EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1852749
Filing Year: 2024
Filename: 1852749_10-K_2024_0001104659-24-034096.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1.Business
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on March 15, 2021. We were formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “business combination”). We are an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies. We have reviewed a number of opportunities to enter into a business combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
Our executive offices are located at 100 Kingsley Park Dr., Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715, and our telephone number is (917) 209-8581. Our corporate website address is excelfinacquisitioncorp.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this annual report. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
Company History
Our sponsor is ExcelFin SPAC LLC, a Delaware corporation (the “sponsor”). The registration statement for our IPO was declared effective on October 20, 2021. On October 26, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 23,000,000 units (the “units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the units being offered, the “public shares”), at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $230.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $22.7 million, of which $8.05 million was for deferred underwriting commissions. The 23,000,000 units sold included 3,000,000 units issued subject to the underwriters’ over-allotment option, which was exercised in full prior to the closing of our IPO. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we consummated the private placement (“private placement”) of 11,700,000 warrants (each, a “private placement warrant” and collectively, the “private placement warrant”), at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant with the sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11.7 million.
Upon the closing of our IPO, the private placement and the over-allotment, $234.6 million ($10.20 per unit) of the net proceeds of our IPO and certain of the proceeds of the private placement was placed in a trust account (“trust account”), maintained by U.S. Bank National Association, acting as trustee, and invested only 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 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by us meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the trust account as described below. In connection with redemptions made in connection with the extension of the completion window, approximately $217.0 million was withdrawn from the trust account to fund such redemptions, leaving a balance of approximately $23.6 million.
OUR COMPANY
Our company is led by Joe Ragan, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and Jennifer Hill, our Chairman of the Board. We are affiliated with Grand Fortune Capital, LLC (“GFC”) and Fin Venture Capital (“Fin VC”) (each a “Sponsor Affiliate”). GFC is an investment company solely owned by Jackson Wijaya, who has completed a series of significant M&A transactions and numerous investments in FinTech, TMT and Healthcare. Fin VC, founded by Logan Allin in 2018, is a leading FinTech-focused venture and growth equity firm with $750 million+ in assets under management and a portfolio of 40+ market leading FinTech companies from Seed-to-pre-IPO. Fin VC’s employees have accumulated decades of investing, company building, and deal execution experience among them.
On June 26, 2023, we, Betters Medical Investment Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Betters”), Baird Medical Investment Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Betters (“PubCo”), Betters Medical Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of PubCo (“Merger Sub” and, together with PubCo, each, individually, an “Acquisition Entity” and, collectively, the “Acquisition Entities”), and Tycoon Choice Global Limited, a business company limited by shares incorporated under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands and a direct,
wholly owned subsidiary of Betters (“Tycoon”), entered into a Business Combination Agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”).
Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement (a) on August 2, 2023, Betters contributed all of the issued shares of Tycoon held by Betters (“Company Shares”) to PubCo in exchange for PubCo Ordinary Shares such that Tycoon became a wholly-owned subsidiary of PubCo and Betters received in exchange therefor 29,411,764 PubCo Ordinary Shares (the “Share Contribution”) that have an aggregate value equal to Three Hundred Million Dollars ($300,000,000); and (b) after a special meeting of the stockholders of the Company approving the transactions, Merger Sub will merge with and into ExcelFin, with ExcelFin continuing as the surviving entity and wholly-owned subsidiary of PubCo (the “Merger”).
The Business Combination Agreement provides that at the effective time of the Business Combination (the “Effective Time”):
(i) each unit that is issued and outstanding shall be automatically divided, and the holder thereof shall be deemed to hold one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one public warrant;
(ii) each outstanding public share of Class A common stock will be exchanged for one PubCo Ordinary Share; and, subject to a vesting requirement for 1,350,000 of such shares held by the sponsor, each outstanding share of Class A common stock held by the sponsor will be cancelled in exchange for one PubCo Ordinary Share; and
(iii) the registered holder of each outstanding public warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock will receive, in exchange for such warrants, an equal number of warrants to purchase one PubCo Ordinary Share upon the same terms as were applicable to the public warrants.
On October 25, 2023, all 5,750,000 outstanding shares of Class B common stock held by the sponsor were converted into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock. This conversion was done to ensure that the Company remained in compliance with Nasdaq’s continuing listing requirements (market value of listed securities) prior to Closing. This conversion will have no effect on the consideration to be issued to the former holders of founder shares under the Business Combination Agreement. The Business Combination Agreement provides that each of these shares of Class A common stock formerly held by the sponsor will be cancelled in exchange for one PubCo Ordinary Share upon the Closing of the Business Combination. However, 1,350,000 of the PubCo Ordinary Shares issued to the sponsor in the Business Combination in exchange for Class A common stock (the “Sponsor Earnout Shares”) will not vest unless and until within the fifth anniversary of the closing of the Business Combination (a) the volume weighted average price of the PubCo Ordinary Shares on Nasdaq is greater than or equal to $12.50 per share over any 20 trading days within any 30-day trading period or (b) a change of control of PubCo occurs. In connection with the Business Combination Agreement, the Sponsor has agreed to surrender all of the private placement warrants for no additional consideration.
On March 11, 2024, the parties entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Business Combination Agreement. The primary terms of the amendment to the Business Combination Agreement are as follows:
● (x) 20,588,235 PubCo Ordinary Shares to be held by Baird Medical at Closing (70% of such shares) shall be fully vested and freely tradable and (y) 8,823,529 PubCo Ordinary Shares to be held by Baird Medical at Closing (30% of such shares) shall be subject to vesting and forfeiture as described below (the “Baird Medical Earnout Shares”).
● The Baird Medical Earnout Shares shall become fully vested if prior to the eighth anniversary of the Effective Time, the VWAP of PubCo Ordinary Shares is greater than or equal to $12.50 (the “Price Target”) over any 20 trading days within any 30-day trading period.
● In the event that there is a Change of Control of PubCo prior to the eighth anniversary of the Effective Time, and the corresponding valuation of PubCo Ordinary Shares implied by that Change of Control is greater than or equal to the Price Target, the Baird Medical Earnout Shares shall become fully vested immediately prior to such Change of Control.
● All references to SPAC Closing Cash needing to be at least $15.0 million have been removed from the Business Combination Agreement.
● The Maximum Extension Date has been changed from June 25, 2024 to May 25, 2024.
Closing of the Business Combination is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the filing of a registration statement registering the PubCo Ordinary Shares issuable in the Business Combination and a vote of a majority of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock in favor thereof.
INVESTMENT CRITERIA
We have developed the following investment criteria that we will use to screen for and evaluate target businesses. We will use these criteria in evaluating initial business combination opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria. We expect that no individual criterion will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular opportunity. We intend to seek an initial business combination with a business that we believe exhibits the following characteristics:
● Robust Growth and Margin Profile. We will seek to acquire a business that has grown consistently year-over-year, has a defensible recurring revenue model and sustainable gross margin profile. We are targeting companies with trailing twelve-month annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) of greater than $75mm with 50%+ growth rates, 70%+ gross margin profile, and strong net revenue retention with low churn.
● Category Leader and Proven Product-Market Fit. We will seek to acquire a business that has a sustainable competitive advantage within a target market as a result of differentiated technology, intellectual property, distribution capabilities, and other attributes that provide high barriers to entry.
● Appropriate Valuation and Transaction Structure. We will seek to acquire a business at an attractive valuation between $750mm and $2 billion of enterprise value with mutual upside potential through the combination with our management team and value add. We believe the benefits of a SPAC structure, versus a traditional IPO, with a strong sponsor fit like ExcelFin will deliver accelerated long-term benefits to all stakeholders.
● Global Business Development Opportunities. We believe that a key driver of value enhancement will be centered around direct customer introductions and broader business development efforts through the Company’s global network. We will support scale through regional and cross-border customer acquisition, channel partnerships, and global expansion, which will in turn drive revenue growth, margin improvement, and ultimately appreciate enterprise value.
● Advantage from M&A, Capital Markets, and Operating Expertise as well as Fin VCs Network. We will seek to acquire a business where the collective capabilities of our management team can be leveraged to tangibly improve the operations and create value. This may be achieved through constructive engagement with seasoned management teams with augmentation of the board and team to enhance performance. Additionally, we may seek to acquire a business that, in addition to organic growth, has the potential to grow through accretive M&A. We will partner with a company that understands the value of our network and expects to benefit from the experience of our management team and deep history of investing, advising, operating and leading successful companies in the FinTech space.
● Public Company Readiness. We will seek management and shareholders who aspire to have their company become a public entity to improve the long-term prospects for the business and shareholders. The benefits of transitioning from a private to a public entity may include a broader access to debt and equity providers, liquidity for employees/existing shareholders, potential acquisitions and expanded branding in the marketplace.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as on other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Members of our board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and 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. Our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.004 per share and we sold units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our IPO; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of
directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. (See “Risk Factors-The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we consummate an initial business combination, and our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us in the event we consummate an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our common stock to materially decline.” and “-Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.”)
INITIAL BUSINESS COMBINATION
In connection with our IPO, two Sponsor Affiliates were granted the right to purchase, pursuant to a forward purchase agreement, up to 6,500,000 forward purchase units, consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock, for $10.00 per unit, or an aggregate amount of up to $65,000,000, in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The Sponsor Affiliates have not elected to purchase any securities under the forward purchase agreement.
Pursuant to the Company’s Charter, the Company’s public stockholders may demand that the Company redeem, upon the Closing of the Business Combination, shares of Class A common stock then held by them for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit (as of two (2) business days prior to the Closing of the Business Combination) in the trust account (the “Trust Account”) that holds the proceeds (including interest but less taxes payable) of the Company’s IPO. On April 13, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders (the “First Extension Meeting”) to vote on a proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from April 25, 2023 to October 25, 2023 (the “First Extension Amendment Proposal”), and the stockholders approved the First Extension Amendment Proposal at that meeting. In connection with the vote to approve the First Extension Amendment Proposal, the holders of 18,211,208 shares of Class A common stock (representing 79% of the shares of Class A common stock then outstanding) properly exercised their rights to redeem their shares for cash. On October 20, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders (the “Second Extension Meeting”) to vote on a proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from October 25, 2023 to April 25, 2024 (the “Second Extension Amendment Proposal”), and the stockholders approved the Second Extension Amendment Proposal at that meeting. In connection with the vote to approve the Second Extension Amendment Proposal, the holders of 2,587,259 shares of Class A common stock (representing 54% of the shares of Class A common stock then outstanding) properly exercised their rights to redeem their shares for cash. In connection with those redemptions, approximately $217.0 million was withdrawn from the trust account to fund such redemptions, leaving a balance of approximately $23.6 million. The Company subsequently deposited approximately $132,000 into the Trust Account as was required to effect the initial three-month extension through January 25, 2024 approved as part of the Second Extension Amendment Proposal, and has since made additional deposits of approximately $88,000 to effect two additional one-month extensions through March 25, 2024.
We may hold a shareholder vote at any time to amend our Charter to modify the amount of time we have to consummate an initial business combination (as well as to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within the time periods described herein or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity). As described herein, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed that they will not propose any such amendment unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted withdrawals and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve,
subject, in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.
The rules of Nasdaq require our initial business combination to occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, 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. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
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 issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business 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 our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target business or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our 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 target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.
SOURCING OF POTENTIAL BUSINESS COMBINATION TARGETS
We believe our management team’s significant 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 around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring, financing and selling 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. As a result of Fin VC’s bottoms-up evaluation approach, Fin VC has processed over 10,000 FinTech companies and as it currently stands, management has identified 75 - 100+ potential targets.
In addition, members of our management team have developed contacts from serving on the boards of directors of several companies.
We believe this network provides our management team with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities that are proprietary. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team will provide us with important sources of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, may engage independent advisors to assist with the evaluation and would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm 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.
We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with FVC, GFC and/or one or more investors in funds managed by FVC. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this report. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance.
For additional discussion relating to potential conflicts of interest relating to sourcing of potential business combination targets, please see “Management-Conflicts of Interest.”
STATUS AS A PUBLIC COMPANY
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer target businesses an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their capital stock, shares or other equity securities in the target business for our shares or for a combination of our shares 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 certain and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company as long as (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million as of the end of a year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues are less than $100 million during a completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
FINANCIAL POSITION
We offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
EFFECTING OUR INITIAL BUSINESS COMBINATION
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. 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, 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 the redemptions of our public shares, 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.
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 the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, 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.
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 subject to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other 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.
Whether Stockholder
Type of Transaction
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 Nasdaq 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 (other than in a public offering);
● any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and if the number of shares of common stock to be issued, or if the
number of shares of common stock into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of shares of common stock or 1% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors and officers or (b) 5% of the number of shares of common stock or 5% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial securityholders; 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 applicable law or stock exchange rule will be based on business and other 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;
● 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.
PERMITTED PURCHASES AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO OUR SECURITIES
In the event 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 any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or 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 securities such persons may purchase. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. 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. In the event our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates determine to undertake any such transactions, such transactions could have the effect of influencing the vote necessary to approve such transaction. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. They will be restricted from making 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. 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. We have adopted an insider trading policy which requires insiders to refrain from trading securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. 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 be required to comply with such rules.
The purpose of such transaction could be to (1) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (2) 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. This 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 securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their respective affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming 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. 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. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
As of the date of report, no agreements with respect to the private purchase of public shares by the persons described above have been entered into with any such investor or holder. In the event of any such newly purchased shares (i) the sponsor or its affiliates will purchase public shares at a price no higher than the price offered through the redemption process; (ii) any such purchases by sponsor or its affiliates will not be voted in favor of approving the Business Combination; and (iii) the sponsor and its affiliates have waived their redemption rights to such shares. Prior to the special meeting to approve the Business Combination, the Company will disclose in a Form 8-K (i) the amount of public shares purchased outside of the redemption offer by the sponsor or its affiliates, along with the purchase price; (ii) the purpose of the purchases by the sponsor or its affiliates; (iii) the impact, if any, of the purchases by the sponsor or its affiliates on the likelihood that the Business Combination transaction will be approved; (iv) the identities of stockholders who sold to the sponsor or its affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of stockholders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to the sponsor or its affiliates; and (v) the number of public shares for which the Company has received redemption requests pursuant to its redemption offer.
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 public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At the completion of our initial business combination, we will be required to purchase any public shares properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account available for common stockholders after interest available for taxes as of December 31, 2023 is approximately $10.58 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
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 (1) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer 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 requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock or seek to amend our certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to
the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
● 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.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, 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 such initial business combination, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
● 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.
We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least ten days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a preliminary proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 5,750,000 of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon. As a result, our initial stockholders hold enough shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements 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 it votes for or against the proposed transaction or do not vote at all.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also
be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
LIMITATION ON REDEMPTION UPON COMPLETION OF OUR INITIAL BUSINESS COMBINATION IF WE SEEK STOCKHOLDER APPROVAL
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares of common stock sold in our IPO, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates 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 IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates 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 IPO, we believe we limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
TENDERING STOCK CERTIFICATES IN CONNECTION WITH A TENDER OFFER OR REDEMPTION RIGHTS
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, 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, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days, and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least ten days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a preliminary proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. 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 tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker 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 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 tender offer materials or two business days prior to the scheduled date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we
elect to allow additional withdrawal rights). 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 business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until the end of the completion window.
REDEMPTION OF PUBLIC SHARES AND LIQUIDATION IF NO INITIAL BUSINESS COMBINATION
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we initially have until the end of the completion window to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) 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 prescribed time period.
Our initial stockholders 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 their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares, 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 time frame to complete our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other provision 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing any potential plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $45,219 of proceeds held outside the trust account as of December 31, 2023, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, 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.
The amount in the trust account available for common stockholders after interest available for taxes is $10.58 as of December 31, 2023. 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 common stockholders after interest available for taxes will not be substantially less than $10.58 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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. 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 we are 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.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO 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, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not 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 and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our other officers 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 (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in 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 in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.20 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to 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 IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. As of December 31, 2023, we had access to up to $45,219 held outside of the trust account with which to pay any such potential claims. 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.
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 within the required time period 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 within the required time period, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, 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 have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and 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 (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, 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 the end of our acquisition period 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 ten 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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account.
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: (1) $10.20 per public share; or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO 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.
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 $10.20 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, and 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 earliest to occur of: (1) 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; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within the completion window, 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. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains certain requirements and restrictions relating to our IPO that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, if we seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such amendment. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:
● prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (1) seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which public stockholders may seek to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or do not vote at all, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable); or (2) provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to tender their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein;
● we will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination at a duly held stockholders meeting;
● if we have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and 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 (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and
liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; and
● prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account; or (2) vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial business combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least 50% of our issued and outstanding common stock.
Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders.
COMPETITION
We expect to encounter intense 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 greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do, and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our IPO 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, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our shares of Class A common stock, these payments will reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination.
INDEMNITY
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, 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. We have not 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 and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.
FACILITIES
We currently maintain our executive offices at 100 Kingsley Park Dr., Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
EMPLOYEES AND HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
We currently have four officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. 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 such person 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.
PERIODIC REPORTING AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION
We have registered our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public auditors.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, U.S. GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. 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 financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate and report on our system of internal controls for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company as long as (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million as of the end of a year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues are less than $100 million during a completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
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, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding during the period covered by this report.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
● We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history, no revenues and no identified operating business as a target, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
● Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
● Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of such business combination.
● 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 $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
● If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
● The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
● 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.
● The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
● If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
● If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
● 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 and/or warrants, 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.
● 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 completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
● If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until the end of the completion window, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
● Past performance by our management team, FVC, GFC and their respective affiliates including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
● Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may 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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
● Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
● We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on stockholders.
● We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
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 units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
In connection with the proposed business combination, PubCo has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form (Registration No. 333-274114), which includes a proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents, which will be both the proxy statement to be distributed to the Company’s stockholders in connection with the Company’s solicitation of proxies for the vote by the Company’s stockholders with respect to the proposed business combination and other matters as may be described in the registration statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer and sale of the securities of PubCo to be issued in connection with the business combination. Stockholders of the Company are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus (including any amendments or supplements thereto and any documents incorporated by reference therein) and other relevant documents in connection with the proposed transactions that PubCo and the Company will file with the SEC carefully and in their entirety because they contain important information about the proposed transactions and the parties to the proposed transactions. Stockholders and investors may obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials and other documents filed by PubCo and the Company at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and the filings incorporated by reference therein may also be obtained, without charge, on the Company’s website at www.excelfinacquisitioncorp.com or by directing a request to: ExcelFin Acquisition Corp., 100 Kingsley Park Drive, Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715. There are a number of risks relating to the proposed business combination and the consummation thereof disclosed in the proxy statement/prospectus and stockholders should consider the risks described therein. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted withdrawals and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
RISKS RELATING TO OUR SEARCH FOR, AND CONSUMMATION OF OR INABILITY TO CONSUMMATE, A BUSINESS COMBINATION
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history, no revenues and no identified operating business as a target, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating results, and did will not commence operations until obtaining funding through our IPO. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable corporate law or stock exchange rules or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, Nasdaq listing rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting, but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares or that involves a merger to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares or that involves a merger, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock do not approve of the business combination we consummate.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, since the initial stockholders own 5,750,000 shares and the public stockholders own 2,201,533 shares, the initial business combination may be approved without the vote of any of the public stockholders. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any.
Your opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of such business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Additionally, since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of
shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, 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 as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target). Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within the completion window. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
As the number of SPACs 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 SPACs that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for SPACs have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many SPACs seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration with the SEC. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more SPACs 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.
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 SPACs has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. 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. These trends may continue into the future.
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.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our IPO, which may include acting as M&A advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after our IPO, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our IPO, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing M&A advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. We may pay such 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 underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests 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. 80% of the deferred underwriting fees originally in the amount of $8,050,000 have been waived for the Business Combination by UBS Securities LLC and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., two of the underwriters in the IPO, leaving $1,610,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable upon closing.
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 $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within the completion window. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) 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 $10.20 per share, or less than $10.20 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” 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, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share 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. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and 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. See “Proposed Business-Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will select which stockholders to enter into private transactions with. The purpose of such purchases could be 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. This 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 securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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 criteria and 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 applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, 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 have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
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 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.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we will not obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. 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 tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 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 and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons. 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 have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geography or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company of any size (subject to our satisfaction of the 80% of net assets test) and in any industry, sector or geography, and not in the FinTech B2B or SaaS space. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or development stage entity. Although our
directors and officers 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 not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
RISKS RELATING TO OUR SECURITIES AND TRUST ACCOUNT
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy 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 tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, 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 redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer or proxy materials documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/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: (1) 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; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within the completion window, 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. 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 and/or warrants, 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, Class A common stock and warrants are listed on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to the IPO we meet the minimum initial listing requirements set forth in the rules of Nasdaq, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum amount of market value of listed securities (generally $50 million) and a minimum of 400 round lot holders. Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, the value of our listed securities would generally be required to be at least $50 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our unrestricted securities (with at least 50% of such round-lot holders holding unrestricted securities with a market value of at least $2,500). We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
● a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
● reduced liquidity for our securities;
● a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
● a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
● a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 (“NSMIA”), prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A common stock and warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and warrants qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, NSMIA does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under NSMIA and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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 completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense 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 greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do, and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire, 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, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our shares of Class A common stock, these payments will reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until the end of the completion window, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until the end of the completion window, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through our IPO and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this report titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account, will be sufficient to allow us to operate until the end of the completion window; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent 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 have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we may depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $2,500,000 was made available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. As of December 31, 2023, we had $45,219 held outside of the trust account. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their respective affiliates is under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us in such circumstances. Any such loans may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write down or write off the value of 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 post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders 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 $10.20 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
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 we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, 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 ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, 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. We have not 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. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our directors or officers 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 (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of 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 may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our public stockholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
The SEC has recently enacted final rules impacting special purpose acquisition companies that could increase the Company’s costs, cause the Business Combination to be less attractive to the Company’s shareholders or constrain circumstances under which it could be completed.
On January 24, 2024, the SEC issued final rules (“Final Rules”) relating to, among other items, enhancing disclosures in business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; amending the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; effectively limiting the use of projections in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; increasing the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. These rules may materially adversely affect our ability to engage financial and capital market advisors, negotiate and complete the Business Combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC had proposed rules which would provide a safe harbor for SPACs satisfying certain criteria from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act. To comply with the duration limitation of the proposed safe harbor, a SPAC would have a limited time period to announce and complete a de-SPAC transaction. Specifically, to comply with the safe harbor, the Proposed Rules would require a company to file a report on Form 8-K announcing that it has entered into an agreement with a target company for an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of
its registration statement for its initial public offering (“IPO Registration Statement”). The company would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of the IPO Registration Statement.
In adopting the Final Rules, SEC did not adopt the proposed safe harbor but did provide guidance on activities that may raise concerns as to investment company status:
● Nature of SPAC assets and income. For instance, a SPAC that owns or proposes to acquire 40% or more of its total assets in investment securities or a SPAC whose income is substantially derived from such assets would likely be considered an investment company. Holding U.S. government securities, U.S. registered money market funds and cash items, as is customary for SPACs during the period between the SPAC IPO and de-SPAC transaction, should not result in investment company status.
● Management activities. Certain activities of the SPAC’s officers, directors and employees may be factors in the investment company determination, such as spending a considerable amount of time in managing the SPAC’s portfolio to achieve returns and not actively seeking a de-SPAC transaction.
● Duration. While the SEC does not offer a bright line rule as to the duration of the SPAC, if a SPAC continues to operate without completing a de-SPAC transaction and its assets are substantially composed of, and its income derived from, securities, its activities may be more difficult to distinguish from those of an investment company. The SEC guidance indicated that the 12-month safe harbor for transient investment companies under Rule 3a-2 and the 18-month limit contemplated by Rule 419 were relevant analogies in analyzing the investment company status of a SPAC and that the further a SPAC operated beyond those timelines, the greater the investment company concerns would be, depending on the overall facts and circumstances.
● Holding out. If the SPAC holds itself out as primarily engaged in investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, it will likely be considered an investment company.
● Merging with an investment company. If the target company in a de-SPAC transaction is an investment company, the SPAC is likely to be considered an investment company.
Notwithstanding the foregoing guidance, there remains uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to SPACs, including a company like ours, that has not completed its initial business combination within 24 months from the effective date of its IPO Registration Statement. It is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company. If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we might be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. If we are required to liquidate the Company, our investors would not be able to realize the benefits of owning stock in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our stock and warrants following such a transaction, and our warrants would expire worthless.
Prior to October 26, 2023, funds in the Trust Account were held only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. However, to mitigate the risk of the Company being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act), prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to the Company’s initial public offering, the Company instructed American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account (the “Trustee”), to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and to hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash in an interest bearing account until the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination or liquidation. In connection with such instructions, on October 26, 2023, the Company and the Trustee entered into an amendment (the “Trust Agreement Amendment”) to the Investment Management Trust Agreement dated October 25, 2021, which governs the investment of monies held in the Trust Account, to specifically allow the investment of those funds into an interest bearing account.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, our public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond the completion window before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public stockholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the
purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to windup, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public stockholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution are subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the end of the completion window before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their shares of Class A common stock. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto.
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 Delaware General Corporation Law, or 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 within the required time period 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 end of the completion window 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 do not intend to comply 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 ten 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, consultants, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, 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 stockholder meeting 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 our initial business combination (unless required by Nasdaq or the DGCL) 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 our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Until we hold an annual meeting of stockholders, public stockholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management.
We did not register the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws in connection with our initial public offering, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a “cashless basis” and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We did nor register the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws in connection with our initial public offering. However, under the terms of the warrant agreements, 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 reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating thereto until the warrants expire or, in the case of the public warrants only, are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their public warrants on a cashless basis. However, no public 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 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 or qualification is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a public 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 public 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, but we will use our reasonable best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities 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 no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the public warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such public warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such public warrant and such public warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their public 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. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise such private placement warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in our IPO. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their private placement warrants and sell the shares of Class A common stock underlying such private placement warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their public warrants and sell the underlying common stock.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees 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 an agreement to be entered into upon the closing of our IPO, at or after the time of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to shares of our Class A common stock. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, 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 shares of 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 shares of common stock owned by our initial stockholders or their permitted transferees, our private placement warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.
We may issue additional shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 192,048,467 and 50,000,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class B common stock. There are currently no preferred shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order 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 to redeem the warrants. However, our 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 (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote pursuant to our certificate of incorporation on any initial business combination or any amendments to our certificate of incorporation. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
● may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our IPO;
● may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
● could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers;
● may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
● may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and
● may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
We may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your public warrants could be increased, the public warrants could be converted into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a public warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our public warrants are issued in registered form under a public warrant agreement between American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as warrant agent, and us. The public warrant agreement provides that the terms of the public warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any other modification or amendment to the terms of the public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% 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 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the public warrants, convert the public warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a public warrant. Our initial stockholders may purchase public warrants with the intention of reducing the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to warrant holders for approval, including amending the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. While our initial stockholders have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for such transactions, there is no limit on the number of our public warrants that our initial stockholders may purchase and it is not currently known how many public warrants, if any, our initial stockholders may hold at the time of our initial business combination or at any other time during which the terms of the public warrants may be proposed to be amended.
A provision of our warrant agreements may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
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; (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 volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the greater of the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination and the newly issued price and, in the case of the public warrants only, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination and the newly issued price. This could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrant agreements designates the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, 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 agreements provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreements will be brought and enforced in the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, 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 agreements will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be 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 agreements. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of the warrant agreements, is filed in a court other than a court of the City of New York, County of New York, 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, and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such action brought in such court to enforce the forum provisions by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Warrant holders who are unable to bring their claims in the judicial forum of their choosing may be required to incur additional costs in pursuit of actions which are subject to our choice-of-forum provision. However, the enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions (including exclusive federal forum provisions for actions, suits or proceedings asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act) in other companies’ organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and there is uncertainty as to whether courts would enforce the exclusive forum provisions in our warrant agreements. Additionally, our stockholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our warrant agreements to be 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.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 the ability of the board of directors to designate the
terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, which 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 discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company or our company’s directors, officers or other employees.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of our company to our company or our stockholders, or any claim for aiding and abetting any such alleged breach, (3) action asserting a claim against our company or any director, officer or employee of our company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4) action asserting a claim against us or any director, officer or employee of our company governed by the internal affairs doctrine except for, as to each of (1) through (4) above, any claim (a) as to which the Court of Chancery 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) or (b) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or otherwise arising under federal securities laws, for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware, a foreign action, in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware 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 stockholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such stockholder.
This forum selection clause may discourage claims or limit stockholders’ ability to submit claims in a judicial forum that they find favorable and may result in additional costs for a stockholder seeking to bring a claim. While we believe the risk of a court declining to enforce this forum selection clause is low, if a court were to determine the forum selection clause to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs in conjunction with our efforts to resolve the dispute in an alternative jurisdiction, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR SPONSOR AND MANAGEMENT TEAM AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES
Past performance by our management team, FVC, GFC and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
Information regarding performance by our management team, FVC, GFC and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team, FVC, GFC or their affiliates or any related investment’s performance 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.
We may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of FVC, GFC and/or one or more investors in funds managed by FVC. This may result in conflicts of interest as well as dilutive issuances of our securities.
We may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity affiliated with FVC, GFC and/or one or more investors in funds managed by FVC. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such parties. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in acquisition targets that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if such business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition 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 adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our directors and officers 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 directors and officers are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other responsibilities. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our business combination. Each of our directors and officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation and our directors and officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors will also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities. If our directors’ and officers’ 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.
We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. 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.
Our ability to effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we 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 directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition 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.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. 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, as we do not expect that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. 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.
We may have 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.
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 stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time.
Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may 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 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 directors and officers are, or may become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Our sponsor, directors and officers are not prohibited from sponsoring, investing in or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies (including special purpose acquisition companies similar to our company), including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. In particular, certain of our officers
and certain of our directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to FVC, GFC and to certain companies in which they have invested, including companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination. Potential investors should also be aware of certain potential conflicts of interest as further described in “Management-Conflicts of Interest.”
As a result of multiple business affiliations, our directors and officers have now and may have in the future similar legal obligations to other companies that would require them to present business opportunities to those companies. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for another entity to whom he or she owes fiduciary or contractual duties, he or she may need to honor his or her 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. 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 the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we currently do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have invested in a diverse set of industries. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, directors and officers 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 preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business-Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, may engage independent advisors to assist with the evaluation and will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we consummate an initial business combination, and our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us in the event we consummate an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our common stock to materially decline.
While we sold our units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit and the amount in the trust account is initially $10.20 per public share, implying an initial value of $10.20 per public share, our sponsor paid only a nominal aggregate purchase price of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.004 per share. As a result, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted in the event we consummate an initial business combination. Our sponsor has invested an aggregate of $11,725,000 in us in connection with
our IPO, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $11,700,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants. Even if the trading price of our common stock significantly declines, our sponsor will stand to make significant profit on its investment in us. In addition, our sponsor could potentially recoup its entire investment in us even if the trading price of our common stock is less than $3.73 per share and even if the private placement warrants are worthless. As a result, our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us even if we select and consummate an initial business combination that causes the trading price of our common stock to decline, while our public shareholders who purchased their units in our IPO could lose significant value in their public shares. Our sponsor may therefore be economically incentivized to consummate an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if our sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public shareholders paid for their public shares.
Since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In March 2021, our sponsor subscribed for an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Our initial stockholders collectively own 73% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock as of the date of this report. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination and our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.004 per share and we sold units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our IPO; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,700,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($11,700,000 in the aggregate), that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO except that: (1) they will not be redeemable by us; (2) 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; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders thereof (including with respect to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights. Our sponsor has agreed to surrender the private placement warrants for not additional consideration upon the closing of the Business Combination.
The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in our IPO except that: (1) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into with us; (2) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (3) the founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (4) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of the letter agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any amendment or waiver entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to or waiver of any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments or waivers would not require
approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline for completing our initial business combination nears.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
GENERAL RISKS
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Following the filing of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending June 30, 2022, we identified certain clerical errors in the EDGAR version of its condensed financial statements filed with the SEC. These errors were remedied by restating the June 30, 2022 Form 10-Q. As part of such process, management concluded that a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting existed related to EDGAR document preparation and ineffective review controls over that process.
In connection with the review of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending March 31, 2023, it was determined that a related party expense was recorded incorrectly due to ineffective review and reconciliation of such related party transactions. A similar incorrect journal entry was identified during the quarter ended December 31, 2023. While management of the Company has intended to implement enhanced review and reconciliation controls to ensure the timely and accurate recording of related party transactions, as of December 31, 2023 such material weakness is not considered remediated.
In October 2023, we made payments on three separate invoices which payments were later determined by management to have been made in error. Two of the payments were later recovered from the vendors, but it is unlikely that the third payment will be recovered. In addition, there were certain immaterial amounts that were not recorded as expense or prepaid accurately. Our management has conducted a thorough investigation related to these events and has concluded there was a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to our review and approval of cash disbursements.
To address this material weakness management has devoted, and plans to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our system for verification of which invoices to pay.
● We implemented additional controls related to vendor verification and will introduce mandatory cybersecurity training.
● We implemented a list of specific points to validate before payments are released, requiring evidence of validation by approvers.
As we have recently implemented the above controls, it will require additional time to ensure that the control will operate effectively to address our material weakness.
As a result of the material weaknesses described above and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC or others, we may be subject to potential litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. We can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute
will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Security breaches, cyberattacks and other disruptions to information technology systems and networks owned by us, or third parties, such as vendors or suppliers, could interfere with our operations and could compromise the confidentiality of private customer data or our proprietary information.
We rely upon hardware, software, and information technology systems and networks, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information. Additionally, we collect and store sensitive data, including proprietary business information, in data centers and on information technology networks (including networks that may be controlled or maintained by third parties). We do not generally collect or store personally identifiable information of individuals. The confidentiality, integrity and availability of these systems and networks, and maintenance of the information processed by these systems and networks, is critical to our business operations and strategy. We face numerous and evolving risks that threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems, networks and information, as well as the risk of operational disruption, failure or capacity constraints of any of the third parties that facilitate our business activities. Such parties could also be the source of a cyberattack on, or breach of, our operational systems, network, data or infrastructure. Our information technology systems and networks, as well as those of our service providers, are vulnerable to intrusion damage, disruptions or shutdowns caused by attacks by hackers, computer viruses or worms, malware (including ransomware), social engineering attacks (such as phishing), denial of service attacks or breaches due to errors, negligence or malfeasance by employees, contractors and others who have access to or obtain unauthorized access to these systems and networks. Remote and hybrid working arrangements also increase cybersecurity risks due to the challenges associated with managing remote computing assets and security vulnerabilities that are present in many non-corporate and home networks. We are also vulnerable to malicious code that may be embedded in open-source software as well as “bugs,” misconfigurations and other vulnerabilities associated with commercial software that is integrated into our or our service providers’ systems, networks, products or services. Therefore, no assurance can be given that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems, networks and information.
The occurrence of a major cyberattack or other security incident could materially compromise the confidentiality, integrity and/or availability of critical systems and networks and data that resides within them. Similarly, such an occurrence could result in the compromise or loss of the information processed by these systems and networks. Such events could result in, among other things, the loss of proprietary data, interruptions or delays in our business operations and damage to our reputation. In addition, such events could increase the risk of claims by regulatory agencies or private parties alleging that we are non-compliant with applicable laws or regulations, subjecting us to potential liability or regulatory penalties and related costs under laws protecting the security of confidential data; increase our costs of compliance and remediation; require us to change aspects of our business, our systems or our service providers; disrupt our operations; and/or harm our reputation. There can be no guarantee that any or all costs or losses incurred will be partially or fully insured.
We regularly experience and expect to continue to experience cybersecurity attacks and security incidents in varying degrees. See “Item 1A Risk Factors -- We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting”. Cybersecurity threats and threat actors are becoming more sophisticated. Such threats are unpredictable as to their timing, nature and scope. As a result, we may be unable to anticipate or prevent future attacks, particularly as the methodologies utilized by attackers change frequently or are not recognized until launched, and we may be unable to investigate or remediate incidents due to the increased use by threat actors of tools and techniques that are designed to circumvent controls (including through the use of artificial intelligence), to avoid detection, and to remove or obfuscate forensic evidence.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following our IPO, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial 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 is payable on demand;
● our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
● our inability to pay dividends on our 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, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
● limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
● increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
● limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We may 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. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. 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 we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will complete such business combination only if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a 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 in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, 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, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and 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 (including, potentially, with the same target).
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified 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, including our warrant agreements, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the 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, 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. 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. To the extent any such amendment would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered in our IPO, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least 50% of our outstanding common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 50% of our issued and outstanding common stock, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 50% of our issued and outstanding common stock. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. We may not issue additional securities that can vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial business combination or any amendments to our certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who beneficially own 73% of our common stock as of the date of this report, may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which will govern our pre-business combination behavior, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree.
Our initial stockholders have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other provision 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, directors and officers. Our public stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, this agreement and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, directors or officers for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our public stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Certain agreements related to our IPO may be amended or waived without stockholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to our IPO to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreements and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended or waived without stockholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial stockholders, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our initial stockholders; the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and our sponsor; the forward purchase agreement between us and the Sponsor Affiliates; and the administrative services agreement among us, our sponsor and an affiliate of our sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public stockholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain lock-up provisions with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and other securities held by our initial stockholders, officers and directors. Amendments to or waivers of such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our board of directors, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any amendment or waiver entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to or waiver of any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. For example, amendments to or waivers of the lock-up provision discussed above may result in our initial stockholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
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 net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed 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.
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 directors, officers or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our initial stockholders hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own 73% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock.
Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our directors or officers, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this report. 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, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on other 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 Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a stockholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
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 public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per public warrant if, among other things, the closing price of our Class A common stock has been at least $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any ten (10) trading days within a twenty (20) trading-day period ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is given to the public warrant holders. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the issued and outstanding public warrants could force you to: (1) exercise your public warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so (2) sell your public warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your public warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding public warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your public warrants. The private placement warrants will be nonredeemable.
Our management’s ability to require holders of our public warrants to exercise such public warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer Class A common stock upon their exercise of the public warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their public warrants for cash.
If we call our public warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its public warrants (including any public warrants held by our sponsor, officers, directors or their permitted transferees) to do so on a “cashless basis.” If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their public warrants on a cashless basis, the number of Class A common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised their public warrants for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in 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 11,500,000 shares of Class A common stock, at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the units offered in our IPO and, simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 11,700,000 private placement warrants each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Our initial stockholders currently hold 5,750,000 shares of Class A common stock. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers 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. To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a 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 in our IPO except that: (1) they will not be redeemable by us; (2) 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; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders thereof (including with respect to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights. Our sponsor has agreed to surrender the private placement warrants for not additional consideration upon the closing of the Business Combination.
A market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
Following our IPO, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Because we must furnish our 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 a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. 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, or U.S. GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or 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), or 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 financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor 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 common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. 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 election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company as long as (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million as of the end of a year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues are less than $100 million during a completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
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. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
While we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the United States, if our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
● costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with 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;
● tax consequences, such as tax law changes, including termination or reduction of tax and other incentives that the applicable government provides to domestic companies, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
● currency fluctuations and exchange controls, including devaluations and other exchange rate movements;
● rates of inflation, price instability and interest rate fluctuations;
● challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
● cultural and language differences;
● employment regulations;
● crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
● deterioration of political relations with the United States;
● obligatory military service by personnel; and
● government appropriation of assets.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
Our officers, directors and sponsor are from time to time involved in other business ventures unrelated to our business but which may generate business or legal disputes with investors and others unrelated to our company, and these disputes may distract our management from operating our company and/or result in adverse publicity that could be harmful.
Our officers, directors and sponsor are involved in a number of other businesses that are unrelated to our company. The operation of these other businesses from time to time may generate business or legal disputes involving investors or other parties. These disputes could involve allegations of mismanagement or fraud that could become public and result in adverse publicity for the parties involved. Any such disputes also could distract the member of our management involved in the dispute from time that might otherwise be spent in the operation of our company. Any adverse publicity generated as a result of such a dispute, although unrelated to our business, could nevertheless be detrimental to our management team’s reputation and negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination. This could, in turn, have a material and adverse effect on the price of our securities.
After our initial business combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on stockholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a stockholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the stockholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to stockholders to pay such taxes. Stockholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2.Properties.
Our executive offices are located at 100 Kingsley Park Dr., Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715, and our telephone number is (917) 209-8581. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month we will pay to our sponsor for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3.Legal Proceedings.
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not Applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information.
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are traded on the Nasdaq under the symbols “XFINU”, “XFIN” and “XFINW”, respectively.
Holders
Although there are a larger number of beneficial owners, at March 13, 2024, there was 1 holder of record of our units, 1 holder of record of our separately traded Class A common stock and 1 holder of record of our separately traded warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Our sponsor is ExcelFin SPAC LLC, a Delaware corporation (the “sponsor”). The registration statement for our IPO was declared effective on October 20, 2021. On October 26, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 23,000,000 units (the “units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the units being offered, the “public shares”), at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $230.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $22.7 million, of which $8.05 million was for deferred underwriting commissions. The 23,000,000 units sold included 3,000,000 units issued subject to the underwriters’ over-allotment option, which was exercised in full prior to the closing of our IPO. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we consummated the private placement (“private placement”) of 11,700,000 warrants (each, a “private placement warrant” and collectively, the “private placement warrants”), at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant with the sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11.7 million.
Upon the closing of our IPO, the private placement and the over-allotment, $234.6 million ($10.20 per unit) of the net proceeds of our IPO and certain of the proceeds of the private placement was placed in a trust account (“trust account”), maintained by U.S. Bank National Association, acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by us meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the trust account as described below. On April 13, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders (the “First Extension Meeting”) to vote on a proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from April 25, 2023 to October 25, 2023 (the “First Extension Amendment Proposal”), and the stockholders approved the First Extension Amendment Proposal at that meeting. In connection with the vote to approve the First Extension Amendment Proposal, the holders of 18,211,208 shares of Class A common stock (representing 79% of the shares of Class A common stock then outstanding) properly exercised their rights to redeem their shares for cash. On October 20, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders (the “Second Extension Meeting”) to vote on a proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from October 25, 2023 to April 25, 2024 (the “Second Extension Amendment Proposal”), and the stockholders approved the Second Extension Amendment Proposal at that meeting. In connection with the vote to approve the Second Extension Amendment Proposal, the holders of 2,587,259 shares of Class A common stock (representing 54% of the shares of Class A common stock then outstanding) properly exercised their rights to redeem their shares for cash. In connection with those redemptions, approximately $217.0 million was withdrawn from the trust account to fund such redemptions, leaving a balance of approximately $23.6 million.
The private placement warrant are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO except that: (1) they will not be redeemable by the Company; (2) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
In connection with our IPO, we incurred $4,600,000 of underwriting fees, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $876,465 of other costs. 80% of the deferred underwriting fees originally in the amount of $8,050,000 have been waived for the Business Combination by UBS Securities LLC and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., two of the underwriters in the IPO, leaving $1,610,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable upon closing. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our IPO as described in our final prospectus dated October 20, 2021, which was filed with the SEC.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6.Selected Financial Data.
As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide the information required by this Item.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. 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 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. We have not selected any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
The issuance of additional shares of our common stock or preferred stock in a business combination:
● may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our IPO;
● may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
● could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers;
● may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
● may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and
● may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:
● default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
● acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
● our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
● our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
● our inability to pay dividends on our 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, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
● limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
● increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
● limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND KNOWN TRENDS OR FUTURE EVENTS
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2023 relates to the Company’s formation, initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”) and search for an initial business combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we had net loss of $3,287,521, which consists of interest income on marketable securities held in the trust account of $4,938,218 partially offset by operating costs of $7,240,527 and a tax provision of $985,212.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had net income of $623,118, which consists of interest income on marketable securities held in the trust account of $3,288,133, partially offset by operating costs of $2,044,669 and tax expense of $620,346.
LIQUIDITY, CAPITAL RESOURCES AND GOING CONCERN
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of our IPO through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor and the borrowing of $300,000 under a non-interest bearing unsecured promissory note prior to the IPO. On October 25, 2021 this obligation was exchanged for a non-interest bearing Working Capital Loan of $300,000 due upon the earlier of (i) the date on which a Business Combination is consummated, or (ii) April 25, 2023. The due date of the Working Capital Loan has been extended to April 25, 2024, and, as of December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal balance is $1,296,654. The Working Capital Loan may be converted upon completion of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. 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.
On October 25, 2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit, which includes the exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 3,000,000 Units, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private sale (the “Private Placement”) of an aggregate of 11,700,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to the sponsor at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company in the amount of $11,700,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters’ and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $234,600,000 was placed in the trust account and we had $2,500,000 of cash held outside of the trust account, after payment of costs related to the Initial Public Offering, and available for working capital purposes. The Company incurred transaction costs amounted to $22,726,465 consisting of $4,600,000 of underwriting fees paid in cash, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable, $9,200,000 funded to the trust account and $876,465 of costs related to the Initial Public Offering. 80% of the deferred underwriting fees originally in the amount of $8,050,000 have been waived for the Business Combination by UBS Securities LLC and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., two of the underwriters in the IPO, leaving $1,610,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable upon closing. As of December 31, 2023, we had cash of $45,219 held outside of the trust account.
As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and marketable securities held in the trust account of $23,995,629.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Delaware franchise tax is based on our authorized shares or on our assumed par and non-par capital, whichever yields a lower result. Based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized
and outstanding and our estimated total gross proceeds after the completion of our IPO, our annual franchise tax obligation is expected to be capped at the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation of $200,000. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the trust account will be income and franchise taxes, if any. To the extent that shares of our common stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the decrease in cash was $306,213. For the year ended December 31, 2023, cash used in operating activities was $2,854,046. The net loss of $3,287,521 was affected by interest earned on investments held in the trust account of $4,938,218 and changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $5,371,693 of cash for operating activities. The cash used in investing was $218,677,754 due to cash withdrawn from the Trust account. The cash provided by financing was $216,129,921 due to proceeds from the issuance of Class A ordinary shares of $217,027,714, $15,000 in payments of offering costs and $337,500 payment to related party, partially offset by $996,654 from proceeds from the Working Capital Loan, $131,973 from Capital Contribution by the Sponsor and $121,666 for Advances from related party.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the decrease in cash was $545,085. For the year ended December 31, 2022, cash used in operating activities was $707,739. The net income of $623,118 was affected by interest earned on investments held in the trust account of $3,288,133, operating costs paid by related parties of $457,500 and changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $1,499,776 of cash for operating activities. The cash used in investing was $162,654 due to cash withdrawn from the Trust account to pay taxes and zero financing activities.
As of December 31, 2023, we have available to us $45,219 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds 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, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, to pay general and administrative expenses and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its acquisition plans and while the Company believes it has sufficient access to additional sources of capital, if necessary, there is no current commitment on the part of any financing source to provide additional capital and no assurances can be provided that such additional capital will ultimately be available. In addition, the Company currently has less than 12 months from the date these financial statements were issued to complete a Business Combination and if the Company is unsuccessful in consummating an Initial Business Combination, it is required to liquidate and dissolve. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that these factors raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. As is customary for a special purpose acquisition company, if the Company is not able to consummate a Business Combination during the Combination Period, it will cease all operations and redeem the Public Shares. Management plans to continue its efforts to consummate a Business Combination during the Combination Period.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. On October 25, 2021, we exchanged a $300,000 non-interest bearing unsecured promissory note for a non-interest-bearing Working Capital Loan of $300,000 due upon the earlier of (i) the date on which a Business Combination is consummated, or (ii) April 25, 2023. The due date of the Working Capital Loan has been extended to April 25, 2024, and, as of December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal balance is $1,296,654. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible 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 issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, will be subject to the approval of our audit committee. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of
our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following our IPO in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise additional capital (to the extent ultimately necessary) or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful or successful within the Combination Period.
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
We are required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. Only in the event that 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 intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
See Item 9A. Controls and Procedures, below for a discussion of our evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
● staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;
● reconciliation of accounts;
● proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;
● evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;
● documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and
● documentation of accounting policies and procedures.
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
The net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in an interest bearing account until the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination or liquidation. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
In March 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares for $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash used to purchase such shares by the number of founder shares issued.
We have entered into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, the Administrative Services Agreement will terminate, and we will cease paying these monthly fees.
The Company was obligated to pay Fin VC, an affiliate of our sponsor, a total of $112,500 per quarter for consulting, legal, accounting and diligence services beginning at the date of formation of the Company. This agreement terminated at December 31, 2022. The Company incurred expense of zero and $450,000 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, for consulting, legal, accounting and diligence services.
Our audit committee will review and approve all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective affiliates, which may include reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
On March 18, 2021, our sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to us (the “promissory note”), pursuant to which we may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The promissory note is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2021 or (ii) the consummation of the IPO. On October 25, 2021, we exchanged a $300,000 the unsecured promissory note for a non-interest-bearing Working Capital Loan of $300,000 due upon the earlier of (i) the date on which a Business Combination is consummated, or (ii) April 25, 2023. As of December 31, 2022, there was $300,000 outstanding under the Working Capital Loan. The due date of the Working Capital Loan has been extended to April 25, 2024, and, as of December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal balance is $1,296,654. In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required (“working capital loans”). Such working capital loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes may be repaid upon completion of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon completion of a business combination into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. In the event that a business combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the working capital loans but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the working capital loans.
Our sponsor has purchased an aggregate of 11,700,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($11,700,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our IPO. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO except that: (1) they will not be redeemable by us; (2) they (including the shares of 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; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights. Our sponsor has agreed to surrender the private placement warrants for not additional consideration upon the closing of the Business Combination.
We entered into a forward purchase agreement with the Sponsor Affiliates, pursuant to which such affiliates committed that they had the right to purchase from us up to 6,500,000 forward purchase units, consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock, for $10.00 per unit, or an aggregate amount of up to $65,000,000, in a
private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The Sponsor Affiliates have informed us that they do not intend to purchase any securities pursuant to the forward purchase agreement.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we entered into with our initial stockholders upon the closing of our IPO, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS; COMMITMENTS AND CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS; QUARTERLY RESULTS
As of December 31, 2023, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No operating data is included in this report as we have conducted no operations to date.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. The Company has identified the following as its critical accounting estimates:
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance enumerated in ASC 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”). Common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and are 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 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 by the Company to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2023, the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in the amount of $23,750,019 are presented 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 shares of Class A common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized a measurement adjustment from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of the redeemable Class A common stock resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit. The estimates involved in the remeasurement include changes in the value of the Trust Account assets and estimates of income taxes paid or payable that the Company has the ability to withdraw from the Trust Account.
Recent Accounting Standards
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (ASU 2023-09), which requires disclosures of incremental income tax information within the rate reconciliation and expanded disclosures of income taxes paid, among other disclosure requirements. ASU 2023-09 is effective for the fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Company’s management does not believe the adoption of ASU 2023-09 will have a material impact on its financial statements and disclosures.
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 financial statement.
JOBS ACT
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (3) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (4) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our IPO or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
This information appears following Item 15 of this annual report and is included herein by reference.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
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 and accounting officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the calendar year ended December 31, 2023. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that, as of the evaluation date, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to the material weaknesses described below.
Following the filing of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending June 30, 2022, we identified certain clerical errors in the EDGAR version of our unaudited condensed financial statements filed with the SEC. These errors were remedied by restating the June 30, 2022 Form 10-Q, and subsequently, management of the Company has been implemented enhanced management review and reconciliation controls to evaluate EDGAR documents prior to filing to prevent or detect a material misstatement in the financial reporting process. However, as of December 31, 2023 such material weakness is not considered remediated.
In connection with the review of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending March 31, 2023, it was determined that a related party expense was recorded incorrectly due to ineffective review and reconciliation of such related party transactions. A similar incorrect journal entry was identified during the quarter ended December 31, 2023. While management of the Company has intended to implement enhanced review and reconciliation controls to ensure the timely and accurate recording of related party transactions, as of December 31, 2023 such material weakness is not considered remediated.
In October 2023, we made payments on three separate invoices which payments were later determined by management to have been made in error. Two of the payments were later recovered from the vendors, but it is unlikely that the third payment will be recovered. In addition, there were certain immaterial amounts that were not recorded as expense or prepaid accurately. Our management has conducted a thorough investigation related to these events and has concluded there was a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to our review and approval of cash disbursements.
To address this material weakness management has devoted, and plans to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our system for verification of which invoices to pay.
● We implemented additional controls related to vendor verification and will introduce mandatory cybersecurity training.
● We implemented a list of specific points to validate before payments are released, requiring evidence of validation by approvers.
As we have recently implemented the above controls, it will require additional time to ensure that the control will operate effectively to address our material weakness.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
Company management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. The Company has performed an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Company management assessed the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. Company management used the criteria set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) to perform its assessment. Based on this assessment, Company management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded, that as of December 31, 2023, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was not effective based on those criteria.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
To address the aforementioned material weaknesses associated with EDGAR filings and related party transactions, management of the Company has been implementing additional review and reconciliation controls.
To address the aforementioned material weakness associated with vendor management and payment processing, management has devoted, and plans to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our system for verification of which invoices to pay.
● We implemented additional controls related to vendor verification and will introduce mandatory cybersecurity training.
● We implemented a list of specific points to validate before payments are released, requiring evidence of validation by approvers.
As we have recently implemented the above controls, it will require additional time to ensure that the control will operate effectively to address our material weakness.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B.Other Information.
None.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Name
Age
Title
Jennifer Hill
Chairman of the Board
Joe Ragan
Chief Executive Officer & Financial Officer
Brian Sun
Executive Vice President
Gary Meltzer
Director
Neil Wolfson
Director
Goh Lin Piao
Director
Alka Gupta
Board Advisor
Brady Dougan
Board Advisor
Our directors and officers are as follows:
Ms. Hill has served as our Chairman of the Board since April 2021. Ms. Hill is an experienced board member across the financial services industry, currently serving as a Board Member at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, Strategic Advisor at Talos Trading, Non-Executive Director at Santander Asset Management and Board Member at xPlor. Ms. Hill is the Founder and CEO of Murphy Hill Consulting, where she works with startups in the FinTech space on organization and capital raising. Prior to her current positions, Ms. Hill served as CFO of Merrill Lynch & Co. from 2012 to 2014. Ms. Hill has also worked as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs from 1996 to 2006 and Vice President in the Financial Institutions Group at Citi from 1993 to 1996. Ms. Hill received her B.A. from Hamilton College and M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Mr. Ragan has served as our CFO since March 2021 and as CEO since March 2023. Mr. Ragan is currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer for the Paper Excellence group. Mr. Ragan also serves as the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors for Sports Ventures Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq-AKICU). Previously, from 2018 to 2019, Mr. Ragan served as Chief Financial Officer for Resideo/Honeywell Homes, a leading global manufacturer of thermostats and security panels (NYSE-REZI). From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Ragan also served as Chief Financial Officer for Ferroglobe PLC (Nasdaq-GSM), the leading global manufacturer of metal alloys and other metallic products that was created through a merger of FerroAtlántica and Globe Specialty Metals. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Ragan previously served as CFO at Boart Longyear (ASX-BLY), a publicly traded mining and manufacturing company, and UNICOM Government, Inc., previously known as GTSI, a publicly traded government contractor (Nasdaq-GTSI). Mr. Ragan holds an M.S. in Accounting from George Mason University and a B.S. in Accounting from The University of the State of New York. Mr. Ragan began his finance career with Deloitte, and was a licensed CPA in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1990 to 2015. Mr. Ragan also serves as the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors for the nonprofit USA Judo.
Mr. Sun has served as our Executive VP since March 2021. Mr. Sun is currently serving as the Managing Director for GFC, a global investment firm and family office for Jackson Wijaya, where he manages GFC’s investment efforts in North America. Prior to GFC, Mr. Sun was in corporate development executive roles with SGS North America, AES Corp and Fosun Wealth Group sourcing and executing M&A transactions in business services, financial service, FinTech, technology and power sectors. From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Sun was a M&A advisory investment banker at Lazard and at China Merchants Bank US. From 2004 to 2010, he has worked at private equity firm Arcapita, leading aircraft investment group Babcock & Brown Aircraft Management, financial service company Jackson Hewitt and Barclays Capital in various corporate finance and investment roles. Mr. Sun has over 20 years of corporate finance and transactional experience and has worked on over $50 billion sales, acquisitions and investments transactions. Mr. Sun has an
M.B.A. from Duke University and a B.A. from Beijing Foreign Studies University. He was a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) since 2008.
Mr. Meltzer has served as an independent director since the pricing of our IPO. Mr. Meltzer currently serves as an advisor to early-stage companies. Mr. Meltzer serves on the boards of directors of American Century Mutual Funds (Equity) (December 2022 to present) and Apollo Realty Income Solutions, Inc. (June 2022 to present). Prior to September 30, 2020, he was a partner at PwC where he most recently served as the Managing Partner responsible for PwC’s Bay Area and Northwest Market and served as a global relationship partner to Fortune 500 financial services and technology companies. He also led PwC’s FinTech practice, where he provided services to companies in the payments, digital banking, peer-to-peer lending, InsurTech, PropTech, digital assets and asset and wealth management spaces. Prior to his latest positions at PwC, Mr. Meltzer was PwC’s Financial Services Regulatory Leader from 2008 to 2011 and the Asset and Wealth Management Sector Leader from 2010 to 2016, where he was responsible for advising banks, asset managers, wealth managers, private equity funds, hedge funds, venture capital firms and FinTech companies. Mr. Meltzer has a B.S. in Accounting from Binghamton University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York and California. Mr. Meltzer serves as an Advisory Board Member of Binghamton University School of Management and previously served as a member of the Leadership Council for Tipping Point Community Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Bay Area Council.
Mr. Wolfson has served as an independent director since the pricing of our IPO. Mr. Wolfson is currently serving as an Active Board Member and Venture Investor for several FinTech and Financial Services companies, including SALT Blockchain, Exchange Robotics, nth Ventures, Nextivity and Finitive. Mr. Wolfson served as a director and Chair of the Audit Committee of OnDeck Capital from 2014 to 2020. Prior to his current Board positions, Mr. Wolfson was the President and CIO of SF Capital Group from 2009 to 2018, where he oversaw all debt and equity investing, asset allocation, investment management, tax and estate planning. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Wolfson served as the President and CIO of Wilmington Trust, an asset manager that oversees over $40 billion in assets, and as the President, CEO and Chairman of the Wilmington Funds, a $10 billion mutual fund family. Prior to working at Wilmington Trust, Mr. Wolfson served as National Partner in Charge of the Investment Practice at KPMG and Chairman of KPMG Investment Advisors, where he worked from 1996 to 2004. Mr. Wolfson received his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from New York University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder and an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Rutgers University.
Mr. Goh has served as a director since the pricing of our IPO. Mr. Goh is currently serving as Senior Advisor to GFC, a global investment firm and family office for Jackson Wijaya. Mr. Goh has been at the nexus of Application Software, Digital Technologies, Business Transformation and the Internet for the past 30 years. Mr. Goh was in Accenture from 1990 to 2005 in a variety of roles including Managing Partner of Accenture’s Greater China Public Sector. In Accenture he helped large corporations and governments harness application software and digital technologies to speed their business transformation. From 2006 to 2016, Mr. Goh was at the RGE Group and had various leadership roles including Head of Business Transformation and Group Executive Director at RGE’s Specialty Pulp & Viscose business. Mr. Goh graduated from the University of New South Wales, Australia, with a degree in Computer Science and top honors in Mechanical Engineering.
Ms. Gupta has served as our advisor since the pricing of our IPO. Ms. Gupta is a Venture Partner at Fin Venture Capital, a fund focused on global fintech with focus on B2B Enterprise SaaS. She is also Co-Founder, President and Board Director at GlobaliD, a venture backed, portable, and interoperable identity platform leveraging the blockchain. As President, she built the team, product, and signed the first digital wallet customers. Prior thereto, from 2010 to 2015, she was at eBay/PayPal as head of strategy for eBay Marketplaces where she led strategy development for fulfillment, expanded payment systems, cross border transactions, omni-channel retail, and key Asian (Japan, India) and select Latin American (Brazil) markets. Previously, from 2006 to 2009 Alka was with Retrevo (Acq. BN), a vertical specific e-commerce business, as VP of Business Development, bringing in the first revenue. At Lycos (Nasdaq: LCOS; Acq.: TEF) from 1998 to 2005, Alka first led as GM of a global suite of products and then as VP Corp Development and Strategy. She earned an MBA from The Wharton School and B.S. (cum laude) from Case Western Reserve University. Alka serves as a Board Director at MoneyGram (Nasdaq: MGI), GlobaliD, Digital Frontiers, and Flaist, Finance and Audit Committee for Menlo Park City School, and is a Limited Partner at Chestnut Ventures. She is an Advisor to Berkeley’s SkyDeck Accelerator and Venture Lab at the Wharton School and a frequent speaker on topics such as digital transformation, fintech, and blockchain, including at University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania. Alka was also an early Charter Member and the Chair of Mentoring Program at TiE and early Advisory Board Member Women 2.0.
Mr. Dougan has served as our advisor since the pricing of our IPO. Mr. Dougan is currently serving as the CEO of Exos TFP Holdings LLC. Mr. Dougan has more than 30 years in the financial services industry, including 24 years at Credit Suisse and eight of those years as CEO. From 1983-1991, Mr. Dougan was part of a team that built Bankers Trust into a derivatives leader. From 1991-1995, he held various roles at Credit Suisse, helping to found and create Credit Suisse Financial Products. From 1996-2001 he
served as Global Head of Equities and Investment Banking and was responsible for supervising and overseeing all equities, derivatives, and cash sales and trading, capital markets, and equities research businesses. In 2002-2004 he was Co President, Global Institutional Services adding fixed income sales, trading and research (including rates, credit, emerging markets and securitized products) to his suite of responsibilities and successfully managed the business through the crisis. From 2004-2007, Mr. Dougan was CEO of the Global Investment Bank. Mr. Dougan also served as a Director on the Executive Board of Directors of the U.S. broker-dealer from October 1999 until mid- 2004. From June 2004 to mid-2007, Mr. Dougan served as CEO of Investment Banking and acting CEO Credit Suisse Americas when he served as CEO of the U.S. broker-dealer. In 2007, Mr. Dougan was appointed CEO of Credit Suisse Group where he remained until his departure from the firm in June 2015.
NUMBER, TERMS OF OFFICE AND ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Our board of directors consists of five members.
Approval of our initial business combination will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the stockholders, prior to our initial business combination, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board of directors.
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 bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Nasdaq listing rules require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person that, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). We have three “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of our IPO. Our board has determined that each of Gary Meltzer, Neil Wolfson and Jennifer Hill is an independent director under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee; a compensation committee; and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to phase-in rules, Nasdaq listing rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq listing rules require that the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. The members of our audit committee are Gary Meltzer, Jennifer Hill and Neil Wolfson. Gary Meltzer serves as chair of the audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate, and our board of directors has determined that Gary Meltzer qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
● assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm;
● the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
● pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
● reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
● setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm;
● setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
● obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the 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;
● meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”;
● reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
● reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation Committee
The members of our compensation committee are Jennifer Hill, Gary Meltzer and Neil Wolfson. Jennifer Hill serves as chair of the compensation committee. Currently we do not pay any of our executive officers any salary or benefits.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Jennifer Hill, Gary Meltzer and Neil Wolfson. Jennifer Hill serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares do not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
CODE OF ETHICS
We have adopted a code of ethics and business conduct, or our Code of Ethics, applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We filed a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement relating to our IPO. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our website. In addition, a copy of our 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.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Our officers and directors may owe competing duties to other enterprises, and opportunities presented to them may not be presented to us as a result of such conflicts. Also, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, directors and officers are not prohibited from sponsoring, investing in or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies (including special purpose acquisition companies similar to our company), including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. Potential investors should also be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
● Our directors and officers are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other responsibilities. See “Risk Factors-Risks Related to our Sponsor and Management Team and Their Respective Affiliates-Our directors and officers 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 initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and 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 their founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the completion window. However, if our initial stockholders, or any of our directors, officers or affiliates acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. 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. Pursuant to a letter agreement that our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, with certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial stockholders until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public 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 shares of Class A common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our initial stockholders, directors and officers may directly or indirectly own our securities following our IPO, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
● In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
● Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business
combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination.
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 the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.
If any of our directors or officers become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for another entity to whom they owe fiduciary or contractual duties, he or she may need to honor his or her 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. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. See “Risk Factors-Risks Related to our Sponsor and Management Team and Their Respective Affiliates-Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may 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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.” We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, may engage independent advisors to assist with the evaluation and would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In addition, our sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the company in connection with the initial business combination, although our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial business combination.
Each of FVC and GFC manages several investments or investment vehicles. GFC and funds managed by FVC or their respective affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these funds decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within FVC or GFC may be suitable for both us and for a current or future FVC fund or affiliates of GFC and may be directed to such investment vehicle rather than to us, subject to applicable fiduciary duties. Neither FVC nor GFC nor members of our management team who are also employed by FVC or GFC have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware solely in their capacities as officers or managing directors of FVC or GFC. FVC, GFC and/or our management, in their capacities as officers or managing directors of FVC, GFC or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future FVC or GFC investment vehicles, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to applicable fiduciary duties. In addition, Brady Dougan, who has served as our advisor since the pricing of our IPO, is currently serving as the CEO of Exos TFP Holdings LLC.
We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with FVC, GFC and/or one or more investors in funds managed by FVC. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so.
LIMITATION ON LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
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, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted by the DGCL.
We entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to maintain 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 obtained a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our directors and officers.
A stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced directors and officers.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11.Executive Compensation.
None of our directors or officers 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 are obligated to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services (the Company incurred $120,000 pursuant to this agreement for the year ended December 31, 2023) and we were obligated to pay Fin VC, an affiliate of our sponsor, a total of $112,500 per quarter for consulting, legal, accounting and diligence services through the period ending December 31, 2022 (the Company incurred zero pursuant to this agreement for the year ended December 31, 2023). Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review and approve all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective affiliates, which may include reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, 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 officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.
We are not party to any agreements with our directors and officers that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
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 common stock as of March 13, 2024 by:
● each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding common stock;
● each of our directors and officers; and
● all our directors and officers as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of March 13, 2024.
The post-offering ownership percentage column below assumes that there are 7,951,533 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding.
Number of
Number of
Class A
Approximate
Class B
Approximate
Percentage
Shares
Percentage
Shares
Percentage
of
Name and Address of Beneficial
Beneficially
of
Beneficially
of
Common
Owner(1)
Owned
Class
Owned
Class
Shares
5% or Greater Shareholders:
ExcelFin SPAC LLC(2)
5,750,000
72.3
%
-
-
72.3
%
Directors and Officers
Jennifer Hill
-
-
-
-
-
Joe Ragan
-
-
-
-
-
Brian Sun
-
-
-
-
-
Gary Meltzer
-
-
-
-
-
Neil Wolfson
-
-
-
-
-
Goh Lin Piao
-
-
-
-
-
Alka Gupta
-
-
-
-
-
Brady Dougan
-
-
-
-
-
All directors and officers as a group (eight individuals)
-
-
-
-
-
(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is 100 Kingsley Park Dr., Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715.
(2) ExcelFin SPAC LLC, the sponsor, is the record holder of the shares of Class A common stock reported herein. The sponsor is managed by Grand Fortune Capital, LLC. Grand Fortune Capital (HK) Company Ltd. (“GFCHK”) controls Grand Fortune Capital, LLC (“GFC”) and is managed by an investment committee (“GFCHK Investment Committee”) consisting of three members, Goh Lin Piao, James Ouyang and Ralph Cho. Any action by GFC with respect to shares of Class A common stock held directly by the sponsor, including voting and dispositive decisions, requires at least a majority vote of the members of the GFCHK Investment Committee. Each member of the GFCHK Investment Committee disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by GFC.
In May 2021, each of our independent directors, Jennifer Hill, Gary Meltzer and Neil Wolfson, and each of our advisors, Alka Gupta and Brady Dougan, acquired an equity interest in our sponsor, which owns all of the outstanding founder shares. Consequently, these individuals may benefit (similarly to our sponsor) from any increase in value of the founder shares owned by our sponsor.
As of the date of this report, our initial stockholders beneficially own 73% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions.
Our sponsor has purchased an aggregate of 11,700,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($11,700,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our IPO. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO except that: (1) they will not be redeemable by us; (2) they (including the shares of 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, as described below; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights, as described below. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, 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. Our sponsor has agreed to surrender the private placement warrants for not additional consideration upon the closing of the Business Combination.
TRANSFERS OF FOUNDER SHARES AND PRIVATE PLACEMENT WARRANTS
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreement with us entered into by our initial stockholders. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (1) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A common stock underlying such warrants, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) transfers by private sales, transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or in connection with consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; (g) by virtue of the laws of Delaware or our sponsor’s limited liability company agreement, as amended, upon dissolution of our sponsor; or (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; or (i) to a nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (a) through (h) above, provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) and (i) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement.
REGISTRATION RIGHTS
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to shares of our Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period as described under “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters-Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
In March 2021, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. In connection with the extension of the expiration date of the Company to October 25, 2023, our sponsor agreed to transfer 1,250,000 founder shares upon the closing of the Business Combination to certain parties who agreed not to redeem their public shares in connection with that extension. On October 25, 2023, all outstanding shares of Class B common stock were converted into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock. Our initial stockholders collectively own 73% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. The sponsor’s ownership of Common Stock set forth herein includes 1,250,000 shares of Class A common stock that the sponsor has agreed to transfer to certain parties following the closing of the Business Combination.
Our sponsor has purchased an aggregate of 11,700,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($11,700,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of our IPO. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Our sponsor has agreed to surrender the private placement warrants for not additional consideration upon the closing of the Business Combination.
In May 2021, each of our independent directors, Jennifer Hill, Gary Meltzer and Neil Wolfson, and each of our advisors, Alka Gupta and Brady Dougan, acquired an equity interest in our sponsor, which owns all of the outstanding founder shares. Consequently, these individuals may benefit (similarly to our sponsor) from any increase in value of the founder shares owned by our sponsor.
As more fully discussed in “Management-Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We entered into an Administrative Services Agreement with an affiliate of our sponsor, pursuant to which we will pay a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services to such affiliate. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. For the periods ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recorded $120,000 in fees related to this agreement.
We entered into a Financial Services Agreement pursuant to which we paid Fin VC, an affiliate of our sponsor, a total of $112,500 per quarter for consulting, legal, accounting and diligence services, ending on December 31, 2022. Accordingly, the expected maximum expenses associated with this arrangement is $787,500 for consulting, legal, accounting and diligence services. The Company recorded a total of $450,000 pursuant to this agreement for the period ended December 31, 2022 and zero for the period ended December 31, 2023.
Our audit committee will review and approve all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective affiliates, which may include reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of our IPO. During the period ended December 31, 2021, we borrowed $300,000 under such promissory note. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this loan transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan. As of October 25, 2021, the promissory note was converted into a working capital loan, payable upon the earlier of the closing of a business combination or April 25, 2023. The due date of the Working Capital Loan has been extended to April 25, 2024, and, as of December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal balance is $1,296,654. In the event that a business combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the working capital loan but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the working capital loan.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete
our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $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. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, will be subject to the approval of our audit committee. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We entered into a forward purchase agreement with the Sponsor Affiliates, pursuant to which such affiliates committed that they will purchase from us up to 6,500,000 forward purchase units, consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock, for $10.00 per unit, or an aggregate amount of up to $65,000,000, in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The Sponsor Affiliates have informed us that they do not intend to purchase any securities under the forward purchase agreement in connection with the Business Combination.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive officer and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans (if any), which is described under the heading “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters-Registration Rights.”
RELATED PARTY POLICY
We had not adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions prior to the closing of our IPO. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
We have adopted a Code of Ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board of directors) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our Code of Ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the Code of Ethics was filed as an exhibit to the registration statement relating to our IPO.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to its written charter, is responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. Our audit committee will review and approve all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective affiliates, which may include reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations.
These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, prior to consummating an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, may engage independent advisors to assist with the evaluation and will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
● Repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;
● Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services;
● payment of Fin VC, an affiliate of our sponsor, fees of $112,500 per quarter for consulting, legal, accounting and diligence services for the period ending December 31, 2022;
● Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and
● Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers 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.
The above payments may be funded using the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14.Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP (“Marcum”) for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end 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 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 years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, totaled $107,635 and $219,198, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Marcum for audit related fees for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023.
Tax Fees. We did not pay Marcum for tax fees for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023.
All Other Fees. We did not pay Marcum for other services for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our IPO. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board 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).
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15.Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this annual report on Form 10-K:
1. Financial Statements: See “Index to Financial Statements” at page.
(b) Financial Statement Schedules. All schedules are omitted for the reason that the information is included in the financial statements or the notes thereto or that they are not required or are not applicable.
(c) Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this annual report on Form 10-K.
Exhibit
Number
Description
3.1*
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
3.2
Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on October 15, 2021).
4.1
Specimen Unit Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on October 15, 2021).
4.2
Specimen Class A common stock certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on October 15, 2021).
4.3
Specimen Warrant Certificate (included in Exhibit 4.4 herein).
4.4
Public Warrant Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as warrant agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
4.5
Private Warrant Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as warrant agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
4.6
Description of Securities. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.6 to the company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022)
10.1
Amended and Restated Promissory Note (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 1, 2023)
10.2
Letter Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, among the Company, its officers and directors and ExcelFin SPAC LLC (incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.3
Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.4
Registration Rights Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, among the Company and certain security holders named therein (incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.5
Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Company and ExcelFin SPAC LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.6
Form of Indemnification Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Registrant and each director and officer of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.7
Forward Purchase Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Company and Fin VC Constellation, LLC and Grand Fortune Capital LLC (incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.8
Financial Services Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Company and ExcelFin SPAC LLC (incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.9
Administrative Services Agreement, dated October 20, 2021, between the Company and ExcelFin SPAC LLC (incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021).
10.10
Securities Subscription Agreement, dated March 15, 2021, between the Company and ExcelFin SPAC LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on October 15, 2021).
10.11
Amendment to Financial Services Agreement, dated March 29, 2022, between the Company and ExcelFin SPAC LLC. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022)
10.12
Business Combination Agreement dated as of June 26, 2023, by and among ExcelFin Acquisition Corp., Betters Medical Investment Holdings Limited, Baird Medical Investment Holdings Limited, Betters Medical Merger Sub, Inc. and Tycoon Choice Global Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 26, 2023)
10.13
Betters Shareholder Support Agreement, dated as of June 26, 2023, by and among ExcelFin Acquisition Corp., Betters Medical Investment Holdings Limited, Baird Medical Investment Holdings Limited, Tycoon Choice Global Limited and the Key Betters Shareholders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 26, 2023)
10.14
Sponsor Support Agreement, dated as of June 26, 2023, by and among ExcelFin Acquisition Corp., Baird Medical Investment Holdings Limited and ExcelFin SPAC LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 26, 2023)
10.15
Insider Letter Amendment, dated as of June 26, 2023, by and among ExcelFin Acquisition Corp., ExcelFin SPAC LLC, Jennifer Hill, Logan Allin, Ren Riley, Joe Ragan, Brian (Zhouchuan) Sun, Gary Meltzer, Neil Wolfson, Goh Lin Piao, Alka Gupta and Exos Capital LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 26, 2023)
10.16
Amendment to Investment Management Trust Agreement between ExcelFin Acquisition Corp. and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, dated as of October 26, 2023 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 1, 2023).
31.1*
Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1**
Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
97.1*
Dodd-Frank Clawback Policy.
101.INS*
XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
104*
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
*
Filed herewith
**
Furnished herewith