until the earlier of the consummation of our business combination or our liquidation, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, 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 also provides 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 the NYSE American and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee. The members of our nominating and corporate governance are Kay Koplovitz and Doris Robinson. Kay Koplovitz serves as chairperson of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
The primary purposes of our nominating and corporate governance committee are to assist the board in:
| ● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors and recommending to the Board candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of stockholders or to fill vacancies on the Board; |
| ● | developing, recommending to the Board and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the Board, 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 nominating and corporate governance committee is governed by a charter that complies with the rules of the NYSE American.
Director Nominations
Our nominating and corporate governance committee will recommend to the Board candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of the stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, the Board will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by holders of our founder shares during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at an annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders).
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 considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement. You are 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 will be provided without charge upon request from us. 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 NYSE rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K 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
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
| ● | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
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| ● | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
| ● | it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
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 pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity (including Athena Technology Acquisition Corp.). 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 (including Athena Technology Acquisition Corp.), he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
| Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
| Isabelle Freidheim | Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II | Fintech, deep tech and health-tech | Chairperson of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | |||
| The Good for Growth Company | Technology, environmental sustainability | Director | ||||
| Jane Park | TokkiWrap LLC | Gifting technology company | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | |||
| Jennifer Carr-Smith | JCS Advisory, LLC | Advisory and Consulting Services | Founder and President | |||
| Blue Apron, Inc. | Direct-to-consumer platforms and e-commerce market | Director | ||||
| Woolworths Group Ltd | Retail store operator | Non-Executive Director | ||||
| Full Harvest Technologies | B2B marketplace | Director | ||||
| Zeal Grass Milk Creamery | Milk products | Director | ||||
| Perdue Farms | Food and agriculture | Director | ||||
| Kay Koplovitz | Springboard Enterprises | Non-profit Accelerator | Co-Founder and Chair | |||
| Springboard Growth Capital | Investment | Co-Founder and Managing Partner | ||||
| Veniam | Network Technology | Director | ||||
| Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. | Technology, direct to consumer and fintech | Director | ||||
| Angelina Smith | Conta Consulting LLC | Consulting Services (financial and operational processes) | Founder | |||
| Central Washington University Foundation | Foundation | Chair | ||||
| Doris Robinson | Robinson Hill, Inc. | Restaurant and retail concessions management | Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer | |||
| Accel Entertainment | Distributed gaming operator | Director | ||||
| Wintrust Bank, N.A. | Commercial Banking | Director | ||||
| C200 | Global organization for women business leaders | Executive Committee | ||||
| PGA REACH | Charitable Foundation | Trustee and Director | ||||
| PGA WORKS | Strategic initiative funded by PGA REACH | Chair | ||||
| Women Business Collaborative | Alliance of business women’s organizations | Advisory Director | ||||
| Sarah Kauss | Avignon Partners | Advisory and Consulting Services | Advisor |
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an business combination target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private placement shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote any founder shares and private placement shares they hold 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
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.
We have entered into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also will permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We have purchased 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. Except with respect to any public shares they may acquire in the IPO or thereafter (in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination), our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account, and not to seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever, including with respect to such indemnification.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
None of our directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities were first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay our Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. In addition, our Sponsor, executive 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, executive 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 executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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After the completion of our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the Board for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our Board.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 30, 2023 by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
| ● | each of our executive officers and directors; and |
| ● | all our executive 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 common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Form 10-K.
The beneficial ownership of our common stock is based on 11,158,936 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022, consisting of 3,108,936 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding and 8,050,000 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding.
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class A Common Stock | Number of Shares of Class B Common Stock Beneficially Owned(2) | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class B Common Stock | ||||||||||||
| Athena Consumer Acquisition Sponsor LLC(3) | 1,060,000 | 34.10 | % | 8,050,000 | 100 | % | ||||||||||
| Isabelle Freidheim(3) | 1,060,000 | 34.10 | % | 8,050,000 | 100 | % | ||||||||||
| Jane Park | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Jennifer Carr-Smith | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Kay Koplovitz | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Doris Robinson | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Angelina Smith | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Sarah Kauss | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| All executive officers and directors as a group (seven individuals) | 1,060,000 | 34.10 | % | 8,050,000 | 100 | % | ||||||||||
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 442 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10018. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist of founder shares, classified as Class B common stock, and private placement shares after the IPO. Such shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
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| (3) | Athena Consumer Acquisition Sponsor LLC, our Sponsor, is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Isabelle Freidheim is the managing member of our Sponsor, and as such has voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held of record by our Sponsor. By virtue of these relationship, Isabelle Freidheim may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the securities held of record by our Sponsor. Ms. Freidheim disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest she may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner | Number of Shares of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class A Common Stock | ||||||
| Five Percent Holders | ||||||||
| Shaolin Capital Management LLC(1) | 198,000 | 6.37 | % | |||||
| Moore Capital Management, LP(2) | 300,000 | 9.65 | % | |||||
| AQR Capital Management, LLC(3) | 197,930 | 6.37 | % | |||||
| Castle Creek Arbitrage, LLC(4) | 200,000 | 6.43 | % | |||||
| CC Arb West, LLC(4) | 184,000 | 5.92 | % | |||||
| (1) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023 on behalf of Shaolin Capital Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, the address of the business office of such reporting person is 230 NW 24th Street, Suite 603, Miami, FL 33127. |
| (2) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023 on behalf of Moore Capital Management, LP, a Delaware limited partnership, MMF LT, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Moore Global Investments, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Moore Capital Advisors, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company, and Louis M. Bacon, a United States citizen, the address of the business office of such reporting persons is 11 Times Square, 39th Floor, New York, NY 10036. |
| (3) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023 on behalf of AQR Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and AQR Arbitrage, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, the address of the business office of such reporting persons is One Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830. |
| (4) | According to a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 13, 2023 on behalf of Castle Creek Arbitrage, LLC (“Castle Creek”), a Delaware limited liability company, Mr. Allan Weine, a United States citizen and the principal beneficial owner of Castle Creek, CC ARB West, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and CC Arbitrage, Ltd., a Cayman Island company, the address of the business office of such reporting persons is 111 W. Beaver Creek Blvd., PO Box 3500, Avon, CO 81620. |
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Founder Shares
On June 29, 2021, the Sponsor paid certain costs totaling $25,000 on behalf of the Company as consideration for 5,900,000 shares of Class B common stock, and on September 23, 2021, the Company effected a 1.36440678 for 1 stock split of its common stock, so that the Sponsor owns an aggregate of 8,050,000 founder shares. The Sponsor paid approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares. The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the Company’s initial business combination and are subject to certain transfer restrictions. Holders of founder shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment, at any time. The Sponsor agreed to forfeit up to 1,050,000 founder shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Sponsor would own, on an as-converted basis, 25.07% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares (including the private placement shares) after the IPO. In connection with the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option on October 22, 2021, the 1,050,000 shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, resulting in the Sponsor holding 8,050,000 founder shares.
The initial stockholders agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial business combination or (B) subsequent to the initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial business combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
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Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we will repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to us. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a business combination does not close, we 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, and with the exception of the Notes (as defined below), the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units of the post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
In connection with the Sponsor’s Contribution for the first Extension, on January 17, 2023, we issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor with a principal amount equal to $676,148.88 (the “Extension Note”). On the same date, in connection with advances the Sponsor may make to us in the future for working capital expenses in connection with our initial business combination, we issued a separate unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor in the principal amount of up to $400,000.00 (the “Working Capital Note”, together with the Extension Note, the “Notes”). Both Notes bear no interest and are repayable in full upon the earlier of (a) the date of the consummation of our initial business combination, or (b) the date of our liquidation. If we do not consummate an initial business combination by the Deadline Date, the Notes will be repaid only from funds held outside of the Trust Account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. Notwithstanding the foregoing, under both Notes, following the closing of our initial business combination, the Sponsor may elect to convert all or any portion of the unpaid principal balance of the Note into units of the post-business combination entity at $10.00 per unit (the “Conversion Units”), with each unit being identical to the private placement units sold to the Sponsor in connection with our IPO. The Conversion Units and their underlying securities are entitled to the registration rights set forth in the Notes.
Sponsor Letter Agreement in connection with e.GO Business Combination
On July 28, 2022, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, Athena, the Sponsor, e.GO, TopCo and Athena Insiders entered into a Sponsor Letter Agreement, pursuant to which, among other things, the Sponsor and Athena Insiders to (i) vote all of its, his or her shares of Athena common stock to approve and adopt the Business Combination Agreement and the Business Combination, (ii) waive its, his or her redemption rights with respect to its, his or her shares of Athena common stock in connection with the e.GO Business Combination, (iii) not transfer any of its, his or her shares of Athena common stock until the Closing or termination of the Business Combination Agreement (except in limited circumstances), (iv) not transfer any of its, his or her TopCo Ordinary Shares until the date that is 180 days after the Closing (except in limited circumstances), (v) waive any adjustment to the conversion ratio set forth in Athena’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation or any other anti-dilution or similar protection with respect to the shares of Athena Class B common stock held by the Sponsor or Athena Insiders, in each case, subject to the terms and conditions contemplated by the Sponsor Letter Agreement.
On September 29, 2022, Athena and e.GO entered into an amendment to that certain Sponsor Letter Agreement, by and between Athena and e.GO, Athena Consumer Acquisition Sponsor LLC, TopCo and the Athena Insiders, dated as of July 28, 2022, pursuant to which, among other things, the parties agreed to amend the Sponsor Letter Agreement so that 75%, rather than all, of the ordinary shares, nominal value of €0.12 per share, of TopCo to be issued to the Sponsor in connection with the Business Combination will be subject to the lock-up restrictions set forth in the Sponsor Letter Agreement.
In connection with the e.Go Business Combination, we also expect to enter into the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement in connection with the closing of the Share Acquisition.
68
Administrative Services Agreement
We entered into an agreement with the Sponsor whereby, commencing on October 20, 2021 through the earlier of the consummation of a business combination and our liquidation, we agreed to pay the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company incurred $150,000 of administrative services under this arrangement.
Director Independence
The NYSE American listing standards require that a majority of our Board be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an executive 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, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. We have three “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE American listing standards and applicable SEC rules.
Our Board has determined that each of Kay Koplovitz, Doris Robinson and Sarah Kauss is an “independent director” under applicable SEC and NYSE rules.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, fees were approximately $82,700 and $93,875, respectively, for the services Withum performed in connection with our IPO, review of the financial information included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the respective periods and the audit of our December 31, 2022 and 2021 financial statements included in this Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, Withum did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
Tax Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, there were no fees for services rendered to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning by Withum.
All Other Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, fees were approximately $208,000 and $0, respectively, for services related to other services and permitted due diligence services related to potential business combination.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed in connection with the effectiveness of our registration statement for our IPO. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our Board. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
69
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K:
| (a) | Financial Statements: See “Index to Financial Statements” at “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | Financial Statement Schedules: All schedules are omitted for the reason that the information is included in the financial statements or the notes thereto or that they are not required or are not applicable. |
| (c) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index below are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Form 10-K. |
70
Exhibit Index
71
| * | Filed herewith. |
72
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Date: March 30, 2023 | ATHENA CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: | /s/ Jane Park | ||
| Name: | Jane Park | ||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Jane Park and Angelina Smith, and each or any one of them, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, 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 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or his or her substitutes or substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| /s/ Jane Park | Chief Executive Officer and Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Jane Park | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Angelina Smith | Chief Financial Officer | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Angelina Smith | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Jennifer Carr-Smith | Chief Operating Officer and President | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Jennifer Carr-Smith | ||||
| /s/ Isabelle Freidheim | Chairperson of the Board of Directors | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Isabelle Freidheim | ||||
| /s/ Kay Koplovitz | Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Kay Koplovitz | ||||
| /s/ Doris Robinson | Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Doris Robinson | ||||
| /s/ Sarah Kauss | Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
| Sarah Kauss |
73
Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp
TABLE OF CONTENTS
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 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 December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination by April 22, 2023 (subject to extension, up to three additional times, each by one month for a total of up to 3 additional months or up to July 22, 2023) then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits 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 audits 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 audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
New York, New York
March 30, 2023
PCAOB ID Number 100
F-2
ATHENA CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | ||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses - non current | ||||||||
| Deferred tax asset | ||||||||
| Cash and Investments held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES, COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
| Income tax payable | ||||||||
| Franchise tax payable | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||
| Derivative liability – Forward Purchase Agreement | ||||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | ||||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | ||||||||
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | ||||||||
| COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION | ||||||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, $ | ||||||||
| STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
| Preferred stock, $ | ||||||||
| Class A common stock; $ | ||||||||
| Class B common stock; $ | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES, COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | $ | $ | ||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
ATHENA CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| Year Ended December 31, | For the from | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| OPERATING EXPENSES | ||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | $ | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | ||||||||
| OTHER INCOME | ||||||||
| Income on cash and investments held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Other income | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of derivative liability – Forward Purchase Agreement | ( | ) | ||||||
| Total other income, net | ||||||||
| LOSS BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Benefit from (provision for) income taxes | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A common stock | ||||||||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B common stock | ||||||||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
ATHENA CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND THE PERIOD FROM JUNE 4, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Common stock | Additional | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | paid-in | Accumulated | stockholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, June 04, 2021 (inception) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock to initial stockholders | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of private placement warrants | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from Initial Public Offering Costs allocated to Public Warrants (net of offering costs) | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion for redeemable Class A common stock to redemption value | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, December 31, 2021 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Remeasurement of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial value of Derivative Liability – Forward Purchase Agreement | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance, December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
ATHENA CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the Period from June 4, 2021 (Inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
| Income on cash and investments held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Deferred tax asset | ( | ) | ||||||
| Change in fair value of derivative liability – Forward Purchase Agreement | ||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | ( | ) | ||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | ||||||||
| Income tax and franchise tax payable | ||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| Cash deposited to Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash withdrawn from trust in connection with redemption | ||||||||
| Withdrawal from Trust Account for payment of taxes | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | ( | ) | ||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| Proceeds from initial public offering, net of underwriters’ discount | ||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | ||||||||
| Proceeds from private placement | ||||||||
| Redemptions of Class A common stock | ( | ) | ||||||
| Payment of offering costs | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ( | ) | ||||||
| NET CHANGE IN CASH | ( | ) | ||||||
| CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD | ||||||||
| CASH, END OF PERIOD | $ | $ | ||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities: | ||||||||
| Deferred underwriting commissions payable charged to additional paid-in capital | $ | $ | ||||||
| Initial value of derivative liability – Forward Purchase Agreement | $ | |||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
ATHENA CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on June 4, 2021. The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. 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 December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2022, relates to the Company’s formation and Initial Public Offering (“IPO”), which is described below and, since the offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income earned on investments from the proceeds derived from the IPO.
The registration statement for the
Company’s IPO was declared effective on October 19, 2021. On October 22, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO and overallotment
option of
Simultaneously with the closing of
the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of
Offering costs for the IPO and the
exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option amounted to $
Following the closing of the IPO and
exercise of the over-allotment, $
The Company’s management has
broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units,
although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There
is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial
Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least
F-7
The Company will provide the holders
of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public
Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business
Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination
or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro
rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $
All of the Public Shares contain a
redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there
is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Company’s Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments
to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”)
480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require Class A common stock subject to redemption to be
classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the Public Shares will be issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., public
warrants), the initial carrying value of Class A common stock classified as temporary equity will be the allocated proceeds determined
in accordance with ASC 470-20. The Class A common stock are subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will
become redeemable, the Company has the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance
(or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the
instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument
to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company has elected to recognize the changes immediately. While
redemptions cannot cause the Company’s net tangible assets to fall below $
Redemptions of the Company’s Public Shares may be subject to the satisfaction of conditions, including minimum cash conditions, pursuant to an agreement relating to the Company’s Business Combination. If the Company seeks stockholder approval of the Business Combination, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination, or such other vote as required by law or stock exchange rule. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Certificate of Incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder 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 stockholder 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 IPO in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
Certificate of Incorporation provides that a Public Stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with
whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the 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
The Company’s Sponsor, officers
and directors (the “Initial Stockholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation that
would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem
F-8
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by April 22, 2023, 18 months from the closing of the IPO (“Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay the Company’s franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
On December 16, 2022,
On December 21, 2022, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”). At the Special Meeting, the Company’s stockholders approved a proposal to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the proposed amendment, the “Charter Amendment”) to provide the Company with the right to extend the date (the “Deadline Date”) by which the Company must consummate a Business Combination up to six times for an additional one month each time, from January 22, 2023 (the date which is 15 months from the closing date of the IPO) to up to July 22, 2023 (the date which is 21 months from the closing date of the IPO) (the “Extension Amendment Proposal”).
The Initial Stockholders have agreed
to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the
Combination Period. However, if the Initial Stockholders should acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating
distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within
the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to its deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in
the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, and, in such event,
such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public
Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution
(including Trust Account assets) will be only $
F-9
Risks and Uncertainties
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) as a pandemic which continues to spread throughout the United States and the world. As of the date the financial statements were issued, there was considerable uncertainty around the expected duration of this pandemic. Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Company has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that COVID-19 could have a negative effect on completing the IPO and subsequently identifying a target company for a Business Combination, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further, the impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy is not determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements.
On August 16, 2022, President Biden
signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”), which, among other things, generally imposes a
Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the Excise Tax on a redemption of shares of Class A common stock or other stock issued by the Company would depend on a number of factors, including (i) whether the redemption is treated as a repurchase of stock for purposes of the Excise Tax, (ii) the fair market value of the redemption treated as a repurchase of stock in connection with the initial Business Combination, an extension or otherwise, (iii) the structure of the initial Business Combination, (iv) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances (whether in connection with the initial Business Combination or otherwise) issued within the same taxable year of a redemption treated as a repurchase of stock and (v) the content of forthcoming regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. As noted above, the Excise Tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming holder, and only limited guidance on the mechanics of any required reporting and payment of the Excise Tax on which taxpayers may rely have been issued to date. The imposition of the Excise Tax could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete the initial Business Combination or for effecting redemptions and may affect the Company’s ability to complete the initial Business Combination, fund future operations or make distributions to stockholders. In addition, the Excise Tax could cause a reduction in the per share amount payable to the public stockholders in the event the Company liquidates the Trust Account due to a failure to complete the initial Business Combination within the requisite timeframe.
F-10
Going Concern and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2022, the Company
had $
Until the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the Trust Account for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination. The Company will need to raise additional capital through loans or additional investments from its Sponsor, stockholders, officers, directors, or third parties. The Company’s officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet the Company’s working capital needs. Accordingly, the Company may not be able to obtain additional financing.
If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of a potential transaction, and reducing overhead expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recovery of the recorded assets or the classification of the liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until April 22, 2023 to consummate the proposed Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate the proposed Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution and liquidity condition, raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after April 22, 2023. The Company intends to complete the proposed Business Combination before the mandatory liquidation date. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to consummate any Business Combination by April 22, 2023.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an emerging growth company as defined in Section 102(b)(1) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), which exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an 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.
F-11
This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. 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. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term
investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had $
Cash and Investments Held in Trust Account
The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account is comprised of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities and generally have a readily determinable fair value, or a combination thereof. When the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are comprised of U.S. government securities, the investments are classified as trading securities. When the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are comprised of money market funds, the investments are recognized at fair value. Trading securities and investments in money market funds are presented on the balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities are included in income on investments held in Trust Account in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company
had $
Offering Costs associated with the Initial Public Offering
Offering costs consist principally
of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs directly related to the IPO. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial
instruments issued in the IPO based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Total offering cost amounted
to $
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject
the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $
F-12
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”), which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties for December 31. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Current income taxes are based on the year’s income taxable for federal and state income tax reporting purposes. Total tax provision may differ from the statutory tax rates applied to income before provision for income taxes due principally to expenses charged which are not tax deductible.
Derivative Liabilities
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815-15. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period. The Company has determined forward purchase agreements are derivative instruments.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible
redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common
stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally
redeemable Class A common stock (including Class A common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of
the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified
as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A
common stock sold in the IPO and over-allotment features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s
control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2022 and 2021,
Under ASC 480-10-S99, the Company has elected to recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying value of the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for the security. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit.
F-13
Immediately upon the closing of the IPO and over-allotment, the Company recognized the accretion from the initial book value to redemption amount value. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date of the security. Immediately upon the closing of the IPO, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable shares of Class A common stock resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption reflected on the balance sheets are reconciled on the following table:
| Gross proceeds | $ | |||
| Less: | ||||
| Fair value of Public Warrants at issuance | ( | ) | ||
| Class A shares issuance costs | ( | ) | ||
| Plus: | ||||
| Add: Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption at December 31, 2021 | ||||
| Add: Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
| Less: Redemption of common stock subject to possible redemption | ( | ) | ||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ |
Net Loss Per Common Share
The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. On December 31, 2022, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into shares of common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per common share is the same as basic loss per common share for the period presented. The table below presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net loss per share for each class of stock.
| Year Ended December 31, 2022 |
For the Period from June 4, 2021 (Inception) Through December 31, 2021 |
|||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per common share | ||||||||||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||||||||||
| Allocation of net loss, as adjusted | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | ||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding | ||||||||||||||||
| $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||||
Accounting for Warrants
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the instruments’ specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the instruments are free standing financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the instruments meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the instruments are indexed to the Company’s own common shares and whether the instrument holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, was conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent period end date while the instruments are outstanding. Management has concluded that the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants (defined below) issued pursuant to the warrant agreements qualify for equity accounting treatment.
F-14
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Franchise Taxes
The Company is subject to a franchise
tax administered by the Delaware Division of Corporations. The Company estimates its franchise tax liability for the year ended December
31, 2022, to be $
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING AND OVER-ALLOTMENT
Pursuant to the IPO, and including
the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, the Company sold
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
On October 22, 2021, simultaneously
with the consummation of the IPO and the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, the Company consummated the issuance
and sale (“Private Placement”) of
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On June 4, 2021, the Sponsor was issued
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Subject to limited exceptions, each holder of Founder Shares has agreed that, during the period from July 28, 2022 through the earlier to occur of (the “Termination Date”) (a) the closing of the e.GO Business Combination (as such term is defined in Note 6) (the “Closing”), (b) such date and time as the Business Combination Agreement (as such term is defined in Note 6) is validly terminated in accordance with its terms and (c) the mutual written agreement of the parties to that certain Sponsor Letter Agreement (as such term is defined in Note 6), except as contemplated by such Sponsor Letter Agreement and the Business Combination Agreement, it shall not, and shall cause its affiliates not to, without the prior written consent of e.GO and the Company (which consent may be given or withheld by e.GO and the Company in their sole discretion), (i) offer for sale, sell (including short sales), transfer, tender, pledge, convert, encumber, assign or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly (including by gift, merger, tendering into any tender offer or exchange offer or otherwise) (collectively, a “Transfer”), or enter into any contract, option, derivative, hedging or other agreement or arrangement or understanding (including any profit-sharing arrangement) with respect to, or consent to, a Transfer of, any or all of its Founder Shares; (ii) grant any proxies or powers of attorney with respect to any or all of its Founder Shares held by it (except in connection with voting by proxy at a meeting of shareholders of the Company); or (iii) permit to exist any mortgage, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, lien, license or sub-license, charge or other similar encumbrance or interest (including, in the case of any equity securities, any voting, transfer or similar restrictions) (a “Lien”) with respect to any or all of its Founder Shares, other than those created by the Sponsor Letter Agreement; provided that any Lien with respect to the Founder Shares that would not prevent, impair or delay its ability to comply with the terms and conditions of the Sponsor Letter Agreement shall be permitted and will not be deemed to violate the restrictions contained above.
Additionally, subject to limited exceptions,
each holder of Founder Shares has agreed that for a period from the Closing through the date that is 180 days thereafter, it shall not,
and shall cause its affiliates not to, Transfer, or enter into any contract, option, derivative, hedging or other agreement or arrangement
or understanding (including any profit-sharing arrangement) with respect to, or consent to, a Transfer of, any or all of its TopCo Covered
Shares. “TopCo Covered Shares” means (i) with respect to the Sponsor,
Related Party Loans
On June 4, 2021, the Sponsor agreed
to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $
In addition, in order to finance transaction
costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers
and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company
completes a Business Combination, the Company will repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to
the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that
a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital
Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms
of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working
Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion,
up to $
Support Services
The Company intends to pay an entity
affiliated with the Sponsor a fee of approximately $
F-16
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Units and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, will be entitled to registration rights (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares to shares of Class A common stock) pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed on or before the date of the prospectus for the IPO. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters
a 45-day option from the final prospectus relating to the IPO to purchase up to
The underwriters were paid a cash underwriting
discount of $
On December 8, 2022, Citi, as representative
of the underwriters, agreed to formally waive the deferred underwriting commissions of $
Business Combination Agreement
On July 28, 2022, the Company entered
into a Business Combination Agreement (as amended by that certain first amendment to the Business Combination Agreement on September 29,
2022, and as it may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Business Combination Agreement”),
by and among the Company, Next.e.GO Mobile SE, a German company (“e.GO”), Next.e.GO B.V., a Dutch private limited liability
company and a wholly owned subsidiary of e.GO (“TopCo”), and Time is Now Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly
owned subsidiary of TopCo (“Merger Sub”), for the Company’s initial Business Combination (the “e.GO Business Combination”).
Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, among other things, (i) TopCo will issue to the e.GO’s equity securities (the “e.GO
Shareholders”) and convertible loan lenders of e.GO (the “Lenders”) an aggregate of up to
F-17
Sponsor Letter Agreement
On July 28, 2022, the Company, the
Sponsor, e.GO, TopCo and certain of the Company’s officers and directors (the “Athena Insiders”) entered into a Sponsor
Letter Agreement, which was amended on September 29, 2022 (as it may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time
to time, the “Sponsor Letter Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, the Sponsor and the Athena Insiders have
agreed to (i) vote all of its, his or her shares of the Company’s Class A common stock to approve and adopt the Business Combination
Agreement and the e.GO Business Combination, (ii) waive its, his or her redemption rights with respect to its, his or her shares of the
Company’s Class A common stock in connection with the e.GO Business Combination, (iii) not transfer any of its, his or her shares
of the Company’s Class A common stock until the Closing or termination of the Business Combination Agreement (except in limited
circumstances), (iv) not transfer (a) with respect to the Sponsor,
Pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement,
TopCo will indemnify the Sponsor from and against certain liabilities relating to the e.GO Business Combination for a period of six years
after the Closing and subject to an aggregate maximum indemnity of $
Forward Purchase Agreement
On September 29, 2022, the Company, TopCo, e.GO and Vellar Opportunity Fund SPV LLC – Series 3 (“Vellar”) entered into a Forward Purchase Agreement (the “Forward Purchase Agreement”) for an OTC equity prepaid share forward transaction (the “Forward Purchase Transaction”). Vellar had agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to any shares of the Company and shares of TopCo following the Closing of the e.GO Business Combination (collectively, the “Shares”) in connection with the e.GO Business Combination.
Pursuant to the terms of the Forward
Purchase Agreement, Vellar intended, but was not obligated, to purchase through a broker in the open market from Public Stockholders who
have redeemed or indicated an intention to redeem, or from the Company, up to an aggregate amount of
On March 3, 2023, the Forward Purchase Agreement was terminated.
F-18
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Class A Common Stock —
The Company is authorized to issue
Pursuant to the e.GO Business Combination, if approved by the Company’s stockholders, at Closing, each issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Class A common stock will be automatically cancelled and extinguished and converted into one share the Surviving Company Common Stock.
Class B Common Stock —
The Company is authorized to issue
Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of stockholders except as required by law.
The Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the IPO and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, approximately 26.0% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the IPO plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to the Sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to the Company). Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time.
Pursuant to the e.GO Business Combination,
if approved by the Company’s stockholders, at Closing, each issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock will be automatically
cancelled and extinguished and converted into a number of shares of Surviving Company Common Stock calculated as the sum of (x) one plus
(y) the lower of (a) the total amount funded under the Bridge Financing divided by $
Preferred Stock —
The Company is authorized to issue
Warrants —
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company has
F-19
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of common stock pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock underlying the Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No Warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company 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 is available.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its best efforts to file, and within 60 business days following a Business Combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the offer and sale of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants. The Company will use its best 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 of the Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreements. No Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the offer and sale of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of common stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the offer and sale of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of a Business Combination, Warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise Warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their Warrants on a cashless basis.
Once the Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Warrants:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $0.01 per Warrant; |
| ● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, to each Warrant holder; and |
| ● | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the shares of common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share consolidations, share capitalizations, rights issuances, 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 the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Warrant holders. |
If and when the Warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may not exercise its redemption right if the issuance of shares upon exercise of the Warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or the Company is unable to effect such registration or qualification.
If the Company calls the Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the Public Warrant agreement and Private Warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such Warrants. Accordingly, the Warrants may expire worthless.
F-20
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of common stock (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 the Company’s initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of such initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s shares of common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its 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 greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the IPO, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of common stock 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 at the election of the holder on a “cashless basis”.
Neither the Private Placement Warrants nor the Public Warrants contain any provision that change dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the Warrant.
NOTE 8. INCOME TAXES
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Deferred tax assets | ||||||||
| Net operating loss carryforward | $ | $ | ||||||
| Startup Costs | ||||||||
| Total deferred tax assets | ||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Deferred tax assets, net of allowance | $ | $ | ||||||
The income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 consists of the following:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Federal | ||||||||
| Current | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| State | ||||||||
| Current | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred | ||||||||
| Change in valuation allowance | ||||||||
| Income tax provision | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021,
the Company had a total of $
F-21
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, the Company
considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization
of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing
net future deductible amounts become deductible. The Company considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future
taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, the Company
believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established
a full valuation allowance. For the period from June 4, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the change in the valuation allowance
was $
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Statutory federal income tax rate | % | % | ||||||
| Transaction costs warrants | % | % | ||||||
| Change in fair value of warrants | ( | )% | % | |||||
| Change in valuation allowance | ( | )% | ( | )% | ||||
| Income tax provision | ( | )% | % | |||||
The Company’s effective tax rates for the periods presented differ from the expected (statutory) rates due to changes in fair value in warrants, transaction costs associated with warrants and the recording of full valuation allowances on deferred tax assets.
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction in various state and local jurisdictions and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities.
NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
| Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. |
| Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. |
| Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
At December 31, 2022 the assets held in the Trust Account were held in an operating bank account. At December 31, 2021, the assets held in the Trust Account were held in treasury funds. As of December 31, 2022 the Company’s cash and investments held in the Trust account were classified as cash. At December 31, 2021, the Company’s cash and investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities.
F-22
The following tables present information about the Company’s liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2022 and 2021 and indicate the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Quoted Prices in | Significant Other | Significant Other | ||||||||||||||
| Active Markets | Observable Inputs | Unobservable Inputs | ||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2022 | Level | (Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | ||||||||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||||||||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||
| Derivative liability – Forward Purchase Agreement | 3 | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Quoted Prices in | Significant Other | Significant Other | ||||||||||||||
| Active Markets | Observable Inputs | Unobservable Inputs | ||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2021 | Level | (Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | ||||||||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury Securities | 1 | $ | ||||||||||||||
The Company utilizes a Put Model Option to value its forward purchase agreement at each reporting period, with changes in fair value recognized in the statements of operations. The estimated fair value of the forward purchase agreement liabilities is determined using Level 3 inputs. Inherent in put options pricing model are assumptions related to expected share-price volatility, expected life and risk-free interest rate. The Company estimates the volatility of its ordinary shares based on historical volatility that matches the expected remaining life of the forward purchase agreement. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the forward purchase agreement. The expected life of the forward purchase agreement is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term.
For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no transfers between Levels 1, 2 or 3.
The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements:
| September 29, 2022 | December 31, 2022 | |||||||
| Risk-free interest rate | % | % | ||||||
| Term | ||||||||
| Expected volatility | % | % | ||||||
| Exercise price | $ | $ | ||||||
| Stock Price | $ | $ | ||||||
| Probability of transaction | % | % | ||||||
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of Forward Purchase Agreement:
| Forward | ||||
| Purchase | ||||
| Agreement | ||||
| Fair value as of September 29, 2022 | $ | |||
| Change in valuation inputs or other assumptions | ||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2022 | ||||
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NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheets date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than stated below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On January 17, 2023, the Company issued
an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor with a principal amount equal to $
On January 17, 2023, the Board determined
to implement a first Extension and to extend the Deadline Date for an additional month to February 22, 2023. On the same date, in connection
with the Extension and pursuant to the Extension Note, the Board delivered to the Sponsor a written request to draw down $
On January 24, 2023, the Company issued
a press release announcing that on January 23, 2023, the Sponsor deposited $
On January 30, 2023, the Company received
notifications via phone calls from the staff of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) that it has determined that the Company
was not in compliance with the requirements of Section 802.01B of the NYSE Listed Company Manual (the “LCM”), which requires
a listed acquisition company to maintain an average aggregate global market capitalization attributable to its publicly held shares (a
“public float”) over a consecutive 30 trading day period of at least $
On February 9, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing that it will transfer its listing to the NYSE American. The Company received written confirmation that it has been cleared to file an initial listing application with the NYSE American on February 6, 2023, and received the final approval for listing from the staff of the NYSE American on February 9, 2023. Following the transfer of its listing, the Company intends to continue to file the same periodic reports and other information it currently files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On February 14, 2023, the Company voluntarily delisted its securities from the NYSE and the Company’s securities commenced trading on the NYSE American under the same symbols.
On February 17, 2023, pursuant to the
Charter, the Board determined to implement a second Extension to allow additional time for the Company to complete its initial business
combination. In connection with the second Extension and pursuant to the Extension Note, the Board delivered to the Sponsor a written
request to draw down $
On February 20, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing that its Board has elected to extend the Deadline Date from February 22, 2023 for an additional month to March 22, 2023, the second of six potential one-month extensions of the Deadline Date available to the Company.
On March 20, 2023, the Board determined
to implement a third Extension to allow additional time for the Company to complete its initial business combination. In connection with
the third Extension and pursuant to the Extension Note, the Board delivered to the Sponsor a written request to draw down $
On March 22, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing that its Board has elected to extend the Deadline Date from March 22, 2023 for an additional month to April 22, 2023, the third of six potential one-month extensions of the Deadline Date available to the Company.
F-24