EXHIBIT 10.5

                                                        November 11, 2004

Ardent Acquisition Corporation
1415 Kellum Place, Suite 205
Garden City, New York 11530

EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
600 Third Avenue
33rd Floor
New York, New York 10016

            Re:   INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Gentlemen:

            The  undersigned  stockholder  and  director  of Ardent  Acquisition
Corporation  ("Company"),  in  consideration of  EarlyBirdCapital,  Inc. ("EBC")
entering  into a letter of intent  ("Letter of Intent") to underwrite an initial
public  offering of the  securities of the Company  ("IPO") and embarking on the
IPO process, hereby agrees as follows (certain capitalized terms used herein are
defined in paragraph 11 hereof):

            1.  If  the  Company  solicits  approval  of its  stockholders  of a
Business Combination,  the undersigned will vote all Insider Shares owned by him
in  accordance  with the  majority  of the votes cast by the  holders of the IPO
Shares.

            2. In the event  that the  Company  fails to  consummate  a Business
Combination  within 18 months from the effective date ("Effective  Date") of the
registration statement relating to the IPO (or 24 months under the circumstances
described in the prospectus  relating to the IPO), the undersigned will take all
reasonable actions within his power to cause the Company to liquidate as soon as
reasonably practicable.  The undersigned hereby waives any and all right, title,
interest  or claim of any kind in or to any  distribution  of the Trust Fund (as
defined in the Letter of Intent) as a result of such liquidation with respect to
his Insider  Shares  ("Claim") and hereby waives any Claim the  undersigned  may
have in the  future  as a  result  of,  or  arising  out of,  any  contracts  or
agreements  with the Company and will not seek  recourse  against the Trust Fund
for any reason whatsoever. The undersigned agrees to indemnify and hold harmless

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Ardent Acquisition Corporation
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
November 11, 2004
Page 2

the Company, pro rata with the other officers and directors of the Company based
on the number of Insider  Shares held by each such  individual,  against any and
all loss, liability,  claims, damage and expense whatsoever (including,  but not
limited  to,  any and  all  legal  or  other  expenses  reasonably  incurred  in
investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, whether pending or
threatened,  or any claim  whatsoever) which the Company may become subject as a
result  of any  claim by any  vendor or other  person  who is owed  money by the
Company for services  rendered or products sold, or by any target business,  but
only to the extent necessary to ensure that such loss, liability,  claim, damage
or expense does not reduce the amount in the Trust Fund.

            3. In order to minimize  potential  conflicts of interest  which may
arise  from  multiple  affiliations,  the  undersigned  agrees to present to the
Company for its  consideration,  prior to  presentation  to any other  person or
entity,  any suitable  opportunity to acquire an operating  business,  until the
earlier  of the  consummation  by the  Company of a  Business  Combination,  the
liquidation of the Company or until such time as the undersigned ceases to be an
officer  or  director  of the  Company,  subject to any  pre-existing  fiduciary
obligations the undersigned might have.

            4. The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Company will not
consummate any Business Combination which involves a company which is affiliated
with  any of the  Insiders  unless  the  Company  obtains  an  opinion  from  an
independent  investment  banking  firm  reasonably  acceptable  to EBC  that the
business  combination  is fair to the  Company's  stockholders  from a financial
perspective.

            5.  Neither  the  undersigned,  any  member  of  the  family  of the
undersigned,  nor any Affiliate of the  undersigned  will be entitled to receive
and will not accept any compensation for services  rendered to the Company prior
to the consummation of the Business  Combination;  provided that the undersigned
shall be entitled  to  reimbursement  from the  Company for their  out-of-pocket
expenses  incurred  in  connection  with  seeking  and  consummating  a Business
Combination.

            6.  Neither  the  undersigned,  any  member  of  the  family  of the
undersigned,  or any Affiliate of the undersigned will be entitled to receive or
accept a finder's fee or any other  compensation  in the event the  undersigned,
any member of the family of the  undersigned or any Affiliate of the undersigned
originates a Business Combination.

            7. The undersigned will escrow his Insider Shares for the three year
period  commencing on the Effective  Date subject to the terms of a Stock Escrow
Agreement  which the Company will enter into with the  undersigned and an escrow
agent acceptable to the Company.

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Ardent Acquisition Corporation
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
November 11, 2004
Page 3

            8. The  undersigned  agrees to be a member of the Board of Directors
of the  Company  until the  earlier  of the  consummation  by the  Company  of a
Business  Combination  or the  liquidation  of the  Company.  The  undersigned's
biographical information furnished to the Company and EBC and attached hereto as
Exhibit  A is true and  accurate  in all  respects,  does not omit any  material
information with respect to the undersigned's background and contains all of the
information  required to be disclosed pursuant to Section 401 of Regulation S-K,
promulgated  under the Securities Act of 1933. The  undersigned's  Questionnaire
furnished  to the  Company  and EBC and  annexed as Exhibit B hereto is true and
accurate in all respects. The undersigned represents and warrants that:

      (a) he is not subject to or a  respondent  in any legal  action  for,  any
injunction,  cease-and-desist order or order or stipulation to desist or refrain
from  any  act  or  practice  relating  to the  offering  of  securities  in any
jurisdiction;

      (b) he has never  been  convicted  of or  pleaded  guilty to any crime (i)
involving any fraud or (ii) relating to any financial transaction or handling of
funds of another person,  or (iii)  pertaining to any dealings in any securities
and he is not currently a defendant in any such criminal proceeding; and

      (c) he has  never  been  suspended  or  expelled  from  membership  in any
securities  or  commodities  exchange  or  association  or had a  securities  or
commodities license or registration denied, suspended or revoked.

            9. The undersigned has full right and power,  without  violating any
agreement by which he is bound, to enter into this letter agreement and to serve
as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.

            10. The undersigned authorizes any employer,  financial institution,
or  consumer  credit   reporting   agency  to  release  to  EBC  and  its  legal
representatives  or agents (including any investigative  search firm retained by
EBC) any  information  they may have  about  the  undersigned's  background  and
finances  ("Information").  Neither EBC nor its agents  shall be  violating  the
undersigned's  right of privacy in any manner in  requesting  and  obtaining the
Information  and the  undersigned  hereby  releases them from  liability for any
damage whatsoever in that connection.

            11. As used  herein,  (i) a  "Business  Combination"  shall  mean an
acquisition  by merger,  capital  stock  exchange,  asset or stock  acquisition,
reorganization

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Ardent Acquisition Corporation
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
November 11, 2004
Page 4

or otherwise,  of an operating business selected by the Company; (ii) "Insiders"
shall mean all officers,  directors and stockholders of the Company  immediately
prior to the IPO; (iii) "Insider  Shares" shall mean all of the shares of Common
Stock of the Company owned by an Insider prior to the IPO; and (iv) "IPO Shares"
shall mean the shares of Common Stock issued in the Company's IPO.

                                                     Arthur H. Goldberg
                                                     ------------------
                                                     Print Name of Insider


                                                     /s/ Arthur H. Goldberg
                                                     ----------------------
                                                     Signature

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EXHIBIT A

      Arthur H.  Goldberg has been a member of our board of directors  since our
inception.  Mr.  Goldberg  has served as a member of Corporate  Solutions  Group
since January 2000.  From February 1994 to December 1999, Mr. Goldberg served as
president of Manhattan Associates,  an investment and merchant banking firm. Mr.
Goldberg has been a director of Atlantic  Realty Trust, a Nasdaq SmallCap listed
real  estate  investment   trust,   since  1996,  and  has  been  a  trustee  of
Ramco-Gershenson  Properties Trust (formerly named RPS Realty Trust), a New York
Stock Exchange  listed real estate  investment  trust,  since 1988. Mr. Goldberg
received a B.S.  (cum laude) from New York  University  Stern  School and a J.D.
from the New York University School of Law.