UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31 , 2021
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Commission File Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
| |
||
(Address of principal executive offices) |
(Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (310 )
991-4982
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class: |
Trading Symbol: |
Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: | ||
one-half of one Redeemable Warrant |
||||
Class A Common Stock for $11.50 per share |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation Yes ☒ No ☐
S-T
(§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post 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 definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act. | Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer |
☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule ☒ No ☐
12b-2
of the Exchange Act). Yes Auditor Firm Id: |
Auditor Name: |
Auditor Location: |
The registrant’s units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and
one-half
of one redeemable warrant, began trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on July 28, 2021. Commencing September 20, 2021, holders of the units were permitted to elect to separately trade the Class A stock and warrants included in the units. The registrant’s securities were no t traded prior to September 30, 2021.
As of March 15, 2022,
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
CERTAIN TERMS
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form
10-K
(this “Report”), or the context otherwise requires, references to: | • | “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively; |
| • | “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders prior to our initial public offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof as provided herein; |
| • | “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering (or their permitted transferees); |
| • | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
| • | “Merger Agreement” are to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 14, 2021, by and among the Company, Nogin and Merger Sub; |
| • | “Merger Sub” are to Nuevo Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company; |
| • | “Nogin” are to Branded Online Inc. d/b/a Nogin, a Delaware corporation; |
| • | “Nogin Business Combination” are to the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement; |
| • | “Nogin Registration Statement” are to the Registration Statement on Form S-4 initially filed on February 14, 2021, as amended from time to time; |
| • | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering; |
| • | “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| • | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and members of our management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares; provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| • | “public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market), to the private placement warrants if held by third parties other than our sponsor (or permitted transferees), and to any private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers of our private placement warrants or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees); |
| • | “sponsor” are to Software Acquisition Holdings III LLC, a Delaware limited liability company affiliated with Jonathan Huberman, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Mike Nikzad, our Vice President of Acquisitions and Andrew Nikou, one of our directors; |
| • | “trust account” are to the trust account in the United States at Morgan Stanley, with Continental Stock Transfer Trust Company acting as trustee, into which we deposited certain proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants; |
ii
| • | “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchaser of the private placement warrants or its permitted transferees; and |
| • | “we,” “us,” “our,” “company,” “our company” or “SWAG” are to Software Acquisition Group Inc. III. |
iii
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”). These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:
| • | our ability to complete our initial business combination, including the Nogin Business Combination; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of Nogin; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| • | our financial performance following our initial public offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurances that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. These risks and others described under “Risk Factors” may not be exhaustive.
iv
SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
The following is a summary of the principal risks described below in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
We believe that the risks described in the “Risk Factors” section are material to investors, but other factors not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also adversely affect us. The following summary should not be considered an exhaustive summary of the material risks facing us, and it should be read in conjunction with the “Risk Factors” section and the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
| • | We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| • | Past performance by our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
| • | Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| • | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed, pursuant to the letter agreement entered into with us, to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
| • | The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target. |
| • | The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares. |
| • | The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
| • | Certain of our officers and directors have or will in the future have direct and indirect economic interests in us and/or our sponsor and such interests may potentially conflict with those of our public shareholders as we evaluate and decide whether to recommend a potential business combination to our public shareholders. |
| • | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, executive officers, directors or their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants. |
v
| • | If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
| • | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| • | Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions. |
| • | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares. |
| • | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| • | If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 24 months following the closing of this the IPO, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination. |
| • | 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. |
| • | If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share. |
| • | Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders. |
| • | We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers. |
| • | If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages. |
For risks relating to Nogin and the Nogin Business Combination, please see the Nogin Registration Statement.
vi
PART I
Item 1. |
Business |
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this report as our initial business combination. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we focused our search on software companies, especially those targeting enterprise vertical sectors owned by private equity and venture capital firms as well as corporate carve-outs. We have entered into a business combination agreement. See “Nogin Business Combination” below. Our management team has had significant success sourcing, acquiring, growing and monetizing these types of companies. We believe this experience makes us well suited to identify, source, negotiate and execute an initial business combination with the ultimate goal of pursuing attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders. We are led by an experienced team of managers, operators and investors who have played important roles in helping build and grow profitable public and private businesses, both organically and through acquisitions, to create value for stockholders. Our team has experience operating and investing in a wide range of industries, bringing us a diversity of experiences as well as valuable expertise and perspective.
Company History
On January 21, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 shares of Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the Company by the number of Founder Shares issued. The number of Founder Shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the Founder Shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of our initial public offering.
The registration statement for our IPO was declared effective on July 28, 2021. On August 2, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 20,000,000 units, with each unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock and
one-half
of one redeemable warrant. Each whole public warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to us of $200,000,000. We granted the underwriters in the our initial public offering (the “Underwriters”) a 45-day
option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any. On August 4, 2021, the underwriter in our initial public offering partially exercised its over-allotment option, resulting in the offering of an additional 2,807,868 units and 982,754 private placement warrants. Following the closing of the over-allotment option, an aggregate of $231,499,860.20 has been placed in SWAG’s trust account Simultaneously with the consummation of our initial public offering, including the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option, we consummated the private placement of an aggregate of 9,982,754 Private Placement Warrants to our Sponsor at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total proceeds of $9,982,754. Of the gross proceeds received from our initial public offering and the Private Placement Warrants, $231,499,860.20 was placed into the Trust Account.
On September 22, 2021, we announced that, commencing September 20, 2021, holders of the units may elect to separately trade the shares of Class A common stock and the warrants included in the units. Those units not separated continued to trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol “SWAGU” and the shares of Class A common stock and warrants that were separated trade under the symbols “SWAG” and “SWAGW,” respectively. No fractional warrants were issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants trade.
8
Nogin Business Combination
On February 14, 2022, we entered into the Merger Agreement with Nogin. If (i) the Merger Agreement is adopted and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, are approved by SWAG’s and Nogin’s stockholders and (ii) the Merger is subsequently completed, Merger Sub will merge with and into Nogin, with Nogin surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of SWAG (the “Merger” and, along with the transactions contemplated in the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”).
As part of the Transactions, holders of Nogin’s common stock and vested options will receive aggregate consideration of approximately $566.0 million, payable in (i) the case of Nogin’s stockholders, newly issued shares of SWAG Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“SWAG Class A common stock”), with a value ascribed to each share of SWAG Class A common stock of $10.00, and, at their election, a portion of $20.0 million of consideration payable in cash and (ii) the case of Nogin’s optionholders, options of SWAG (collectively, the “merger consideration”).
Conditions to Closing
The respective obligations of the parties to consummate the Transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger, are subject to the satisfaction, or written waiver by the parties, at or prior to the closing of the Transactions (the “Closing”) of the following conditions:
| • | there must not be in effect any order prohibiting or preventing the consummation of the Transactions and no law adopted, enacted or promulgated that makes consummation of the Transactions illegal or otherwise prohibited; |
| • | all waiting periods and any extensions thereof applicable to the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and any commitments or agreements (including timing agreements) with any governmental entity not to consummate the Transactions before a certain date, must have expired or been terminated; |
| • | the offer contemplated by the proxy statement/prospectus to be filed by SWAG must have been completed in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement and the proxy statement/prospectus; |
| • | the approval of each of the proposals set forth in the Registration Statement to be filed by SWAG must have been obtained in accordance with the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), SWAG’s organizational documents and the rules and regulations of NASDAQ; |
| • | the approval of the Transactions by the holders of Nogin common stock and Nogin preferred stock must have been obtained in accordance with the DGCL and Nogin’s organizational documents; |
| • | the Registration Statement must have become effective in accordance with the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect and no proceedings for that purpose have commenced or shall be threatened by the SEC; |
| • | the SWAG common stock to be issued in the Transactions must have been approved for listing by NASDAQ, subject only to official notice of issuance thereof. |
Conditions to the Obligations of Nogin
The obligations of Nogin to consummate the Transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement are subject to the satisfaction, or written waiver by Nogin, at or prior to the Closing, of the following conditions:
| • | the representations and warranties of SWAG and Merger Sub (other than fundamental representations), disregarding qualifications contained therein relating to materiality, must be true and correct as of the date of the consummation of the Transactions (the “Closing Date”) as if made at and as of such time (or, if given |
9
| as of an earlier date, as of such earlier date), except that this condition will be satisfied unless any and all inaccuracies in such representations and warranties of SWAG and Merger Sub, in the aggregate, would or would reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect with respect to SWAG and Merger Sub, and fundamental representations must be true and correct in all respects as of the Closing Date (or, if given as of an earlier date, such earlier date); |
| • | SWAG and Merger Sub must have performed in all material respects its obligations under the Merger Agreement required to be performed by them at or prior to the Closing; |
| • | Nogin must have received a certificate executed and delivered by an authorized officer of SWAG confirming that the conditions set forth in the immediately preceding bullet points have been satisfied; |
| • | the proceeds from the Transactions, consisting of (a) the aggregate cash proceeds available for release to SWAG from the Trust Account in connection with the Transactions (after, for the avoidance of doubt, giving effect to any redemptions of shares of SWAG Class A common stock by stockholders of SWAG but before release of any other funds) plus (b) proceeds received from any PIPE or similar investment), must be equal to or in excess of $50 million; and |
| • | the directors and executive officers of SWAG must have been removed from their respective positions or tendered their irrevocable resignations effective as of the Closing. |
Conditions to the Obligations of SWAG and Merger Sub
The obligations of SWAG and Merger Sub to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement are subject to the satisfaction, or written waiver by SWAG, at or prior to the Closing of the following conditions:
| • | the representations and warranties of Nogin (other than fundamental representations), disregarding qualifications contained therein relating to materiality, must be true and correct as of the Closing Date as if made at and as of such time (or, if given as of an earlier date, as of such earlier date), except that this condition will be satisfied unless any and all inaccuracies in such representations and warranties of Nogin, in the aggregate, would or would reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect with respect to Nogin, and fundamental representations must be true an correct in all respects as of the Closing Date (or, if given as of an earlier date, such earlier date); |
| • | Nogin must have performed in all material respects its obligations under the Merger Agreement required to be performed by it at or prior to the Closing; |
| • | SWAG must have received a certificate executed and delivered by an authorized officer of Nogin confirming that the conditions set forth in the immediately preceding bullet points have been satisfied; |
| • | SWAG must have received a copy of the written consent of the holders of Nogin common stock and Nogin preferred stock approving the Transactions, which consent must remain in full force and effect; and |
| • | since the date of the Merger Agreement, a material adverse effect with respect to Nogin must not have occurred. |
Sponsor Agreement
In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, our sponsor entered into a sponsor agreement (the “Sponsor Agreement”) with SWAG and Nogin, pursuant to which the sponsor agreed to, among other things, (i) vote at the special meeting to be called for approval of the Transactions any SWAG Class A common stock or SWAG Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (collectively, the “Sponsor Securities”), held of record or thereafter acquired in favor of the proposals presented by SWAG at such meeting, (ii) be bound by certain other covenants and agreements related to the Merger and (iii) be bound by certain transfer restrictions with respect to the Sponsor Securities, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Sponsor Agreement. The Sponsor Agreement also provides that the Sponsor has agreed to waive redemption rights in connection with the consummation of the Transactions with respect to any Sponsor Securities they may hold.
10
The sponsor has also agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to transfer any of its shares of SWAG Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”) (or any shares of SWAG common stock issuable upon conversion in connection with the Closing) until the earlier of (i) the date that is the
one-year
anniversary of the Closing and (ii) the date on which SWAG completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of SWAG’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of SWAG common stock for cash, securities or other property or (iii) subsequent to the consummation of the Transactions, the date on which the last reported sale price of the 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 Closing Date of the Transactions (the “Founder Shares Lock-up
Period”). The Sponsor Agreement parties have also agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to transfer any private placement warrants purchased in connection with SWAG’s initial public offering (the “Private Placement Warrants”) (or any share of SWAG common stock issued or issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants), until 30 days after the Closing Date of the Transactions (the “Private Placement Warrants
Lock-Up
Period” and, together with the Founder Shares Lock-up
Period, the “Lock-up
Periods”). The Sponsor Agreement provides that as of immediately prior to (but subject to) the Closing, 1,710,590 (or 30%) of the Founder Shares held by the sponsor as of the Closing, or 2,565,885 (or 45%) of the Founders Shares if, immediately prior to the Closing, holders of SWAG Class A common stock have validly elected to redeem a number of shares of SWAG Class A common stock (and have not withdrawn such redemptions) that would result in greater than 40% of the funds in the Trust Account being paid to such redeeming holders for such redemptions, will be subject to certain time and performance-based vesting provisions described below. The sponsor has agreed, subject to exceptions, not to transfer any unvested Founder Shares prior to the date such securities become vested. Pursuant to the Sponsor Agreement, 50% of the unvested Founder Shares (the “First Tranche Shares”) will vest on any day following the Closing when the closing price of a share of SWAG Class A common stock on NASDAQ (the “Closing Share Price”) equals or exceeds $12.50 (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) and the remaining 50% will vest (along with any unvested First Tranche Shares) when the Closing Share Price equals or exceeds $14.50 (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like).
The Sponsor Agreement will terminate on the later of (i) the vesting of all unvested Founder Shares (ii) the end of the Founder Shares
Lock-Up
Period. Company Support Agreement
In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, SWAG, Nogin and certain stockholders of Nogin (collectively, the “Supporting Nogin Stockholders” and each, a “Supporting Nogin Stockholder”) entered into the Company Support Agreement. Pursuant to the Company Support Agreement, among other things, each Supporting Nogin Stockholder agreed to (i) vote at any meeting of the stockholders of Nogin all of its Nogin common stock and/or Nogin preferred stock, as applicable (or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Nogin common stock or Nogin preferred stock), held of record or thereafter acquired in favor of the transactions and the adoption of the Merger Agreement; (ii) appoint the chief executive officer of Nogin as such stockholder’s proxy in the event such stockholder fails to fulfil its obligations under the Company Support Agreement, (iii) be bound by certain other covenants and agreements related to the Merger and (iv) be bound by certain transfer restrictions with respect to Nogin securities, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Company Support Agreement. The shares of Nogin capital stock that are owned by the Supporting Nogin Stockholders and subject to the Company Support Agreement represent approximately 84.8% of the outstanding shares of Nogin common stock and approximately 99.5% of the outstanding shares of Nogin preferred stock. The execution and delivery of written consents by all of the Supporting Nogin Stockholders will constitute the Nogin stockholder approval at the time of such delivery. Additionally, the Supporting Nogin Stockholders have agreed to waive any appraisal rights (including under Section 262 of the DGCL) with respect to the Merger and any rights to dissent with respect to the Merger.
11
Registration Rights Agreement
The Merger Agreement contemplates that, at the Closing, SWAG and certain stockholders of Nogin and SWAG will enter into an Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which SWAG will agree to register for resale, pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, certain shares of SWAG Class A common stock and other equity securities of SWAG that are held by the parties thereto from time to time. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, SWAG will agree to file a shelf registration statement registering the resale of the SWAG Class A common stock (including those held as of the effective time or issuable upon future exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) and the Private Placement Warrants (the “Registrable Securities”) under the Registration Rights Agreement within 15 days of the Closing. Up to four times total and up to twice in any
12-month
period, certain legacy Nogin stockholders and legacy SWAG stockholders may request to sell all or any portion of their Registrable Securities in an underwritten offering so long as the total offering price is reasonably expected to exceed $35 million. SWAG also agreed to provide customary “piggyback” registration rights, subject to certain requirements and customary conditions. The Registration Rights Agreement also provides that SWAG will pay certain expenses relating to such registrations and indemnify the stockholders against certain liabilities. Management Team and Board of Directors
We believe our management team is well positioned to identify and evaluate businesses within the technology industry that would benefit from being a public company and from access to our expertise. We believe we can achieve this mission by utilizing our team’s extensive experience in growing and operating software companies as well as our broad network of contacts in the technology sector.
Jonathan Huberman, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has over 25 years of high-tech business leadership experience. He is the former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Software Acquisition Group Inc. II (NASDAQ: SAII), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $172.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in September 2020, which closed its initial business combination with Otonomo Technologies Ltd., a cloud-based software provider that captures and anonymizes vehicle data, in August 2021. He was previously the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Software Acquisition Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SAQN), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $149.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in November 2019, which in August 2020 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with respect to its initial business combination with CuriosityStream, Inc., or CuriosityStream, a global streaming media service that provides factual content on demand, which closed in the fourth quarter of 2020. From 2017 to 2019 Mr. Huberman was Chief Executive Officer of Ooyala (“Ooyala”), a provider of media workflow automation, delivery and monetization solutions, which he and Mike Nikzad, our Vice President of Acquisitions and director, acquired from Telstra in 2018. Together with Mr. Nikzad, they turned around an underperforming company and sold Ooyala’s three core business units to Invidi Technologies, Brightcove (NASDA:BCOV) and Dalet (EPA: DLT), major players in the same sector. Previously, Mr. Huberman served as the Chief Executive Officer of Syncplicity, a SaaS enterprise data management company, which he sourced and acquired from EMC and engineered an exit to Axway (EPA: AXW). Prior to this, Mr. Huberman was the Chief Executive Officer of Tiburon, an enterprise software company serving the public safety sector which he sold to Tritech Systems, and before that he was the Chief Executive Officer at Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM), a consumer and distributed enterprise storage solutions provider. After Iomega was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2008, Mr. Huberman served as President of the Consumer and Small Business Division of EMC. In addition to his experience leading turnarounds and exits at five technology companies, Mr. Huberman spent nine years as an investor for the Bass Family interests where he led investments in private and public companies. He also had senior roles leading the operations of the technology investments of the Gores Group and Skyview Capital.
12
Mike Nikzad, our Vice President of Acquisitions and a director, has over two decades of business leadership experience in software, technology and consumer electronics companies, where he has worked on numerous corporate turnarounds and exits. Mr. Nikzad was President and Chief Operating Officer at Ooyala until its sale. Prior to Ooyala, in the last five years Mr. Nikzad has held
C-suite
positions and led company operations at Syncplicity, a SaaS enterprise data management company, and NewNet Communication Technologies, a telecommunications company, as well as serving as an Operating Partner at SilverStream Capital. Prior to this, he also held management and executive positions in EMC Corp’s (NYSE: EMC) Consumer and Small Business division and at Iomega Corporation, a consumer and distributed enterprise storage solutions provider. Our board of directors also includes Andrew Nikou, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of OpenGate Capital Management, LLC (“OpenGate”), a global private equity firm specializing in the acquisition and operation of businesses to create new value through operational improvements, innovation and growth; C. Matthew Olton, the Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development at Tenable Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TENB), a cyber exposure protection provider and previously Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Ventures, at Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC).; Stephanie Davis, a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry where she leads the Private Equity/Technology practice in North America and is a member of the Chief Executive Officer Board practices; Steven Guggenheimer, a former Microsoft Executive who now serves as an Advisor and Executive Director to a variety of organizations; and Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which designs and operates large-scale incentive competitions and the Executive Founder and Director of Singularity University, a global learning and innovation community.
Past performance of our management team and its affiliates 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 identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical performance record of our management team or its affiliates as indicative of our future performance. In addition, for a list of members of our management team and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such persons and the company, as well as the priority that such entity has with respect to performance of obligations and presentation of business opportunities to us, please refer to the table and subsequent explanatory paragraph under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Management — Conflicts of Interest”.
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to leverage our management team’s industry knowledge, strategic vision, operational expertise and business connections built up over decades in the technology industry in combination with our sponsor’s and its affiliates’ investment sourcing and evaluation platform to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company that our management and Board believes has compelling potential for value creation through our involvement. Mr. Huberman and Mr. Nikzad, with the support of Mr. Nikou, will leverage their partnership, investment experience, deep network and technology industry expertise to identify and generate attractive acquisition opportunities among lower middle-market software companies.
Our management team has experience in:
Operating companies, setting and changing strategies, and identifying, mentoring and recruiting exceptional talent;
Developing and growing companies, both organically and through strategic transactions and acquisitions, and expanding the product range and geographic footprint of a number of target businesses;
| • | Investing in private and public technology companies to accelerate their growth and maturation; |
| • | Sourcing, structuring, acquiring, and selling businesses; |
| • | Accessing the capital markets; and |
| • | Fostering relationships with sellers, capital providers and target management teams. |
13
Business Combination Criteria
Our business combination criteria will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic sector, however, given the experience of our management team and board, we intend to focus our search on software companies with an enterprise value of $600 million or greater.
We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophy and our management’s experience, and that we believe are important in evaluating prospective business combination opportunities. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines to evaluate business combination opportunities, but we may decide to consummate our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet one or more of these criteria and guidelines:
| • | Large and growing market |
| • | Attractive, inherently profitable business with high operating leverage |
| • | Strong management teams |
| • | Opportunity for operational improvements go-to-market |
| • | Differentiated products or services |
| • | Compelling growth prospects |
| • | Limited technology risk |
| • | Appropriate valuations |
| • | Benefit from Being a Public Company |
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 other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team 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 proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.
14
Sourcing of Potential Initial Business Combination Targets
Our management team and sponsor have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships. This network has been developed through their experience in sourcing, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses; reputations for integrity and fair dealing with sellers, capital providers and target management teams; and experience in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. This network has provided our management team and sponsor with a flow of referrals that have resulted in numerous transactions. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team and sponsor will provide us with an important source of business combination opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment banking firms, private equity firms, consultants, accounting firms and other business enterprises.
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 initial 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 our 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 our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
As more fully discussed in “Item 10. Directors, Officers and Corporate Governance—Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Certain of our executive officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers and directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may however, structure our initial business combination in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business
15
combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of seeking stockholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable.
The net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. In addition, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination to be used following the closing for general corporate purposes as described above. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our sponsor, officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote 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 February 2, 2023 or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation) we offer our public stockholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Competitive Strengths
We intend to leverage the following sources of competitive strength in seeking to achieve our business strategy:
| • | Management team’s industry knowledge and contacts. |
| • | Deal flow and business development resources available to our sponsor and its affiliates. |
| • | Management team’s experience and reputation in sourcing opportunities. |
| • | Extensive relationships within the private equity community (a likely source of deal flow). |
| • | Management team’s demonstrated ability to create value for their shareholders. |
| • | Strong track record of operational excellence. |
16
Our Acquisition, Investment and Post-Closing Process
In evaluating prospective business combinations, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review process that will encompass, among other things: an analysis of overall industry and competitive conditions, a review of historical financial and operating data, meetings with incumbent management and employees, interaction with third-parties who are industry experts,
on-site
inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We will also utilize the expertise of our management team and our sponsor’s and its affiliates’ resources in analyzing and evaluating operating plans, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business as well as the suitability of the target to become a public company. We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or OpenGate (including any investment vehicle advised by OpenGate or its affiliates), subject to certain approvals and consents. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or OpenGate (including any investment vehicle advised by OpenGate or its affiliates), we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent firm that commonly renders fairness opinions that our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view.
Our Business Combination Process
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our founders shares, common stock and/or private placement warrants, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Our sponsor and members of our management team are, in the ordinary course of business, continuously made aware of potential acquisition or investment opportunities.
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. 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 to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, as we believe any such opportunities presented would be smaller than what we are interested in, in different fields than what we would be interested in, or that our obligations are to entities that are not themselves in the business of engaging in business combinations. 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 our 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.
Our officers and directors may become an officer or director of another special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, even before we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination.
17
Our Management Team
Members of our management team 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 that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process. We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in many industries. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. See the section of this report entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Management” for a more complete description of our management team’s experience.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.
Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses and market and other uncertainties in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic
18
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 August 2, 2026, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by
non-affiliates
equaled or exceeded $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 Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited consolidated 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
equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates
equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30th. Financial Position
With funds available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $231,499,860 ($10.15 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination and payment of deferred underwriting fees of $7,982,754, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of 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.
19
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read our initial public offering prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and its affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows, conferences or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Although none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination, we do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of expenses by a target business. We have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial 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 initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an 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.
20
Potential target companies with whom we may engage in discussions may have had prior discussions with other blank check companies, bankers in the industry and/or other professional advisors including blank check companies with which our executive officers or board of directors were affiliated. Subject to the terms of the Merger Agreement, we may pursue transactions with such potential targets (i) if such other blank check companies are no longer pursuing transactions with such potential targets, (ii) if we become aware that such potential targets are interested in a potential initial business combination with us and (iii) if we believe such transactions would be attractive to our stockholders.
As more fully discussed in the section of this report entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has
pre-existing
fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of MA transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the “Investment Company Act”. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business
21
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 Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, we expect to conduct a due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent ownership, management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| • | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and |
| • | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
22
Following our initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
| Type of Transaction |
Whether Stockholder Approval is Required | |
| Purchase of assets | No | |
| Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | No | |
| Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | No | |
| Merger of the company with a target | Yes |
Under the Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| • | we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding; |
| • | any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| • | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by law or applicable stock exchange rules will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
| • | the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; |
| • | the expected cost of holding a stockholder vote; |
| • | the risk that the stockholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; |
| • | other time and budget constraints of the company; and |
| • | additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and |
| • | burdensome to present to stockholders. |
23
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, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public 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 or warrants our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material
non-public
information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. We have adopted an insider trading policy which requires insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing our securities during certain blackout periods when they are in possession of any material
non-public
information and (ii) clear all trades of company securities with a compliance officer prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1
plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1
plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders 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 shares of 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.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately-negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests tendered by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Such persons would select the stockholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
24
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule
10b-18
under the Exchange Act will be made only to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18,
which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5
of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18
has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5
of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements. 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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.15 per public share. The per-share
amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. 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 Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with the Nasdaq’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 applies whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on the Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon.
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
25
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 their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering (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 a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 8,552,951, or 37.5% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), or 1,425,492, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 22,807,868 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give not less than 10 days’ nor more than 60 days’ prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. 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 or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. 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 will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete 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
26
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.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. 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, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. 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 initial 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 our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us 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 our initial public offering 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 an initial 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.
Delivering Stock Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights
As described above, 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. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have up to two business days prior to the vote on the initial business
27
combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that a 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. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the broker submitting or tendering shares a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to submit or tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class).
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering to complete our initial business combination (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class). If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such
18-month
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 and not previously released to us to pay our 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), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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 within the 18-month
time period. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class). However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after our initial public offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted
18-month
time period. 28
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,350,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.15. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.15. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses 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 enter into an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to the Company, and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if our management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the Company under the circumstances. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
29
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 $10.15 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement entered into in conjunction with our initial public offering, 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 similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.15 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 $10.15 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable; provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations, and 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 $10.15 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties, including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.15 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations, and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the
per-share
redemption price will not be less than $10.15 per public share. We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $650,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $650,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
30
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 before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a
60-day
notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day
period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day
waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class), 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class), 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 and not previously released to us to pay our 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), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 18th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date. Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.15 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest released to us to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
31
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.15 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class), subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. 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. Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination and if We Fail to Complete Our Initial Business Combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class).
| Redemptions In Connection with Our Initial Business Combination |
Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by us or our Affiliates |
Redemptions if We Fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination | ||||
Calculation of redemption price |
Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. The same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class), we will redeem 100% of the |
32
| redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.15 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place, if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed initial business combination. | that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. Such purchases will be made only to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. |
public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.15 per public share including, interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses)), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. | ||||
Impact to remaining stockholders |
The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable. | If the permitted purchases described above are made there would be no impact to our remaining stockholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial stockholders, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. | |||
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 blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. 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 we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in
33
pursuing the initial business combination 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.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Suite 300, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 and our telephone number is (310)
991-4982.
Our executive offices are provided to us by the Sponsor. On August 2, 2021, we began paying to the Sponsor $15,000 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. Upon completion of the initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by SWAG to our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of a Business Combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
out-of-pocket
Employees
We currently have 2 officers: Jonathan Huberman and Mike Nikzad. 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 the 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 the initial business combination and the stage of the initial business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of the Business Combination.
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 1A. |
Risk Factors |
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
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 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.
If the Nogin Business Combination is not consummated and we seek to enter into a business combination with other target companies, 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. In such case, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a
34
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 will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our outstanding public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete. Please see the section of this report entitled “Item 1. Business — Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Pursuant to a letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination, including the Nogin Business Combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 8,552,951, or 37.5% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), or 1,425,492, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 22,807,868 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
The parties to the Merger Agreement may amend the terms of the Merger Agreement or one of other agreements entered into in connection with the Nogin Business Combination or waive one or more of the conditions to the Nogin Business Combination, and the exercise of discretion by our directors and officers in agreeing to changes to the terms of or waivers of closing conditions in the Merger Agreement may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether such changes to the terms of the Merger Agreement or waivers of conditions are appropriate and in the best interests of our stockholders.
In the period leading up to the closing of the Nogin Business Combination, other events may occur that, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, would require us to agree to amend the Merger Agreement, to consent to certain actions or to waive certain closing conditions or other rights that we are entitled to under the Merger Agreement. Such events could arise because of changes in the course of Nogin’s business, a request by Nogin to undertake actions that would otherwise be prohibited by the terms of the Merger Agreement or the occurrence of other events that would have a material adverse effect on Nogin’s business and would entitle us to terminate the Merger Agreement. We may also elect to amend the Merger Agreement or other agreements entered into in connection with the Nogin Business Combination to make the consummation of the Nogin Business Combination more likely. In any of such circumstances, it would be in our discretion, acting through our board of directors, to grant our consent or waive our rights. The existence of the financial and personal interests of the directors and officers may result in a conflict of interest on the part of one or more of the directors or officers between what he or she may believe is best for SWAG and our stockholders and what he or she may believe is best for himself or herself or his or her affiliates in determining whether or not to take the requested action.
For example, it is a condition to SWAG’s obligation to close the Nogin Business Combination that Nogin’s representations and warranties be true and correct as of the closing in all respects subject to the applicable materiality standards as set forth in the Merger Agreement. However, if the SWAG board determines that any such breach is not material to the business of Nogin, then the SWAG board may elect to waive that condition and close the Nogin Business Combination. The parties will not waive the condition that SWAG’s stockholders approve the Nogin Business Combination.
While certain changes could be made without further stockholder approval, if there is a change to the terms of the Nogin Business Combination that would have a material impact on the stockholders, we will be required to circulate a new or amended proxy statement or supplement thereto and resolicit the vote of our stockholders with respect to the Nogin 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 an agreement for an initial business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into an initial business combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. For example, the consummation of the Nogin Business Combination is subject to a condition that the amount remaining in our trust account, after giving effect to any stockholder redemptions but before expenses, along with the proceeds of any PIPE financing, must be at least $50 million. 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 initial business combination. Furthermore, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 as described above upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition, each 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 an initial business combination agreement 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, such as the Merger Agreement, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would
35
increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock results in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters is not required to be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The
one-to-one
per-share
amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the per-share
value of shares held by non-redeeming
stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions. The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability 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 an initial business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class). Consequently, such target business may have leverage over us in negotiating an initial 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 within the prescribed time frame, 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 receive only $10.15 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class). We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period or successfully extend such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, political considerations, 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 and not previously released to us to pay our 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), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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 such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.15 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.15 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share” and other risk factors below. 36
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus
(COVID-19)
pandemic. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the outbreak of the
COVID-19
a “pandemic.” A significant outbreak of COVID-19
and other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19
restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19
impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19
and the actions to contain COVID-19
or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19
or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public holders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants.
If we do not consummation the Nogin Business Combination and 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, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants or a combination thereof, in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market, either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. See “Item 1. Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors 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 price per share paid in any such transactions may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if such public stockholder elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby
37
increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. 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.
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 submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a 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. See the section of this report entitled “Item 1. Business — Submitting Stock Certificates in Connection with Redemption Rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, 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 earliest 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 submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class), 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 before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) 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 38
case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond February 2, 2023 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.
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 approximately $10.15 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, 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, and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses.
Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.15 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.15 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share” and other risk factors below. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until February 2, 2023, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.15 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until February 2, 2023, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. For example, in February 2022, our sponsor loaned us $300,000 to cover working capital, which is repayable only in the event that our initial business combination is successfully consummated. 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 initial 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. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, or any affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers and directors is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent 39
warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek advances or loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.15 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.15 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share” and other risk factors below. Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, and 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 within a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or
write-off
assets, restructure our operations or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be
non-cash
items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing
debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the 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. If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share. Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public 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 enter into 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 our management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in our best interests under the circumstances. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our initial public offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason.
40
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 $10.15 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement entered into in connection with our initial public offering, 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 similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.15 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 $10.15 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable; provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. 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 $10.15 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. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties, including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. 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) $10.15 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.15 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest, which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors, in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties, may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.15 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 (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. 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.
41
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 we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
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. 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 before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) 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 February 2, 2023 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.
42
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 before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) 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.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate a business combination (unless required by the Nasdaq), and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of a business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We will seek to complete an initial business combination with companies in a variety of industries, except that we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
Although our management team has expertise across a variety of industries and sectors, we will consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if an initial business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in a sector or industry in which a member of our management team has expertise after having expanded a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. 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
43
factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this report 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 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 receive only approximately $10.15 per share, or less in certain circumstances as described herein, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.15 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share” and other risk factors herein. We may seek business combination opportunities with 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 revenues 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 or with limited historic 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 relevant 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.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the target(s) of our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not seeking an opinion from an independent investment banking
44
firm or other entity regarding the Nogin Business Combination. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our 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, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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 company 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 an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. 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, advisors or 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 initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, 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.
45
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus 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 warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of our warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, a majority of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination. The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our
pre-business
combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to
pre-initial
business combination activity may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which govern our pre-initial
business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete an initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 46
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (including interest, net of taxes), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law. We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
If the Nogin Business Combination is not consummated, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public stockholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.15 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our sponsor, officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.15 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor entitled “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share,” under certain circumstances our public stockholders may receive less than $10.15 per share upon the liquidation of the trust account. Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders’ own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of 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 and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately-negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. 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 of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, 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
47
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 initial business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our 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.
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 receive only approximately $10.15 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, including the Nogin 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, including Nogin, 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 receive only approximately $10.15 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.15 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share” and other risk factors herein. Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements as well as reimbursement of expenses, if any, with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation or reimbursement for expenses, if any, 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.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the combined company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Additionally, they may negotiate reimbursement of any expenses incurred on our behalf prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, should they choose to do so. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial 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 initial business combination, or as reimbursement for such expenses. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
48
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’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the 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.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with locations or operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with locations or operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | tax issues, including, but not limited to, tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | changes in industry, regulatory or environmental standards within the jurisdictions where we operate; |
| • | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
| • | government appropriations of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
49
Changes in our effective tax rate or exposure to additional income tax liabilities could adversely affect our financial results.
Taxation and tax policy changes, tax rate changes, new tax laws, revised tax law interpretations, and changes in accounting standards and guidance related to tax matters may cause fluctuations in our effective tax rate. Our effective tax rate may also be impacted by changes in the geographic mix of our earnings. In addition, the amount of income taxes we pay may be subject to audit by U.S. federal, state and local tax authorities and by
non-U.S.
tax authorities. If these audits result in assessments different from amounts recorded, our future financial results may include unfavorable tax adjustments. We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination, including the Nogin Business Combination. We 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 security is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our 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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund 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; |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| • | other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may be able to complete only one business combination, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business, which may have a limited number of products or services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
50
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business, such as in the Nogin Business Combination, if completed, 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.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If the Nogin Business Combination is not consummated and we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our initial business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately-held company, such as Nogin. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We may engage the underwriter of our initial public offering or one of its affiliates to provide additional services to us, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. The underwriter is entitled to receive deferred commissions that will released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriter to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
51
We may engage the underwriter of our initial public offering or one of its affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. For example, we have engaged an affiliate of the underwriter from our initial public offering as exclusive financial advisor and nonexclusive placement agent in connection with the Nogin Business Combination. We may pay the underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriter is also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriter or its affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel and our sponsor, 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, including the Nogin 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 engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. 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. In addition, the consent of our sponsor is required to enter into a definitive agreement for an initial business combination.
We are dependent upon our 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 officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various their business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence, negotiations and other activities. We do not have an employment agreement with, or
key-man
insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us. Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (except with respect to any public shares the may hold), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
52
Prior to and in connection with our initial public offering, our sponsor acquired 5,701,967 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after our initial public offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,982,754 private placement warrants, each exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, for a purchase price of $9,982,754, or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In addition, in February 2022, our sponsor loaned us $300,000 to cover working capital expenses. We may obtain additional loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for an initial business combination and their other businesses. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this report entitled “Management — Directors and Officers.”
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and 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. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, and our officers and directors may become an officer or director of another special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Exchange Act even before we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.
Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 our 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.
53
For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business Conflict of Interests and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this report entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Management — Officers and Directors,” “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our 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.
We may engage in an initial business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders that may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, if the Nogin Business Combination is not consummated, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of this report entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning an initial 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 an initial business combination as set forth in the section of this report entitled “Item 1. Business — Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to the Company and our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest. These risks may become more acute as the
18-month
deadline for the completion of our initial business combination. Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.
We may structure an 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
54
voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial 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 common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction, such as in the Nogin Business Combination. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of our stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. 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.
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. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.15 per share. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our public shareholders 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). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share
redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.15 per share. 55
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in U.S. “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 trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination before February 2, 2023, 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 an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.15 per share, or less in certain circumstances described herein, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. 56
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 the Nogin Business Combination is not consummated, 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 our initial public offering 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 stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
The Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants are listed on the Nasdaq. Although we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (400 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4 per share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time. If the Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
over-the-counter
| • | 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 we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities
57
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 Nasdaq, 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.
We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than 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.
one-to-one
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. There are 77,192,132 and 4,298,033 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 the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially at a ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination.
one-for-one
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to receive funds from the trust account or vote on any initial business combination or on matters related to our 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. 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 of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account, (ii) vote on any initial business combination or (iii) vote on matters related to our
pre-initial
business combination activity. 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
pre-initial
business combination activity. 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 the approval of our stockholders. However, our executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of existing investors; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
58
| • | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
A registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.
A registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement relating to our initial public offering or a new registration statement covering the shares of 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 agreement. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; 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. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were initially offered by us in our initial public offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable to exercise such public warrants but holders of our private warrants may be able to exercise such private warrants.
If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
Under the following circumstances, the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis: (i) If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption; (ii) if our common stock is at
59
the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement; and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available; and (iii) if we call the public warrants for redemption under certain circumstances described in the warrant agreement. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock calculated under the applicable provision in the warrant agreement. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to our existing registration rights agreement, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the founder shares and the private placement warrants held, or to be held, by them and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A 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 securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, director nominees, and officers may be amended without stockholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, directors, director nominees, and officers contains provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and sponsor warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidation distributions from the trust account. This letter agreement may be amended without stockholder approval. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to this agreement prior to our initial business combination (other than the Sponsor Agreement), 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 this agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our stockholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity, correct any defective provision or correct any mistake including to conform the warrant agreement to the terms thereof described therein, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that materially adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Furthermore, our warrant agreement provides that an amendment to remove our right to redeem the warrants under certain circumstances will be deemed, for the avoidance of doubt, not to materially adversely affect the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Such amendment could be effected if the Company believed that such amendment would result in the warrants being classified for accounting purposes as equity. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public
60
warrants in a manner materially adverse to a holder of public warrants 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 warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our 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 warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement 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 warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
choice-of-forum
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 reported closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30
trading-day
period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the warrant holders and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were initially offered by us in our initial public offering. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. 61
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 11,403,934 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the initial public offering and we issued in a private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 9,982,754 shares of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 5,701,967 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
one-for-one
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) 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, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) the holders thereof (including with respect to shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
Because each unit contains
one-half
of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies. Each unit contains
one-half
of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one 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 an initial business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one share. A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for use to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike some other blank check companies, if
(i) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share;
62
(ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and
(iii) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share,
then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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 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 of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make 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.
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.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will, subject to certain exceptions, be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may limit or make more costly a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. 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. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal
63
courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result, certain of those persons have been, may be, or may become, involved in proceedings, investigations and litigation relating to the business affairs of the companies with which they were, are, or may in the future be, affiliated. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result of their involvement and positions in these companies, certain persons were, are now, or may in the future become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings arising out of or relating to the business affairs of such companies or transactions entered into by such companies. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert our management team’s and board’s attention and resources away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.
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 with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, including the Nogin Business Combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by February 2, 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. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after February 2, 2023.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
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’s or businesses associated with them as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the Company or the returns the Company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
64
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.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
In connection with our initial public offering, we accounted for a portion of the proceeds received from the offering as stockholders’ equity. Following the SEC’s guidance on this issue, management has identified errors made in its historical financial statements and performed a quantitative assessment under SAB 99, concluding a restatement was required of our financial statements to classify such amount as Class A common stock subject to possible redemption and a material weakness in its internal controls over financial reporting related to the accounting for complex financial instruments.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis.
Effective internal controls are necessary to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of its accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures iwe may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
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 and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to 65
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 consolidated 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 accountant standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited consolidated 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
equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates
equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our consolidated financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible. 66
Item 1B. |
Unresolved Staff Comments |
None.
Item 2. |
Properties |
We currently maintain our executive offices at 1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Suite 300, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 and our telephone number is (310)
991-4982.
Our executive offices are provided to us by the Sponsor. On August 2, 2021, we began paying to the Sponsor $15,000 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.
67
PART II
Item 5. |
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities |
(a) Market Information
Our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants are each traded on Nasdaq. Our units commenced public trading on July 28, 2021 under the symbol “SWAGU.” Our Class A common stock and warrants began separate trading on September 20, 2021, under the symbols “SWAG” and “SWAGW,” respectively.
(b) Holders
As of March 15, 2022, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock, one holder of record of our Class B common stock and two holders of record of our warrants.
(c) Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
(e) Performance Graph
Not applicable.
(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings.
In January 2021, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (48,033 shares of which were forfeited after the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised). The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of our initial public offering. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
In addition, our sponsor purchased 9,982,754 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,982,754 in the aggregate). This purchase took place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. This issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Use of Proceeds
In connection with the initial public offering, we incurred offering costs of approximately $12.6 million (including underwriting commissions of approximately $4.6 million and deferred underwriting commissions of approximately $8.0 million). Other incurred offering costs consisted principally preparation fees related to the initial public offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which
68
amount will be payable upon consummation of the initial business combination, if consummated) and the initial public offering expenses, approximately $231.5 million of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the private placement warrants (or $10.15 per Unit sold in the initial public offering) was placed in the trust account. The net proceeds of the initial public offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants are held in the trust account and invested as described elsewhere in this Report.
There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants as is described in our final prospectus related to our initial public offering.
(g) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6. |
Selected Financial Data. |
Not applicable.
Item 7. |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
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. Consolidated financial statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. 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 “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on January 5, 2021, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar Business Combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash derived from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
On February 14, 2022, we entered into the Merger Agreement with Nogin. If (i) the Merger Agreement is adopted and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, are approved by SWAG’s and Nogin’s stockholders and (ii) the Merger is subsequently completed, Merger Sub will merge with and into Nogin, with Nogin surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of SWAG (the “Merger” and, along with the transactions contemplated in the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”).
As part of the Transactions, holders of Nogin’s common stock and vested options will receive aggregate consideration of approximately $566.0 million, payable in (i) the case of Nogin’s stockholders, newly issued shares of SWAG Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share with a value ascribed to each share of SWAG Class A common stock of $10.00, and, at their election, a portion of $20.0 million of consideration payable in cash and (ii) the case of Nogin’s optionholders, options of SWAG (collectively, the “merger consideration”).
See “Business - Nogin Combination Agreement.”
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination, at the earliest. We will generate
non-operating
income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account. We will incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. For the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net loss $1,954,091, which consisted of formation and operating costs of $1,917,009, change in fair value loss of over-allotment option liability of $61,353, and fair value of forfeited over-allotment option $17,445, offset by interest income in bank of $24 and interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account of $6,802.
69
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On August 2, 2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 20,000,000 Units, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 9,000,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $9,000,000. On August 2, 2021, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to partially exercise their over-allotment option. As such, on August 4, 2021, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 2,807,868 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, and the sale of an additional 982,754 Private Placement Warrants, at $1.00 per Private Warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $29,061,434.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the sale of the Private Placement Units, and the exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters, a total of $231,499,860 ($10.15 per Unit) was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $13,056,080 in Initial Public Offering related costs, including $4,561,574 of underwriting fees, $7,982,754 of deferred underwriting fees and $511,752 of other costs.
For the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $1,181,232. Net loss of $1,954,091 was affected by the interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account of $6,802 and change in fair value loss of over-allotment option liability of $61,353, and fair value of forfeited over-allotment option $17,445. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $735,753 of cash for operating activities.
We intend to use 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 share capital 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.
We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants upon consummation of the Business Combination at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
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. Going Concern
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by February 2, 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. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after February 2, 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, 2021. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated 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. 70
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a monthly fee of $15,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We began incurring these fees on the date the Public Shares were first listed on NASDAQ and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the Business Combination and our liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per share, or $7,982,754 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America 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 consolidated financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. At December 31, 2021, we have not identified any critical accounting policies.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our common stock subject to possible conversion in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and 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 at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of our balance sheet.
Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. We apply the
two-class
method in calculating earnings per share. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stock is excluded from net loss per share as the redemption value approximates fair value. Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” “ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Item 7A. |
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk |
Not required for smaller reporting companies.
Item 8. |
Consolidated financial statements and Supplementary Data |
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
71
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 and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, 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, 2021. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer has concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective, due solely to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K
present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented. Management intends to implement remediation steps to improve our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we intend to expand and improve our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We have improved 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.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form
10-K
does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules
13a-15(f)
and 15d-15(f)
of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Item 9B. |
Other Information |
None.
72
PART III
Item 10. |
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance |
Directors and Executive Officers
As of the date of this Annual Report on Form
10-K,
our directors and officers are as follows: | Name |
Age |
Position | ||
| Jonathan S. Huberman |
56 | Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Mike Nikzad |
58 | Vice President of Acquisitions and Director | ||
| Andrew K. Nikou |
44 | Director | ||
| C. Matthew Olton |
55 | Director | ||
| Stephanie Davis |
57 | Director | ||
| Steven Guggenheimer |
56 | Director | ||
| Dr. Peter H. Diamandis |
60 | Director |
Jonathan S. Huberman
easy-to-apply
73
Mike Nikzad
C-suite
positions and led company operations at Syncplicity, a SaaS enterprise data management company and NewNet Communication Technologies, a telecommunications company, as well as serving as an Operating Partner at SilverStream Capital. Prior to this, he also held management and executive positions in EMC Corp’s (NYSE: EMC) Consumer and Small Business division and at Iomega Corporation, a consumer and distributed enterprise storage solutions provider. Mr. Nikzad has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University and has completed the Stanford GSB Strategic Marketing Management Program. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and management experience in the software and telecommunications industries. Andrew K. Nikou
buy-outs,
special situations and transactions with private sellers across North America and Europe. As of March 31, 2020, OpenGate Capital Management, LLC (the firm’s registered investment advisor) managed approximately $1.1 billion in client assets on a discretionary basis. Prior to this, from 2001 to 2004, Mr. Nikou worked in business development for Platinum Equity, where he established their European Business Development operations in Paris, France. Of the nearly 20 pre-fund
investments made by affiliates of OpenGate, a few were in distressed entities that subsequently filed for bankruptcy. Mr. Nikou has been named as a defendant in certain adversarial proceedings related to such bankruptcy cases alleging various claims, which Mr. Nikou vigorously disputes, believes to be meritless, and is aggressively contesting. He is currently a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. III (NASDAQ: SWAG), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of approximately $231.5 million in its initial public offering (including partial exercise of the over-allotment option) in August 2021, which in February 2022 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with respect to its initial business combination with Nogin, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. From 2020 through August 2021, he was a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. II (NASDAQ: SAII), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $172.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in September 2020, which in the third quarter of 2021 closed its initial business combination with Otonomo Technologies Ltd., a cloud-based software provider that captures and anonymizes vehicle data, as well as several private companies. He was previously a director and officer of Software Acquisition Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SAQN), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $149.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in November 2019, which in the fourth quarter of 2020 closed its initial business combination with CuriosityStream, Inc., or CuriosityStream, a global streaming media service that provides factual content on demand. He is also a member of the XPRIZE Foundation Innovation Board. Mr. Nikou holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive private equity, investment and business development experience. C. Matthew Olton
74
integration management function. Prior to joining Symantec, he was Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Dell Technologies Capital from 2016 to 2018, and was responsible for global mergers and acquisitions and related activity for the family of companies that comprise Dell Technologies including Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, Secureworks, Virtustream and Boomi. Prior to Dell Technologies Capital, Matt was Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at EMC Corporation from 1999 to 2016. Mr. Olton started his career as an MA attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher Flom. He is currently a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. III (NASDAQ: SWAG), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of approximately $231.5 million in its initial public offering (including partial exercise of the over-allotment option) in August 2021, which in February 2022 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with respect to its initial business combination with Nogin, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. From 2020 through August 2021, he was a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. II (NASDAQ: SAII), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $172.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in September 2020, which in the third quarter of 2021 closed its initial business combination with Otonomo Technologies Ltd. ,a cloud-based software provider that captures and anonymizes vehicle data. He was previously a director and officer of Software Acquisition Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SAQN), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $149.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in November 2019, which in the fourth quarter of 2020 closed its initial business combination with CuriosityStream, Inc., or CuriosityStream, a global streaming media service that provides factual content on demand. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and an MBA from Northeastern University. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive investment and management experience in the software industry.
Stephanie Davis
co-founded
the Business/Technology Services practice, led the Software practice, and managed global private equity relationships. She is currently a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. III (NASDAQ: SWAG), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of approximately $231.5 million in its initial public offering (including partial exercise of the over-allotment option) in August 2021, which in February 2022 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with respect to its initial business combination with Nogin, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. From 2020 through August 2021, she was a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. II (NASDAQ: SAII), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $172.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in September 2020, which in the third quarter of 2021 closed its initial business combination with Otonomo Technologies Ltd., a cloud-based software provider that captures and anonymizes vehicle data. She was previously a director and officer of Software Acquisition Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SAQN), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $149.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in November 2019, which in the fourth quarter of 2020 closed its initial business combination with CuriosityStream, Inc., or CuriosityStream, a global streaming media service that provides factual content on demand. Ms. Davis has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is well qualified to serve on our Board due to her extensive consulting and private and public company board experience. Steven Guggenheimer
non-executive
director to a variety of organizations. Currently Mr. Guggenheimer is a non-executive
board member of HSBC Holdings plc (OTC: HBCYF) since May 2020, Forrit Technology Ltd., a private cloud technology company, since 2019, an advisor to Tensility Venture Partners, a seed stage venture capital firm, since 2017 as well as an advisor to the 5G Open Innovation Lab since May 2020. Over his 26 years at Microsoft, Mr. Guggenheimer held leadership positions in a broad range of key business areas which includes close to a decade helping manage Microsoft’s hardware and software ecosystems as the head of the Developer ISV Evangelism (DPE/DX) and OEM divisions. He also spent his last 3 years working with customers and partners on the adoption of Artificial Intelligence and helping ISV’s migrate to SaaS based offerings. Mr. Guggenheimer received a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from the University of California, Davis, and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Stanford University. He is currently a 75
director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. III (NASDAQ: SWAG), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of approximately $231.5 million in its initial public offering (including partial exercise of the over-allotment option) in August 2021, which in February 2022 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with respect to its initial business combination with Nogin, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. From 2020 through August 2021, he was a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. II (NASDAQ: SAII), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $172.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in September 2020, which in the third quarter of 20201 closed its initial business combination with Otonomo Technologies Ltd., a cloud-based software provider that captures and anonymizes vehicle data. He was previously a director and officer of Software Acquisition Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SAQN), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $149.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in November 2019, which in the fourth quarter of 2020 closed its initial business combination with CuriosityStream, Inc., or CuriosityStream, a global streaming media service that provides factual content on demand. Mr. Guggenheimer received a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from the University of California, Davis, and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Stanford University. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and management experience in the software industry.
Peter H. Diamandis, MD
non-profit
foundation which, since 1996, has designed and operated large-scale incentive competitions for the benefit of humanity. In 2014, Dr. Diamandis founded and served as Vice-Chairman of Human Longevity, Inc., an advanced health diagnostic company committed to delivering data driven health diagnostics; he resigned from the board of directors in 2018 and remains a shareholder. He is also the Executive Founder of Singularity University, a graduate-level Silicon Valley institution founded in 2008 that counsels the world’s leaders on exponentially growing technologies. He is the Vice Chairman and co-Founder
of Celularity Inc., founded in 2017, a commercial-stage cell therapeutics company delivering allogenic cellular therapies engineered from the postpartum human placenta. Dr. Diamandis is also a founder and board member of Fountain Therapeutic Services Inc., which was formed in 2018 to increase lifespan and optimize healthspan by harnessing regenerative medicine technologies and integrating extensive wellness solutions. In March 2020 Dr. Diamandis co-Founded
and is the Vice-Chairman of Covaxx, Inc., a pharmaceutical company that has developed a COVID-19
lgG antibody test and which has a vaccine candidate in clinical trials. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Diamandis has started over 20 companies in the areas of longevity, space, venture capital and education. Dr. Diamandis also co-founded
BOLD Capital Partners, a venture fund investing in exponential technologies, in 2015, and is a New York Times Bestselling author. He earned degrees in Molecular Engineering and Aerospace Engineering from MIT and holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He is currently a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. III (NASDAQ: SWAG), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of approximately $231.5 million in its initial public offering (including partial exercise of the over-allotment option) in August 2021, which in February 2022 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with respect to its initial business combination with Nogin, a provider of complex ecommerce platforms for online businesses, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. From 2020 through August 2021, he was a director of Software Acquisition Group Inc. II (NASDAQ: SAII), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $172.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in September 2020, which in the third quarter of 2021 closed its initial business combination with Otonomo Technologies Ltd., a cloud-based software provider that captures and anonymizes vehicle data. He was previously a director and officer of Software Acquisition Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SAQN), a blank check company which raised an aggregate of $149.5 million in its initial public offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) in November 2019, which in the fourth quarter of 2020 closed its initial business combination with CuriosityStream, Inc., or CuriosityStream, a global streaming media service that provides factual content on demand. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and management experience in the technology industry. Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of seven members. In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. Commencing at our first annual meeting of the stockholders and at each annual meeting of the stockholders thereafter, directors elected to succeed those directors whose terms expire shall be elected for a term of office to expire at the second annual meeting of the stockholders after their election.
76
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our current bylaws provide that our officers may consist of one or more Chairmen of the Board, one or more Chief Executive Officers, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent and that the Business Combination be approved by a majority of our independent directors. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. A majority of our board of directors are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton, Guggenheimer and Diamandis are “independent directors” as defined under NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Accordingly, a majority of our board of directors are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our audit committee is entirely composed of independent directors meeting NASDAQ’s additional requirements applicable to members of the audit committee. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Executive and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. On January 21, 2021, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 Founder Shares for $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Commencing on our initial public offering through the earlier of consummation of an initial business combination and our liquidation, we pay our Sponsor $15,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. The Company reimbursed the Sponsor $86,549 of health insurance and other benefits for its officers and administrative staff. In addition, our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any 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 expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating a Business Combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by SWAG to our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of the Business Combination.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
After the completion of the Business Combination, directors or officers who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from SWAG. 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 SWAG 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 Company will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
77
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 the Business Combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after the 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 the 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.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to
phase-in
rules, the rules of the NASDAQ and Rule 10A-3
under 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 NASDAQ require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Audit Committee
Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton and Guggenheimer serve as members of our audit committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent, subject to the exceptions described above. Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton and Guggenheimer are independent.
Mr. Olton serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that each member of our audit committee qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules. The audit committee is responsible for:
| • | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| • | pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| • | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | 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 (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence; |
| • | 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 consolidated 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. |
78
Compensation Committee
The members of our compensation committee are Ms. Davis and Mr. Diamandis, and Ms. Davis serves as chair of the compensation committee. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service; |
| • | should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and |
| • | should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders. |
The Existing Charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NASDAQ and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or NASDAQ rules. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the NASDAQ rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by our board of directors. Our board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Joshua Kazam, Jennifer Rubio, Ned Segal and Michelangelo Volpi. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the NASDAQ rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors also considers director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws. 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, our board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees (“Code of Ethics”). We have filed a copy of our form of Code of Ethics and our audit committee and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement from our Initial Public Offering. You may review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form
8-K.
79
Conflicts of Interest
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities (including investment vehicles that may pursue investment opportunities suitable for us) pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity.
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 to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, as we believe any such opportunities presented would be smaller than what we are interested in, in different fields than what we would be interested in, or to entities that are not themselves in the business of engaging in business combinations. 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 our 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.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
| • | In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us, as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| • | Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination before February 2, 2023 (or such later date as approved by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class). If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable by our sponsor until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing price of our 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 our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our sponsor or its permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants, our officers and directors 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. |
80
| • | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
| • | Our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
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; |
| • | 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. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, 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 our 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.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers, directors and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual |
Entity |
Entity’s Business |
Affiliation | |||
Jonathan Huberman |
Aculon, Inc. |
Nanotechnology |
Director | |||
Venture Corporation |
Design and Manufacturing |
Director | ||||
CuriosityStream, Inc. |
Streaming Media |
Director | ||||
Otonomo Technologies Ltd. |
Vehicle Data |
Director | ||||
Mike Nikzad (1) |
OpenGate Capital Management, LLC |
Investing |
Principal | |||
CuriosityStream, Inc. |
Streaming Media |
Director | ||||
Andrew Nikou |
OpenGate Capital Management, LLC |
Investing |
Principal | |||
C. Matthew Olton |
Tenable Holdings |
Exposure Protection |
Officer | |||
Stephanie Davis |
Korn/Ferry |
Consulting |
Partner | |||
Athenex |
Biopharmaceuticals |
Director | ||||
81
Individual |
Entity |
Entity’s Business |
Affiliation | |||
Steven Guggenheimer |
HSBC Holdings plc |
Banking |
Director | |||
Forrit Technology Ltd |
Cloud Technology |
Director | ||||
BOLD Capital Partners |
Venture Capital |
Director | ||||
Peter H. Diamandis (2) |
PHD Ventures, Inc. |
Personal Holding Co. |
Officer | |||
Fountain Therapeutic Services Inc. |
Regenerative Medicine |
Director | ||||
Covaxx, Inc. |
Pharmaceuticals |
Director | ||||
Cellularity |
Therapeutics |
Director | ||||
Space Adventures |
Space Tourism |
Managing Director | ||||
| (1) | Mr. Nikou is also a director of portfolio companies of private equity funds advised by OpenGate, and may be obligated to show acquisitions to such private equity funds and/or such portfolio companies before we may pursue such acquisitions. |
| (2) | Dr. Diamandis is also a director of portfolio companies of BOLD Capital Partners, and may be obligated to show acquisitions to such companies before we may pursue such acquisitions. |
Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers, directors or director nominees becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he will honor his fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, 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 an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Our officers and directors may become an officer or director of another special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Exchange Act, even before we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) 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 will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 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 will purchase a
82
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 open market (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 |
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities were first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative, support and consulting services provided to members of our management team or to us, in the amount of up to $15,000 per month. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers, directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any 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 by us to our sponsor, executive officers, directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team 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.
83
Item 12. |
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and management and Related Shareholder Matters |
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of March 15, 2022 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares, by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
| • | each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our ordinary share; and |
| • | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 28,750,000 Class A ordinary shares (which includes Class A ordinary shares that are underlying the units) and 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares outstanding as of March 15, 2022. Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. Voting power represents the combined voting power of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares owned beneficially by such person. On all matters to be voted upon, the holders of the Class A ordinary shares and the Class B ordinary shares vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a basis.
one-for-one
Class B ordinary shares |
Class A ordinary shares |
|||||||||||||||||||
Name of Beneficial Owners (1) |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Approximate Percentage of Voting Control |
|||||||||||||||
Software Acquisition Holdings III LLC (2) |
5,701,976 | (3) |
100 | % | — | — | 20 | % | ||||||||||||
Jonathan S. Huberman (3) |
5,701,976 | (3) |
100 | % | — | — | 20 | % | ||||||||||||
Mike Nikzad (3) |
5,701,976 | (3) |
100 | % | — | — | 20 | % | ||||||||||||
Andrew Nikou (3) |
5,701,976 | (3) |
100 | % | — | — | 20 | % | ||||||||||||
C. Matthew Olton |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Stephanie Davis |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Steven Guggenheimer |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
All officers and directors as a group (seven individuals) |
5,701,976 | (3) |
100 | % | — | — | 20 | % | ||||||||||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Suite 300, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135. |
| (2) | The Sponsor is the record holder of such shares. The Sponsor is controlled by a board of managers which consists of Jonathan Huberman, SWAG’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Mike Nikzad, SWAG’s Vice President of Acquisitions and a director, and Andrew Nikou, one of SWAG’s directors. As such, they have voting and investment discretion with respect to the SWAG Common Stock held of record by the Sponsor and may be deemed to have shared beneficial ownership of the SWAG Common Stock held directly by the Sponsor. |
| (3) | Each of these individuals holds a direct or indirect interest in the Sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
Our sponsor, officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
84
Changes in Control
None.
Item 13. |
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence |
On January 2021, the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (48,033 shares of which were forfeited after the underwriters’ partial exercise of its over-allotment option). The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering.
The Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,982,754 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Commencing on July 28, 2021, SWAG agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of the initial business combination or liquidation, SWAG will cease paying these monthly fees.
No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by SWAG to the sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of the Sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. SWAG does not have a policy that prohibits the Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of expenses by a target business. SWAG’s audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to the Sponsor, officers, directors or our or any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on SWAG’s behalf.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
Prior to the closing of our initial public offering, the Sponsor agreed to loan SWAG up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering. The loan was repaid upon the closing of our initial public offering out of the estimated $650,000 of offering proceeds that was allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. The value of the Sponsor’s interest in this transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of SWAG’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan SWAG funds as may be required. If SWAG completes an initial business combination, it would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, SWAG may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the trust account would be used for such repayment. SWAG has agreed that $1,500,000 of such loans which the Sponsor has the right to lend to us may be converted into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans by SWAG’s officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. SWAG does not expect to seek loans from parties other than the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor as SWAG does 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.
85
After SWAG’s initial business combination, members of its management team who remain with the Post-Combination Company may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the Post-Combination Company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to SWAG’s stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, furnished to its stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
SWAG has entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares.
On February 9, 2022, SWAG issued an unsecured promissory note in the principal amount of $300,000 to the Sponsor. The Note does not bear interest and is repayable in full upon consummation of the Company’s initial business combination. If the Company does not complete a business combination, the note will not be repaid and all amounts owed under it will be forgiven. The note is subject to customary events of default, the occurrence of which automatically trigger the unpaid principal balance of the note and all other sums payable with regard to the note becoming immediately due and payable.
The Company reimbursed the Sponsor $86,549 of health insurance and other benefits for its officers and administrative staff.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of SWAG’s board of directors has adopted a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which SWAG was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) $120,000 in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy include: (i) SWAG’s directors, nominees for director or executive officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of SWAG’s voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation
S-K
under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length
dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes SWAG’s code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of SWAG and its stockholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, SWAG may consummate related party transactions only if its audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or executive officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party. Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton, Guggenheimer and Diamandis are “independent directors” as defined in the listing standards of Nasdaq.
Item 14. |
Principal Accountant Fees and Services |
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP, or Marcum, for services rendered.
86
Audit Fees
year-end
consolidated financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q
for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 totaled $101,301. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings. Audit-Related Fees
Tax Fees
All Other Fees
Pre-Approval
Policy Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not
pre-approve
all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve
all auditing services and permitted non-audit
services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit
services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit). 87
PART IV
Item 15. |
Exhibits, Consolidated Financial Statements Schedules |
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report: |
| (1) | Consolidated financial statements: |
| Page | ||||
F-2 |
||||
F-3 |
||||
F-4 |
||||
F-5 |
||||
F-6 |
||||
F-7 |
||||
| (2) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Annual Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.
88
Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document | |
| 101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | |
| 101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | |
| 101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | |
| 101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | |
| 101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document and contained in Exhibit 101) | |
| * | Filed herewith |
| ** | Furnished herewith |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 2, 2021. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on March 17, 2021. |
| (3) | Incorporated by reference to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022. |
Item 16. |
Form 10-K Summary |
Not applicable.
89
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form
10-K
to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. | March 29, 2022 | SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC. III | |||||
/s/ Jonathan S. Huberman | ||||||
| Name: Jonathan S. Huberman | ||||||
| Title: Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||
| (Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | ||||||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
/s/ Jonathan S. Huberman Jonathan S. Huberman |
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | March 29, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Mike Nikzad | Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
| Mike Nikzad | ||||
/s/ Andrew Nikou |
Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
| Andrew Nikou | ||||
/s/ C. Matthew Olton |
Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
| C. Matthew Olton | ||||
/s/ Stephanie Davis Stephanie Davis |
Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
/s/ Steven Guggenheimer |
Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
| Steven Guggenheimer | ||||
/s/ Peter H. Diamandis |
Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
| Peter H. Diamandis | ||||
90
SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC. III
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-2 |
||||
Consolidated financial statements: |
||||
F-3 |
||||
F-4 |
||||
F-5 |
||||
F-6 |
||||
F-7 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
Software Acquisition Group Inc. III
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Software Acquisition Group Inc. III (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, the related consolidated statement of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination and the Company’s cash and working capital as of December 31, 2021 are not sufficient to complete its planned activities. These conditions and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution, should a business combination not occur prior to February 2, 2023, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regards to these matters are 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 consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
Boston, MA
March 29, 2022
PCAOB # 688
F-2
SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC. III
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2021
| ASSETS |
||||
| Current assets |
||||
| Cash |
$ | |||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Total Current Assets |
||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account |
||||
| |
|
|||
| TOTAL ASSETS |
$ |
|||
| |
|
|||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT |
||||
| Current liabilities |
||||
| Accrued expenses |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Total Current Liabilities |
||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Total Liabilities |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Commitments and Contingencies (See Note 6) |
||||
| 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 AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT |
$ |
|||
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-3
SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC. III
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 5, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Operating and formation costs |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Loss from operations |
( |
) | ||
| Other income/(loss): |
||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account |
||||
| Interest income - bank |
||||
| Change in fair value of over-allotment option liability |
( |
) | ||
| Fair value of forfeited over-allotment option |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Total other loss, net |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net loss |
$ |
( |
) | |
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A |
$ |
( |
) | |
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B common stock |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B |
$ |
( |
) | |
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-4
SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC. III
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 5, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Class A Common Stock |
Class B Common Stock |
Additional Paid-in |
Accumulated |
Total Stockholders’ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
Capital |
Deficit |
Equity (Deficit) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – January 5, 2021 (inception) |
— | $ | — | $ | |
$ | |
$ | |
$ | |
|||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor |
— | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance – March 31, 2021 |
— | $ | — | $ |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance – June 30, 2021 |
— | $ | — | $ |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of |
— | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proceed allocated to Public Warrants |
— | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allocated value of transaction costs to warrants |
— | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Adjustment of carrying value to initial redemption value |
— | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of |
— | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of Founder Shares |
— | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance – September 30, 2021 |
— | $ |
— |
$ |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
( |
) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Loss |
— | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2021 |
— | $ | — | $ |
$ | $ |
( |
) |
$ |
( |
) | |||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-5
SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC. III
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 5, 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: |
||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account |
( |
) | ||
| Change in fair value of over-allotment liability |
||||
| Fair value of forfeited over-allotment optio n |
( |
) | ||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
( |
) | ||
| Accrued expenses |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: |
||||
| Investment of cash in Trust Account |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash used in investing activities |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
||||
| Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor |
||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid |
||||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placements Warrants |
||||
| Proceeds from promissory note – related party |
||||
| Repayment of promissory note – related party |
( |
) | ||
| Payment of offering costs |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash provided by financing activities |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Net Change in Cash |
||||
| Cash – Beginning of period |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Cash – End of period |
$ |
|||
| |
|
|||
| Non-Cash investing and financing activities: |
||||
| Initial value of over-allotment option liability |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Elimination of over-allotment option liability |
$ | ( |
) | |
| |
|
|||
| Adjustment of carrying value to initial redemption value |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Forfeiture of Founder Shares |
$ | ( |
) | |
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Software Acquisition Group Inc. III (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on January 5, 2021 . The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “Business Combination”).
The Company has one wholly owned subsidiary which was formed on December 20, 2021, Nuevo Merger Sub Inc. (the “Merger Sub”), a Delaware corporation.
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector 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, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates
non-operating
income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on July 28, 2021. On August 2, 2021, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 20,000,000 Units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000 which is described in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 9,000,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to Software Acquisition Holdings III, LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $9,000,000 , which is described in Note 4.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on August 2, 2021 and the close of the over-allotment on August 4, 2021, an amount of $231,499,860 ($10.15 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) which will be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (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 meeting the conditions of Rule
2a-7
of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s stockholders, as described below. On August 2, 2021, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to partially exercise their over-allotment option. As such, on August 4, 2021, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 2,807,868 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, and the sale of an additional 982,754 Private Placement Warrants, at $1.00 per Private Warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $29,061,434 . A total of $28,499,860 was deposited into the Trust Account, bringing the aggregate proceeds held in the Trust Account to $231,499,860 .
Transaction costs amounted to $13,056,080 , consisting of $4,561,574 of underwriting fees, $7,982,754 of deferred underwriting fees and $511,752 of other offering costs.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. NASDAQ rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50 % or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment
company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
F-7
The Company will provide its 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. In connection with a proposed Business Combination, the Company may seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to 15 % or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.15 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The
per-share
amount to be distributed to stockholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. If a stockholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.
The Company’s Sponsor has agreed (a) to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5), the Private Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination, (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the Company’s
pre-Business
Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) into the right to receive cash from the Trust Account in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek stockholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation relating to stockholders’ rights of pre-Business
Combination activity and (d) that the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by February 2, 202100,000 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 liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the
3
(the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay taxes (less up to $F-8
remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of applicable law. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission 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 funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00 ).
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.15 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.15 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of Proposed Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure its stockholders that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $288,108 in its operating bank accounts, $231,506,662 in securities held in the Trust Account to be used for a Business Combination or to repurchase or redeem its common stock in connection therewith and working capital deficit of $440,843 . As of December 31, 2021, approximately $6,802 of the amount on deposit in the Trust Account represented interest income, which is available to pay the Company’s tax obligations.
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.
Going Concern
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by February 2, 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. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after February 2, 2023.
F-9
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations and/or search for a target business, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements is presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s consolidated 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. Use of Estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the consolidated financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these consolidated financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liabilities. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and, accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
F-10
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did no t have any cash equivalents at December 31, 2021.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2021, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds, which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. All of the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of investments held in Trust Account are included in interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in Trust Account are determined using available market information.
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 Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A 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 is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheet.
The Company recognizes 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. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.
At December 31, 2021, the Class A common stock reflected in the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds |
$ | |
||
| Less: |
||||
| Proceeds Allocated to Public Warrants |
( |
) | ||
| Class A common stock issuance costs |
( |
) | ||
| Add: |
||||
| Adjustment of carrying value to initial redemption value |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption |
$ | |||
| |
|
Derivative Liabilities
The Company accounts for derivative instruments as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the instruments’ specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the instruments are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the derivative instruments meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether they are indexed to the Company’s own common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the instruments are outstanding.
F-11
For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional
paid-in
capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash
gain or loss on the consolidated statement of operations. The Company’s has analyzed the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants and determined they are considered to be freestanding instruments and do not exhibit any of the characteristics in ASC 480 and therefore are not classified as liabilities under ASC 480. (see Note 8) The Company granted the underwriters a 45 -day option at the Initial Public Offering date to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments. The over-allotment option was evaluated under ASC 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” The Company concluded that the underlying transaction (Units which include redeemable shares and warrants) of the over-allotment option embodies an obligation to repurchase the issuer’s equity shares. Accordingly, the option was fair valued and recorded as a liability at issuance date and applied to the offering cost of the Class A redeemable shares. On August 4, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 2,807,868 Units at $10.00 per Unit and forfeited the remaining over-allotment option. (see Note
8
) Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs allocated to the Public Shares were charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs amounted to $13,056,080 , which were charged to stockholders’ deficit upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. $12,318,960 were allocated to public shares and charged to temporary equity, and $737,120 was allocated to warrants and accounted for as equity.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the consolidated financial statement’s carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the consolidated 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 no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 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. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
more-likely-than-not
to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were Net Loss per Common Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common shares is excluded from net loss per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
F-12
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
For the Period from January 5, 2021 (Inception) Through December 31, 2021 |
||||||||
Class A |
Class B |
|||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per common share |
||||||||
| Numerator: |
||||||||
| Allocation of net loss, as adjusted |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | ||
| Denominator: |
||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | ||
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $250,000 . The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU
No. 2020-06,
“Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20)
and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40):
Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”),
which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06
removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06
is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06
would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 20,000,000 Units at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 , subject to adjustment (see Note 7).
one-half
of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase On August 2, 2021, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to partially exercise their over-allotment option. As such, on August 4, 2021, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 2,807,868 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, and the sale of an additional 982,754 Private Placement Warrants, at $1.00 per Private Warrant.
F-13
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,000,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $9,000,000 , in a private placement. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 . A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
On August 2, 2021, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to partially exercise their over-allotment option. As such, on August 4, 2021, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 2,807,868 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, and the sale of an additional 982,754 Private Placement Warrants, at $1.00 per Private Warrant.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On January 22, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 shares (the “Founder Shares”) of the Company’s Class B common stock for an aggregate price of $25,000 . The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor will collectively own, on an 20 % of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (assuming the Sponsor does not purchase any Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering). On August 2, 2021, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to partially exercise their over-allotment option. As such, on August 4, 2021, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 2,807,868 Units. As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option and the forfeiture of the remaining over-allotment option, 48,033 Founder Shares were forfeited, and 701,967 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture resulting in an aggregate of 5,701,967 Founder Shares outstanding at August 4, 2021.
as-converted
basis, The Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or similar transaction that results in the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of the Company’s 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 Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the
lock-up.
Other Receivable – Related Party
On August 23, 2021, the Company paid a charge in the amount of $5,541 on behalf of an affiliated entity. This amount is included in other receivable – related party. The Company was subsequently reimbursed in full subsequent to December 31, 2021, prior to the issuance of these consolidated financial statements.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company agreed, commencing on July 28, 2021, through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor or its designee a total of up to $15,000 per month for office space, administrative and shared personnel support. For the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the Company incurred $60,000 45,000
and paid $105,000 in fees for these services, of which
$is included in prepaid expenses and other assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On January 22, 2021, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 . The Promissory Note was (i) December 31, 2021 and (ii) the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Promissory Note of $174,060 was repaid at the closing of the Initial Public Offering on August 2, 2021.
non-interest
bearing and, as amended effective May 28, 2021, payable on the earlier of F-14
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 the Company’s directors and officers 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 would 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. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under the Working Ca
pital Loans.
Health Insurance — Related Party
The Company reimbursed the Sponsor $86,549 of health insurance and other benefits for its officers and administrative staff.
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
On September 15, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with a vendor for financial advisement services related to the Business Combination. The agreement calls for the vendor to receive a contingent fee at Business Combination in the amount of $3,000,000 . If, following or in connection with the termination, abandonment or failure to occur of any proposed Business Combination in respect of which the Company entered into an agreement during the term of this Agreement or during the 12 -month period following the effective date of termination of this Agreement, the Company or any affiliate is entitled to receive a break-up, termination, “topping,” expense reimbursement, earnest money payment or similar fee or payment (each and together, “Termination Payments”), the vendor shall be entitled to a cash fee (the “Break-Up Fee”), payable upon the Company’s or such affiliate’s receipt of such amount, equal to the lesser of (x) 25 % of the aggregate amount of all Termination Payments paid to the Company or such affiliate or (y) $750,000 . In addition, the agreement contains an additional contingent fee provision of 4 % of the gross proceeds of any equity or equity-linked securities sold in connection with the Business Combination. In addition to any fees that may be payable to the vendor, the Company will reimburse the vendor for all reasonable expenses in connection with the agreement.
On October 11, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with a vendor for financial advisement services related to the Business Combination. The agreement calls for the vendor to receive a contingent fee at Business Combination in the amount equal to (i) the aggregate principal amount of securities issued at the closing of such transaction, multiplied by (ii) 4 %, multiplied by (iii) 50 %. In addition to any fees that may be payable to the vendor, the Company will reimburse the vendor for all reasonable expenses in connection with the agreement.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on July 28, 2021, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Units (including securities contained therein) and units (including securities contained therein) that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and any shares of Class A common stock and warrants (and underlying Class A common stock) are entitled to registration rights, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to Class A common stock). The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable
lock-up
period. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidated damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements. This agreement has been subsequently amended and restated. (see Note 11)
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45 -day option from the date of the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On August 2, 2021, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to partially exercise their over-allotment option. As such, on August 4, 2021, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 2,807,868 Units.
The underwriters were paid a cash fee of $0.20 per Unit, or $4,561,574 in the aggregate. In addition, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $7,982,754 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agre
ement.
The Company entered into several other agreements subsequent to year end. (See Note 11)
NOTE 7. CLASS A COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION
Class
A Common Stock
Holders of Class A common stock and holders of Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders except as otherwise required by law.
F-15
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of a Business Combination on a 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 issued in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which the shares of Class B common stock will convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class B common stock agree to waive such anti-dilution 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 20 % of the sum of all shares of common stock issued and outstanding upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering, plus all shares of our Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our Business Combination.
one-for-one
as-converted
basis, NOTE 8. STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preferred Stock
Class
B Common Stock
Prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, only holders of Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors.
Warrants
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Public Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No Public 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 Public Warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available.
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 with the SEC a registration statement registering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60 th business day after the closing of a Business Combination or 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 will 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.
F-16
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per share of Class
A common stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00 —
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $ |
| • | upon not less than |
| • | if, and only if, the reported closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may not exercise its redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or the Company is unable to effect such registration or qualification.
The exercise price and number of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the Public Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public 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 Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Public Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.
In addition if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A 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 a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115 % of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180 % of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Proposed Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the common shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and will be
non-redeemable.
NOTE 9. INCOME TAX
The Company’s net deferred tax assets (liability) at December 31, 2021 is as follows:
December 31, 2021 |
||||
| Deferred tax assets (liability) |
||||
| Net operating loss carryforward |
$ | |||
| Startup/Organization Expenses |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Total deferred tax assets (liability) |
||||
| Valuation Allowance |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Deferred tax assets (liability), net of allowance |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
F-17
The income tax provision for the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 consists of the following:
December 31, 2021 |
||||
| Federal |
||||
| Current |
$ | |||
| Deferred |
( |
) | ||
| State and Local |
||||
| Current |
||||
| Deferred |
||||
| Change in valuation allowance |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Income tax provision |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had a total of $191,032 U.S. federal net operating loss carryovers available to offset future taxable income. The federal net operating loss can be carried forward indefinitely.
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management 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. Management 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, management 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 January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the change in the valuation allowance was $401,138 .
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2021 is as follows:
December 31, 2021 |
||||
| Statutory federal income tax rate |
% | |||
| State taxes, net of federal tax benefit |
% | |||
| Change in fair value of over-allotment liability |
( |
)% | ||
| 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, and the recording of full valuation allowances on deferred tax assets.
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities. The Company’s tax returns for the year ended December 31, 2021 remain open and subject to examination.
F-18
NOTE 10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The Company follows the guidance in ASC 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are
re-measured
and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial
assets and liabilities that are re-measured
and reported at fair value at least annually. 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 our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
Description |
Level |
December 31, 2021 |
||||||
Assets: |
||||||||
Marketable securities held in Trust Account |
1 | $ | ||||||
NOTE 11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On February 15, 2022, the Company entered into an agreement with a vendor for investment banking services related to the pending Business Combination. Specifically, the agreement relates to assisting in raising the funds as part of the PIPE financing. The agreement calls for the vendor to receive a contingent fee equal to (i) the aggregate principal amount of securities issued at the closing of such transaction as i) 2 % if it is a equity or debt security or ii) if it is a convertible debt security. In addition to any fees that may be payable to the vendor, the Company will reimburse the vendor for all reasonable expenses in connection with the agreement.
Convertible Promissory Note — Related Party
On February 9, 2022, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company $300,000 pursuant to a new promissory note (the “Working Capital Loan”). The Working Capital Loan is 1.00 per warrant.
non-interest
bearing and payable upon consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination. At the lender’s discretion, the Working Capital Loan may be repayable in warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $Merger Agreement
On February 14, 2022, Software Acquisition Group Inc. III, a Delaware corporation (“SWAG”), and Nuevo Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of SWAG (“Merger Sub”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms, the “Merger Agreement”) with Branded Online, Inc. (d/b/a Nogin), a Delaware corporation (“Nogin” or the “Company”). If (i) the Merger Agreement is adopted and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, are approved by SWAG’s and Nogin’s stockholders and (ii) the Merger is subsequently completed, Merger Sub will merge with and into Nogin, with Nogin surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of SWAG (the “Merger” and, along with the transactions contemplated in the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”).
F-19
As part of the Transactions, holders of Nogin’s common stock and vested options will receive aggregate consideration of approximately $566.0 million, payable in (i) the case of Nogin’s stockholders, newly issued shares of SWAG Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“SWAG Class A common stock”), with a value ascribed to each share of SWAG Class A common stock of $10.00 , and, at their election, a portion of $20.0 million of consideration payable in cash and (ii) the case of Nogin’s optionholders, options of SWAG (collectively, the “merger consideration”).
Sponsor Agreement
In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, our sponsor entered into a sponsor agreement (the “Sponsor Agreement”) with SWAG and Nogin, pursuant to which the sponsor agreed to, among other things, (i) vote at the special meeting to be called for approval of the Transactions any SWAG Class A common stock or SWAG Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (collectively, the “Sponsor Securities”), held of record or thereafter acquired in favor of the proposals presented by SWAG at such meeting, (ii) be bound by certain other covenants and agreements related to the Merger and (iii) be bound by certain transfer restrictions with respect to the Sponsor Securities, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Sponsor Agreement. The Sponsor Agreement also provides that the Sponsor has agreed to waive redemption rights in connection with the consummation of the Transactions with respect to any Sponsor Securities they may hold.
The sponsor has also agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to transfer any of its shares of SWAG Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”) (or any shares of SWAG common stock issuable upon conversion in connection with the Closing) until the earlier of (i) the date that is the -year anniversary of the Closing and (ii) the date on which SWAG completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of SWAG’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of SWAG common stock for cash, securities or other property or (iii) subsequent to the consummation of the Transactions, the date on which the last reported sale price of the 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 Closing Date of the Transactions (the “Founder Shares Lock-up Period”).
The Sponsor Agreement parties have also agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to transfer any private placement warrants purchased in connection with SWAG’s initial public offering (the “Private Placement Warrants”) (or any share of SWAG common stock issued or issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants), until 30 days after the Closing Date of the Transactions (the “Private Placement Warrants Lock-Up Period” and, together with the Founder Shares Lock-up Period, the “Lock-up Periods”).
The Sponsor Agreement provides that as of immediately prior to (but subject to) the Closing, 1,710,590 (or 30 %) of the Founder Shares held by the sponsor as of the Closing, or 2,565,885 (or 45 %) of the Founders Shares if, immediately prior to the Closing, holders of SWAG Class A common stock have validly elected to redeem a number of shares of SWAG Class A common stock (and have not withdrawn such redemptions) that would result in greater than 40 % of the funds in the Trust Account being paid to such redeeming holders for such redemptions, will be subject to certain time and performance-based vesting provisions described below. The sponsor has agreed, subject to exceptions, not to transfer any unvested Founder Shares prior to the date such securities become vested. Pursuant to the Sponsor Agreement, 50 % of the unvested Founder Shares (the “First Tranche Shares”) will vest on any day following the Closing when the closing price of a share of SWAG Class A common stock on NASDAQ (the “Closing Share Price”) equals or exceeds $12.50 (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) and the remaining 50 % will vest (along with any unvested First Tranche Shares) when the Closing Share Price equals or exceeds $14.50 (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like).
The Sponsor Agreement will terminate on the later of (i) the vesting of all unvested Founder Shares (ii) the end of the Founder Shares Lock-Up Period.
Company Support Agreement
In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, SWAG, Nogin and certain stockholders of Nogin (collectively, the “Supporting Nogin Stockholders” and each, a “Supporting Nogin Stockholder”) entered into the Company Support Agreement. Pursuant to the Company Support Agreement, among other things, each Supporting Nogin Stockholder agreed to (i) vote at any meeting of the stockholders of Nogin all of its Nogin common stock and/or Nogin preferred stock, as applicable (or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Nogin common stock or Nogin preferred stock), held of record or thereafter acquired in favor of the transactions and the adoption of the Merger Agreement; (ii) appoint the chief executive officer of Nogin as such stockholder’s proxy in the event such stockholder fails to fulfil its obligations under the Company Support Agreement, (iii) be bound by certain other covenants and agreements related to the Merger and (iv) be bound by certain transfer restrictions with respect to Nogin securities, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Company Support Agreement. The shares of Nogin capital stock that are owned by the Supporting Nogin Stockholders and subject to the Company Support Agreement represent approximately 84.8 % of the outstanding shares of Nogin common stock and approximately 99.5 % of the outstanding shares of Nogin preferred stock. The execution and delivery of written consents by all of the Supporting Nogin Stockholders will constitute the Nogin stockholder approval at the time of such delivery. Additionally, the Supporting Nogin Stockholders have agreed to waive any appraisal rights (including under Section 262 of the DGCL) with respect to the Merger and any rights to dissent with respect to the Merger.
Registration Rights Agreement
The Merger Agreement contemplates that, at the Closing, SWAG and certain stockholders of Nogin and SWAG will enter into an Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which SWAG will agree to register for resale, pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, certain shares of SWAG Class A common stock and other equity securities of SWAG that are held by the parties thereto from time to time. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, SWAG will agree to file a shelf registration statement registering the resale of the SWAG Class A common stock (including those held as of the effective time or issuable upon future exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) and the Private Placement Warrants (the “Registrable Securities”) under the Registration Rights Agreement within 15 days of the Closing. Up to four times total and up to twice in any 12-month period, certain legacy Nogin stockholders and legacy SWAG stockholders may request to sell all or any portion of their Registrable Securities in an underwritten offering so long as the total offering price is reasonably expected to exceed $35 million. SWAG also agreed to provide customary “piggyback” registration rights, subject to certain requirements and customary conditions. The Registration Rights Agreement also provides that SWAG will pay certain expenses relating to such registrations and indemnify the stockholders against certain liabilities.
F-20
Representations and Warranties
Under the Merger Agreement, Nogin made customary representations and warranties relating to: organization; authorization; capitalization; Nogin’s subsidiaries; consents and approvals; consolidated financial statements; absence of undisclosed liabilities; absence of certain changes; real estate; intellectual property; litigation; material contracts; taxes; environmental matters; licenses and permits; employee benefits; labor and employment matters; international trade and anti-corruption matters; certain fees; insurance policies; affiliate transactions; information supplied; customers and suppliers; compliance with laws; PPP loans; and disclaimer of warranties.
Under the Merger Agreement, SWAG and Merger Sub made customary representations and warranties relating to: organization; authorization; capitalization; consents and approvals; consolidated financial statements; business activities and absence of undisclosed liabilities; absence of certain changes; litigation; material contracts; taxes; compliance with laws; certain fees; organization of Merger Sub; Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reports, Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”) compliance and the Investment Company Act; information supplied; approvals of boards of directors and stockholders; SWAG’s Trust Account (the “Trust Account”); affiliate transactions; independent investigation; employee benefits; valid issuance of securities; takeover statutes and charter provisions; and disclaimer of warranties.
Covenants
The Merger Agreement includes customary covenants of the parties with respect to business operations prior to the consummation of the Transactions and efforts to satisfy conditions to the consummation of the Transactions. The Merger Agreement also contains additional covenants of the parties, including, among others, covenants providing for SWAG and the Company to cooperate in the preparation of the Registration Statement on Form
S-4
required to be prepared in connection with the Transactions (the “Registration Statement”). F-2
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part IItem 1. BusinessItem 1A. Risk FactorsItem 1B. Unresolved Staff CommentsItem 2. PropertiesItem 3. Legal ProceedingsItem 4. Mine Safety DisclosuresPart IIItem 5. Market For Registrant S Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases Of Equity SecuritiesItem 6. Selected Financial DataItem 7. Management S Discussion and Analysis Of Financial Condition and Results Of OperationsItem 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market RiskItem 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary DataItem 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial DisclosureItem 9A. Controls and ProceduresItem 9B. Other InformationPart IIIItem 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate GovernanceItem 11. Executive CompensationItem 12. Security Ownership Of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder MattersItem 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director IndependenceItem 14. Principal Accountant Fees and ServicesPart IVItem 15. Exhibits, Consolidated Financial Statements SchedulesItem 16. Form 10-k SummaryNote 1. Description Of Organization and Business OperationsNote 2. Summary Of Significant Accounting PoliciesNote 3. Initial Public OfferingNote 4. Private PlacementNote 5. Related Party TransactionsNote 6. Commitments and ContingenciesNote 7. Class A Common Stock Subject To Possible RedemptionNote 8. Stockholders DeficitNote 9. Income TaxNote 10. Fair Value MeasurementsNote 11. Subsequent Events