EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1822912
Filing Year: 2023
Filename: 1822912_10-K_2023_0001213900-23-030259.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination.
Initial Public Offering
On January 20, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 27,500,000 units, including 3,750,000 units issued pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per whole share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $275,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private placement of 7,500,000 warrants to our sponsor at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds of $7,500,000.
A total of $275,000,000, comprised of $267,500,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and $7,500,000 of the proceeds from the private placement was placed in the trust account maintained by Continental, acting as trustee.
We originally had up to 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or until January 20, 2023, to consummate an initial business combination. However, at the 2022 Special Meeting held on December 14, 2022, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial business combination from January 20, 2023 to October 20, 2023 (or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors).
It is the job of our sponsor and management team to complete our initial business combination. Our management team is led by Jason Ader, our Chief Executive Officer, and John Lewis, our Chief Financial Officer, who have many years of experience in driving transformative change in businesses in order to create value for stockholders. We must complete our initial business combination by October 20, 2023, 33 months from the closing of our initial public offering. If our initial business combination is not consummated by October 20, 2023, then our existence will terminate, and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account.
UEI Business Combination
On October 15, 2021, the Company entered into the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement, which was amended on February 15, 2022, March 30, 2022 and September 29, 2022.
The UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement provides that, among other things and upon the terms and subject to the conditions thereof, the following transactions will occur, following the Reorganization and the Subscription:
(a) at the UEI Closing, upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement and in accordance with the DGCL, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub will cease and the Company will be the surviving corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEI; and
(b) as a result of the UEI Merger, among other things, all outstanding shares of common stock of the Company immediately prior to the UEI Closing (except with respect to certain specified shares) will be converted into and shall for all purposes represent only the right to subscribe for and purchase, pursuant to the Subscription Agreement and a letter of transmittal and subscription confirmation, one validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable common share of UEI upon the exercise of such subscription right.
Our board of directors has unanimously (a) approved and declared advisable the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement and the UEI Business Combination and (b) resolved to recommend approval of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement and related matters by the stockholders of the Company. Capitalized terms not defined but otherwise used in the following description have the meanings ascribed to them in the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement.
The Reorganization
Prior to the UEI Closing, TRA will effect a reorganization of parts of its business in accordance with the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement. Pursuant to the Reorganization, among other matters, UEI will become a direct subsidiary of TRA, TRLEI will become a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of UEI, and intercompany receivables (other than ordinary course trade receivables) due from TRLEI to TRA and certain of its affiliates will be contributed to UEI.
Subscription
Prior to the UEI Closing, but after the redemption of certain shares of the Company, the Company will, as agent acting on behalf of its stockholders, subscribe for common shares of UEI, at a price equal to their par value of 0.05 PHP (0.05 Philippine pesos), with the cash payment for such shares being deemed made by and on behalf of the applicable stockholders of the Company. In order to fund the cash payment on behalf the applicable Company stockholders, the Company will, prior to the UEI Closing, declare and pay a cash dividend on the shares of common stock of the Company in the amount of 0.05 PHP per share of common stock of the Company, which amount will either be paid by the Company to UEI in accordance with the Subscription Agreement or paid to holders of the Company’s shares of common stock who elect not to participate in the Subscription (but have not elected to have their shares redeemed by the Company).
Conditions to the UEI Closing
The UEI Business Combination is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary mutual closing conditions, including, among others, (a) the absence of any order by a governmental authority of competent jurisdiction preventing the consummation of the UEI Business Combination, (b) the approval of the UEI Merger, the Subscription and related matters by the stockholders of the Company, (c) the effectiveness of the UEI Registration Statement, (d) the receipt of approval for listing of UEI’s common shares on Nasdaq, (e) the completion of the Reorganization, (f) the amendment of UEI’s organizational documents substantially in the form attached to the UEI Merger and Share Subscription Agreement, and (g) the dividend to fund the Subscription shall have been declared, or alternative financing for the Subscription arranged.
Other conditions to the Company’s obligations to consummate the UEI Business Combination include, among others, (a) that representations and warranties of the UEC Parties are true and correct, generally subject to an absence of inaccuracies that would constitute a material adverse effect, (b) performance of covenants by the UEC Parties in all material respects and (c) the absence of a material adverse effect on the UEC Parties.
Other conditions to the UEC Parties’ obligations to consummate the UEI Business Combination include, among others, that (a) representations and warranties of the Company are true and correct, generally subject to an absence of inaccuracies that would constitute a material adverse effect, (b) performance of covenants by the Company in all material respects and (c) the absence of a material adverse effect on the Company.
Covenants
The UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement contains additional covenants, including, among others, providing for (a) the parties to conduct their respective businesses in the ordinary course through the UEI Closing, (b) the parties to not initiate any negotiations or enter into any agreements for certain alternative transactions, (c) UEI to prepare and deliver to the Company certain audited consolidated financial statements of TRLEI and pro forma financial statements giving effect to the UEI Transactions that comply with the requirements of Regulation S-X under the rules and regulations of the SEC (as interpreted by the staff of the SEC), (d) UEI to prepare and file the UEI Registration Statement, and (e) the parties to use reasonable best efforts to obtain necessary approvals from governmental agencies and consummate the UEI Business Combination.
Representations and Warranties
The UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement contains customary representations and warranties by the Company and the UEC Parties. The representations and warranties of the respective parties to the UEI Merger and Share Subscription Agreement generally will not survive the UEI Closing.
Termination
The UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the UEI Closing (a) by mutual written consent of the parties, (b) by either the Company or the UEC Parties in certain other circumstances set forth in the UEI Merger and Share Subscription Agreement, including a breach by the other party or parties of their representations and warranties or covenants that would prevent the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, and (c) by either the Company or the UEC Parties (i) if any governmental authority shall have issued an order preventing consummation of the UEI Business Combination, (ii) in the event the UEI Closing does not occur by July 1, 2022, and (iii) stockholders of the Company do not approve the UEI Business Combination as outlined in the UEI Merger and Share Subscription Agreement.
On June 29, 2022, the Company and TRA entered into a waiver pursuant to Section 8.1(d) of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement, pursuant to which the parties irrevocably waived the right to terminate the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement in the event the UEI Closing does not occur by July 1, 2022 through and until October 1, 2022.
On September 29, 2022, the Company and TRA entered into another waiver pursuant to Section 8.1(d) of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement, pursuant to which the parties irrevocably waived the right to terminate the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement in the event the UEI Closing does not occur by July 1, 2022 through and until October 1, 2023.
Subscription Agreement
The UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement contemplates that, in connection with the UEI Closing, UEI and the Company will enter the Subscription Agreement. Pursuant to the Subscription Agreement, the Company, as agent for its participating stockholders, will subscribe for common shares in UEI that will be delivered to the Company stockholders in connection with the UEI Merger.
The foregoing description of the Subscription Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the Subscription Agreement.
Registration Rights Agreement
The UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement contemplates that, at the UEI Closing, TRA, UEI, the Company, our sponsor, and certain other parties will enter into the UEI Registration Rights Agreement. Pursuant to the UEI Registration Rights Agreement, UEI will be required to register for resale securities held by the stockholders party thereto. UEI will have no obligation to facilitate or participate in more than a specified number of certain offerings at the request or demand of certain stockholders. In addition, the holders have certain “piggyback” registration rights with respect to registrations initiated by UEI. UEI will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any registration statements pursuant to the UEI Registration Rights Agreement. In addition, among other things, the UEI Registration Rights Agreement provides for certain lock-up periods post-UEI Closing with respect to certain securities of UEI held by certain stockholders.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with the UEI Merger by UEI to TRLEI or other investors:
● may significantly dilute the equity interest of existing investors, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
● may subordinate the rights of holders of our common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
● could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
● may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and
● may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders, it could result in:
● default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
● acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
● our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
● our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;
● our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
● using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;
● limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
● increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;
● limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
● other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of the UEI Business Combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete the UEI Business Combination will be successful.
For more information regarding the UEI Business Combination, see the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 18, 2021 and the UEI Registration Statement. Other than as specifically discussed herein, this Report does not assume the closing of the UEI Business Combination.
Our Search for Business Combination Opportunities
Our sponsor is an affiliate of SpringOwl, a registered investment adviser with investment experience and a track record of value creation in companies operating in the public markets. Led by SpringOwl’s co-founder, Jason Ader, we have assembled a seasoned team of investment professionals and directors whom we believe will help us execute our investment strategy. Through our affiliation with our sponsor, we seek to acquire established private companies that we believe are fundamentally sound but potentially in need of financial, operational, strategic, or managerial transformation to create a compelling investment opportunity for our stockholders. We also target segments of existing public companies that do not fit strategically within their existing structure and/or which are significantly undervalued. We focus on companies and corporate segments which we believe offer an opportunity for stockholder value creation through the combination of several elements: (i) an attractive valuation, (ii) a clear plan to unlock incremental value through operational and/or strategic improvements, (iii) a partial sale of existing operations to those more highly valued in the public markets and/or (iv) a clear path to bring the target company to the public market. In our dealings with private companies, we offer existing owners an option to create partial liquidity, transition their legacy to a public company and/or resolve any fragmented ownership or succession planning issues. In all of our opportunities, we seek to implement best-in-class public company governance and to drive the target business to a higher level of performance and value.
While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, we have focused on industries that align with the background of our sponsor and management. These industries include the gaming and gaming technology, branded consumer, lodging and entertainment, and Internet commerce sectors, which we refer to as our targeted sectors. We believe that there are many potential business combination targets within these industries that could become attractive public companies, such as UEI. Furthermore, we believe that we are well-positioned to drive ongoing value creation post-business combination, based on the operational and investment experience and track record of our team within our targeted sectors over time. We believe our team is well-suited to identify and execute on opportunities that have the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We are not, however, required to complete our initial business combination within our targeted sectors, and, as a result, we may pursue a business combination outside of these industries.
Our Sponsor: 26 Capital Holdings LLC, an affiliate of SpringOwl Asset Management LLC
Our sponsor, 26 Capital Holdings LLC, is a special purpose vehicle under common control with SpringOwl Asset Management LLC. Our sponsor is majority-owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jason Ader. SpringOwl, which was founded in 2013, is a New York-based SEC-registered asset management firm and independent sponsor leading corporate turnarounds, with a particular focus on the gaming and gaming technology, real estate, lodging, and other consumer sectors. SpringOwl seeks to produce superior risk-adjusted returns by investing in high-conviction public equity investments. SpringOwl and its affiliates have acquired stakes in a variety of public companies with the goal to improve their valuation, operation, governance and strategic initiatives. The following highlights several of SpringOwl’s approach to investing in public companies:
● SpringOwl seeks to invest on behalf of its clients in companies that it believes to be deeply undervalued and actively engages with management teams, boards of directors and other stockholders to identify and execute on opportunities to unlock value for the benefit of all stakeholders.
● SpringOwl’s investment team conducts substantial business, financial and legal due diligence on every investment before acquiring a meaningful ownership stake.
● SpringOwl’s team of investment professionals brings years of experience to each of their areas of expertise.
● SpringOwl maintains an institutional infrastructure with affiliates in accounting, operations, legal and compliance and business development.
We believe SpringOwl’s differentiated platform provides us with key advantages, including (i) extensive research capabilities and industry expertise, (ii) deal flow from institutional client relationships, banks, brokers and other intermediaries, (iii) a strong network of proven operators, executives and board members with expertise across various industries, (iv) an ability to attract talented investment professionals and advisors, and (v) significant experience in positioning companies for success in the public equity markets through a focus on operational value creation implemented according to specific, executable plans, along with enhanced corporate governance. Additionally, we believe that SpringOwl’s reputation with institutional equity investors will ensure that investors consider the pro-forma impact of a business combination and the value creation plan that we intend to implement. SpringOwl is not an investment adviser to the company.
Business Strategy
Our business strategy has been and continues to be to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company that can benefit from the strategic and transactional experience of SpringOwl and our management to transform the company and create stockholder value, such as UEI. We believe our sponsor, executive officers and independent directors will have access to a wide range of opportunities due to their extensive network of relationships with management teams of public and private companies, private equity sponsors, other public investors, investment bankers, lenders, restructuring advisers, attorneys, accountants, and other consultants and intermediaries.
The investment teams of SpringOwl and its predecessor have developed extensive experience working with management teams of public companies, across market capitalizations and industries, in order to unlock stockholder value. Over the past ten years, SpringOwl’s team has been actively involved with dozens of public companies and has developed an extensive network of operators and advisors with whom it works. SpringOwl typically focuses on investment opportunities in public companies in need of transformation and looks to work with those companies to effect such transformations through operational improvements, changes in strategic focus, improved execution, enhanced corporate governance and oversight, and/or by providing strategic capital. During this period, 5-10 of the companies in which SpringOwl or its affiliates invested and interacted with management and/or the board of directors have engaged in change of control transactions. We believe this track record of public company value creation and SpringOwl’s practices in partnering with companies and their shareholders to effect change are relevant capabilities for private companies seeking a public listing, and present a compelling value proposition for such potential target businesses.
In carrying out corporate turnarounds, our management team pursues many avenues for value creation, including:
● Finding companies which are undervalued and performing poorly relative to their peer group;
● Improving corporate balance sheets;
● Selling off non-core assets;
● Upgrading underperforming members of management,
● Creating incentive plans to align management with owners of the business;
● Shedding individuals and assets that hurt the reputation or perception of the business;
● Improving corporate governance in order to maximize value;
● Sourcing M&A opportunities for growth; and
● Attracting strategic capital partners and capital for growth.
We believe that our management team’s track record of identifying and sourcing transactions positions us well to appropriately evaluate potential business combinations and select one that will be well received by the public markets. Additionally, we believe that SpringOwl’s extensive experience investing in, and its and its nominees serving on the boards of companies that are undergoing strategic and/or operational transformations, further increases the chances of successfully identifying a quality business where we can employ our practices to improve performance and valuation while it undergoes strategic and/or operational changes. We have deployed a proactive sourcing strategy and focus on companies where we believe the combination of our management team’s operating experience, relationships, capital and capital markets expertise can be catalysts to transform a target company and create value for our stockholders. Since the completion of our initial public offering, members of our management team and SpringOwl have been actively searching for a target business, such as UEI, by communicating with their network of relationships and other interested parties. These communications have articulated our initial business combination criteria, including the parameters of our search for a target business, and have begun the process of pursuing and reviewing promising leads.
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we may obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. Based on the valuation analysis of our management and board of directors, we have determined that the fair market value of UEI was substantially in excess of 80% of the funds in the trust account and that the 80% test was therefore satisfied.
Acquisition Criteria
We believe we have the opportunity to pursue a differentiated set of potential acquisition targets due to our management team’s and SpringOwl’s experience in driving transformative change in businesses in order to create value for stockholders. Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses and set us apart from other sources of capital pursuing target businesses in our areas of focus. While we have used these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, such as the UEI Business Combination, we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that only meets some but not all of these criteria and guidelines. We seek to acquire companies or segments of existing public companies that meet the following criteria:
● Benefit substantially from being public. Public currency will accelerate their growth prospects for both organic and inorganic growth.
● Operate in industries with strong potential and a stable competitive environment.
● Underperform their industries, and have potential for significant improvement through enhanced management efforts.
● Harbor unexploited growth and/or acquisition opportunities.
● Contain potential for an upward inflection in growth with the introduction of new products or services.
● Provide sizeable risk-adjusted returns to an acquiror.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that meets some but not all of the above criteria, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communication related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this Report, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.
Acquisition Process
In evaluating prospective business combinations, such as the UEI Business Combination, we conduct a thorough due diligence review process that encompasses, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We also utilize our expertise analyzing target companies and evaluating operating projections, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. None of the UEC Parties is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. However, in the event we do not consummate the UEI Business Combination and we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, may obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our founders shares, common stock and/or private placement warrants and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity, if its initial business combination is not consummated. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. 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. However, we do not believe that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our officers and directors may become an officer or director of another SPAC with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Exchange Act even before we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination, such as the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement.
Our Management Team
Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters, but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team devotes in any time period varies based on the current stage of the business combination process. We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies have provided us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in many industries. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure as a public company makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business, such as UEI, an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. See “UEI Business Combination” above for more information regarding such exchange in the UEI Business Combination.
Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses, such as UEI, will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, such as the UEI Business Combination, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe UEI or another target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic 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) (a) December 31, 2026, (b) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.
Financial Position
With funds available for an initial business combination in the amount of $34,671,074.36 as of December 31, 2022 (after reducing the balance for income taxes payable, and assuming no further redemptions and before payment of the deferred underwriting fees and fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, as well as further monthly deposits of the Additional Extension Loans)), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires.
See “UEI Business Combination” above for more information regarding the financing of the UEI Business Combination.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until we consummate our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (whether through a PIPE or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
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 proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. See “UEI Business Combination” above for more information regarding the financing of and the agreements related to the UEI Business Combination.
We originally had up to 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or until January 20, 2023, to consummate an initial business combination. However, at the 2022 Special Meeting held on December 14, 2022, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial business combination from January 20, 2023 to October 20, 2023 (or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors).
In connection with the Extension, our sponsor or its designees have agreed to loan to us (i) the Initial Extension Loan of $275,000 plus (ii) if the initial business combination is not consummated by February 20, 2023, an Additional Extension Loan of $275,000 per month (commencing on February 21, 2023, and on the 21st day of each subsequent month), or portion thereof, that is needed by the Company to complete the initial business combination until the Extended Date. For example, if the Company takes until the Extended Date to complete its initial business combination, our sponsor or its designees would make Extension Loans of approximately $2,475,000.
Sources of Target Businesses
Target business candidates are brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this Report and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their respective affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their respective affiliates.
While we have not engaged the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
Although none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination, we do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. While UEI is not affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors, in the event we do not consummate the UEI Business Combination and we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us, if its initial business combination is not consummated. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we may obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. Based on the valuation analysis of our management and board of directors, we have determined that the fair market value of UEI was substantially in excess of 80% of the funds in the trust account and that the 80% test was therefore satisfied.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, such as UEI, we conduct a thorough due diligence review process that encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
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.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we have focused our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
● subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and
● cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business, including the management team of UEI, when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business and plan to continue to do so if the UEI Business Combination is not consummated and we seek other business combination opportunities, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, including the UEI Business Combination, in which Jason Ader, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, may remain as a director of the post-combination company, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule (as of the case with the UEI Business Combination), or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction Whether
Stockholder
Approval is
Required
Purchase of assets No
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company No
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company No
Merger of the company with a target Yes
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
● we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding;
● any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or
● the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
See “UEI Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approval as needed in the UEI Business Combination
Permitted Purchases of our Securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases have been and will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
On February 25, 2022, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Jason Ader, purchased 706,080 of our public warrants at a weighted average purchase price of $0.48 per warrant. On February 28, 2022, Mr. Ader purchased 238,794 public warrants at a weighted average purchase price of $0.49 per warrant. On March 1, 2022, Mr. Ader purchased 555,126 public warrants at a weighted average purchase price of $0.49 per warrant. On March 2, 2022, our director, J. Randall Waterfield, purchased 984,108 public warrants at a weighted average purchase price of $0.49 per warrant. On March 3, 2022, Mr. Waterfield purchased 57,559 public warrants at a purchase price of $0.50 per warrant. On April 27, 2022, Mr. Waterfield purchased 3,301 public warrants at a purchase price of $0.50 per warrant. On April 28, 2022, Mr. Waterfield purchased 34,250 public warrants at a purchase price of $0.51 per warrant. On April 29, 2022, Mr. Waterfield purchased 7,135 public warrants at a purchase price of $0.51 per warrant. On May 2, 2022, Mr. Waterfield purchased 11,265 public warrants at a purchase price of $0.51 per warrant. On May 10, 2022, Mr. Waterfield purchased 46,240 public warrants at a purchase price of $0.51 per warrant.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their respective affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their respective affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their respective affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
See “UEI Business Combination” above for more information regarding such purchases in the UEI Business Combination.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, such as the UEI Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account was approximately $10.11 per public share as of December 31, 2022. 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 Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination (as is the case for the UEI Business Combination) or (ii) by means of a tender offer if the UEI Business Combination is not consummated. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, 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, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, 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 are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal 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.
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, representing 66.7% of the common stock outstanding, and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, we will not need any public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days’ (but not less than 10 days’ nor more than 60 days’) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
See “UEI Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed for the UEI Business Combination.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering (“Excess Shares”). Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed initial business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
See “UEI Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed for the UEI Business Combination.
Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with 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 meeting held to approve a proposed initial business combination by a date set forth in the proxy materials mailed to such holders or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the DWAC System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy materials until the date set forth in such proxy materials to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. 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 $100.00 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.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the initial business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials. 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 the UEI Business Combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until October 20, 2023.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only until October 20, 2023 to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by October 20, 2023, 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 and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by October 20, 2023.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by October 20, 2023. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors 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 by October 20, 2023.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 20, 2023 or (ii) 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
If we do not consummate the UEI Business Combination or any other initial business combination by the deadline set forth in our amended and restate certificate of incorporation, we expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $770,820 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.11. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.11. 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 have sought and will continue to seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account 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 only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver 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 management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Withum, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our initial public offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
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 for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors are required to indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.
We 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 (except our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. As of December 31, 2022, we have access to up to approximately $34,671,074.36 (after reducing the balance for income taxes payable, and assuming no further redemptions and before payment of the deferred underwriting fees and fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, as well as further monthly deposits of the Additional Extension Loans) from the proceeds of our initial public offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, 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 by October 20, 2023 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 by October 20, 2023, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by October 20, 2023, 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 and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) 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 our 33rd month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (except our independent registered accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
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 $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 20, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination October 20, 2023, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would still be able to exercise their redemption rights in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, such as UEI, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the initial business combination of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at OfficeEdge Miami, 701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1550, Miami, Florida 33131. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they devote in any time period varies based on the stage of the initial business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
Our units, Class A common stock, and warrants are registered under the Exchange Act and as a result we 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, including this report, will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
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, such as the UEI Registration Statement. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination. We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) (a) December 31, 2026, (b) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
As a smaller reporting company under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, we are not required to include risk factors in this Report. However, below is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the Company and its operations:
● we are a blank check company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target;
● we may not be able to complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame;
● our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized;
● we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
● our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;
● we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of stockholders requesting redemption;
● we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time;
● you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination;
● trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy;
● an active market for our public securities may not develop and you will have limited liquidity and trading;
● the availability to us of funds from interest income on the trust account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the business combination;
● our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management;
● there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial business combination, which could increase the costs associated with completing our initial business combination;
● 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 addition to, or in lieu of, the UEI Business Combination, we may also attempt to simultaneously complete additional business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete the UEI Business Combination, or any other initial business combination, which could give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability;
● we may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the initial public offering, which may include acting as a financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the initial public offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination;
● the UEI Business Combination is with a private company about which little information is available. As a result, the UEI Business Combination or another potential initial business combination may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all;
● our warrants are accounted for as derivative liabilities and are recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination;
● since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire during or after the initial public offering), and because our sponsor, officers and directors may profit substantially even under circumstances in which our public stockholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination;
● changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations;
● the value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our common stock at such time is substantially less than $10.11 per share;
● 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 $10.11 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless;
● in March 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to certain activities of SPACs. Certain of the procedures that we, a potential business combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with such proposals may increase our costs and the time needed to complete our initial business combination and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete an initial business combination. The need for compliance with such proposals may cause us to liquidate the funds in the trust account or liquidate the Company at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose;
● if we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we would be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities would be severely restricted. As a result, in such circumstances, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead liquidate the Company;
● to mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, in January 2023 we instructed the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the trust account and instead to hold the funds in treasury funds until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. As a result, following the liquidation of investments in the trust account, we would likely receive less interest on the funds held in the trust account, which would likely reduce the dollar amount our public stockholders would receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company;
● we may not be able to complete an initial business combination with certain potential target companies if a proposed transaction with the target company may be subject to review or approval by regulatory authorities pursuant to certain U.S. or foreign laws or regulations, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States;
● recent increases in inflation and interest rates in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination;
● military conflict in Ukraine or elsewhere may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, which could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination;
● a 1% U.S. federal excise tax may be imposed on us in connection with our redemptions of shares in connection with a business combination or other stockholder vote pursuant to which stockholders would have a right to submit their shares for redemption;
● there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern;” and
● we have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, or our prospects.
The funds in our operating account and our trust account are held in banks or other financial institutions. Our cash held in non-interest bearing and interest-bearing accounts would exceed any applicable Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. Should events, including limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments occur with respect to the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds, or that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, our liquidity may be adversely affected. For example, on March 10, 2023, the FDIC announced that Silicon Valley Bank had been closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Although we did not have any funds in Silicon Valley Bank or other institutions that have been closed, we cannot guarantee that the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds will not experience similar issues.
In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on terms favorable to us in connection with a potential business combination, or at all, and could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity, our business, financial condition or results of operations, and our prospects.
For the complete list of risks relating to our operations, see the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in (i) our IPO Registration Statement, (ii) our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ending September 30, 2022, as filed with the SEC on November 14, 2022, and (iii) our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, as filed with the SEC on November 22, 2022. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risks could arise that may also affect our business or ability to consummate an initial business combination. We may disclose changes to such risk factors or disclose additional risk factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.
For risks relating to the UEI Business Combination, see the UEI Registration Statement once filed.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not applicable.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties.
Our executive offices are located at OfficeEdge Miami, 701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1550, Miami, Florida 33131, and our telephone number is (305) 709-6664. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
On February 2, 2023, we commenced an action against the UEC Parties (the “Delaware Action”) by filing a complaint (the “Complaint”) in the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Delaware Court”). Specifically, the Complaint seeks a grant of specific performance ordering the UEC Parties to specifically perform their obligations under the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement, including using reasonable best efforts to consummate the UEI Business Combination in accordance with the terms of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement.
On February 20, 2023, the UEC Parties filed an answer (the “Answer”) with affirmative defenses to the Complaint in the Delaware Action. The UEC Parties also asserted several counterclaims against the Company seeking declaratory relief for alleged breaches of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement by the Company and recessionary damages. On March 3, 2023, the UEC Parties filed amendments to their counterclaims (the “Amended Counterclaims”) which, among other things, amends the prayer for relief set forth in the Answer to clarify that the UEC Parties seek an order terminating the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement. On March 9, 2023, we filed a response to the Amended Counterclaims, in which we asserted various affirmative defenses to the Amended Counterclaims.
The Delaware Action is proceeding on an expedited basis in the Delaware Court. Discovery in the Delaware Action is ongoing, with a trial on the merits currently scheduled to begin on July 10, 2023.
We believe that our causes of action are meritorious, that the UEC Parties are obligated to perform under the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement until a decision in the Delaware Action is rendered, and that the Delaware Court will ultimately issue an order affirming the same. Further, we believe that we have meritorious defenses to the Amended Counterclaims and we plan to vigorously contest them. Litigation, however, can be uncertain and there can be no assurance that either a judgment for one or more of the UEC Parties or any other outcome in the Delaware Action would not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

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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 Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
(a) Market Information
Our units, public shares and public warrants are each traded on Nasdaq under the symbols ADERU, ADER, and ADERW, respectively. Our units commenced public trading on January 15, 2021, and our public shares and public warrants commenced separate public trading on March 8, 2021.
(b) Holders
On March 30, 2023, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of shares of our Class A common stock and two holders of record of our warrants.
(c) 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.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
(e) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
(f) Use of Proceeds from the Initial Public Offering
None. For a description of the use of proceeds generated in our initial public offering and private placement, see Part II, Item 2 of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC on May 17, 2021. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our initial public offering and private placement as described in the IPO Registration Statement.
(g) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
On December 14, 2022, we held the 2022 Special Meeting and our stockholders approved, among other things, an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend from January 20, 2023 (which was 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering) to October 20, 2023 (or such earlier date as determined by the board). In connection with the Extension, stockholders holding 24,069,772 public shares exercised their right to redeem such shares for a pro rata portion of the trust account. We paid cash in the aggregate amount of $242.7 million, or approximately $10.08 per share to such redeeming stockholders.
The following table contains monthly information about the repurchases of our equity securities for the three months ended December 31, 2022:
Period (a)
Total number of
shares (or
units)
purchased (b)
Average price
paid per share (or
unit) (c)
Total number
of shares (or
units) purchased
as part of
publicly
announced plans
or programs (d)
Maximum
number (or
approximate dollar
value) of shares (or
units) that may yet
be purchased under
the plans or
programs
October 1 - October 31, 2022 - - - -
November 1 - November 30, 2022 - - - -
December 1 - December 31, 2022 24,069,772 $ 10.08 - -

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. [Reserved]

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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.
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Report including, without limitation, statements in this section regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward- looking statements. When used in this Report, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in our filings with the SEC. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report.
Overview
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on August 24, 2020 for the purpose of effecting a business combination.
Recent Developments
On January 11, 2023, we issued the Convertible Note to the sponsor, pursuant to which we may borrow up to an aggregate maximum amount of $2,500,000 from the sponsor to pay fees and expenses and for other general corporate purposes. Any advances under the Convertible Note shall be made at the sole discretion of the sponsor. The Convertible Note matures upon the earlier of (a) the satisfaction of all conditions set forth in Article 7 of that certain UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement other than those conditions set forth in Article 7 that by their nature cannot be satisfied other than at the Closing (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and (b) the date that the winding up of the Company is effective. The Convertible Note does not bear interest.
On January 5, 2023, we borrowed $1,000,000 available to us under the Convertible Note. On February 17, 2023, we borrowed the remaining $1,500,000 available under the Convertible Note. As of March 30, 2023, we have borrowed the maximum principal amount of $2,500,000 available under the Convertible Note.
For more information of the Convertible Note, see “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”
UEI Business Combination
On October 15, 2021, we entered into the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement, which was amended on February 15, 2022 and March 30, 2022.
The UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement provides that, among other things and upon the terms and subject to the conditions thereof, the following transactions will occur, following the Reorganization and the Subscription:
(a) at the UEI Closing, upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement and in accordance with the DGCL, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub will cease and the Company will be the surviving corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of UEI; and
(b) as a result of the UEI Merger, among other things, all outstanding shares of common stock of the Company immediately prior to the UEI Closing (except with respect to certain specified shares) will be converted into and shall for all purposes represent only the right to subscribe for and purchase, pursuant to the Subscription Agreement and a letter of transmittal and subscription confirmation, one validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable common share of UEI upon the exercise of such subscription right.
Our board of directors has unanimously (a) approved and declared advisable the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement and the UEI Business Combination and (b) resolved to recommend approval of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement and related matters by the stockholders of the Company.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of the UEI Business Combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete the UEI Business Combination will be successful. For a full description of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement and the proposed UEI Business Combination, please see “Item 1. Business.”
Extension
We originally had up to 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or until January 20, 2023, to consummate an initial business combination. However, at the 2022 Special Meeting held on December 14, 2022, our stockholders approved an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial business combination from January 20, 2023 to October 20, 2023 (or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors). In connection with the Extension, stockholders holding 24,069,772 public shares exercised their right to redeem such shares for a pro rata portion of the trust account. We paid cash in the aggregate amount of $242.7 million, or approximately $10.08 per share to such redeeming stockholders. After such redemptions, as of December 31, 2022, we had 3,430,228 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption.
Results of Operations
Our entire activity since inception up to December 31, 2022 relates to our formation, the IPO and, since the closing of the IPO, a search for a business combination candidate. We will not be generating any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial business combination, at the earliest.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had a net income of $7,258,882, which was comprised of unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrants of $8,107,773, interest income from investments held in our trust account of $3,765,624, and an unrealized loss on change in fair value of the working capital loan of $90,819, partially offset by formation and operating costs of $3,836,745 and provision for income tax of $868,589.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had a net income of $7,152,775, which was comprised of unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrants of $13,719,533 and interest income from investments held in our trust account of $16,371, offset by loss on sale of private placement warrants of $2,422,739, offering expenses related to warrant issuance of $1,021,001, and formation and operating costs of $3,139,389.
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022, we had $770,820 in our operating bank account and working capital deficit of $4,147,087.
Prior to the completion of the IPO, our liquidity needs had been satisfied through a payment from the sponsor of $25,000 for the founder shares to cover certain offering costs and the loan under an unsecured promissory note from the sponsor of $275,000. The promissory note from the sponsor was paid in full as of January 20, 2021. Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO and private placement, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through the proceeds from the consummation of the private placement not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide us Working Capital Loans. On December 8, 2021, we received $1,500,000 from the sponsor under the Working Capital Loans.
In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with ASU Topic 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that if we are unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs as well as complete a business combination by October 20, 2023, then we will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. If a business combination is not consummated by this date and an extension has not been requested by the sponsor and approved by our stockholders, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a business combination not occur and an extension not requested by the sponsor, and potential subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after October 20, 2023. We intend to continue to search for and seek to complete a business combination before the mandatory liquidation date.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgement. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of warrant liabilities.
We have identified the following as our critical accounting policies:
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480-10-S99, “Classification and Measurement of Redeemable Securities” (“ASC 480-10-S99”). Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2022 and 2021, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of our balance sheets.
Under ASC 480-10-S99, we have elected to recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying value of the security to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for the security. Immediately upon the closing of the IPO, we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
Convertible Working Capital Loan
We have elected the fair value option to account for our working capital loan with our sponsor. As a result of applying the fair value option, our records each draw at fair value with a gain or loss recognized at issuance, and subsequent changes in fair value are recorded as change in the fair value of working capital loan-related party on the statements of operations. The fair value is based on prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. These inputs reflect management’s and, if applicable, an independent third-party valuation firm’s own assumption about the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.
Net Income per Share of Common Stock
We have two classes of stock, Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of stock. The 21,250,000 shares of potential common stock for outstanding warrants to purchase our common stock were excluded from diluted earnings per share for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 because the warrants are contingently exercisable, and the contingencies have not yet been met. As a result, diluted net income per common stock is the same as basic net income per common stock for the periods presented.
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 qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies.
Factors That May Adversely Affect our Results of Operations
Our results of operations and our ability to complete an initial business combination may be adversely affected by various factors that could cause economic uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets, many of which are beyond our control. Our business could be impacted by, among other things, downturns in the financial markets or in economic conditions, increases in oil prices, inflation, increases in interest rates, supply chain disruptions, declines in consumer confidence and spending, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including resurgences and the emergence of new variants, and geopolitical instability, such as the military conflict in Ukraine. We cannot at this time fully predict the likelihood of one or more of the above events, their duration or magnitude or the extent to which they may negatively impact our business and our ability to complete an initial business combination.

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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.
Reference is made to pages through comprising a portion of this Report, which are incorporated 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 controls and other procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (together, the “Certifying Officers”), 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 Certifying Officers, we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on the foregoing, our Certifying Officers concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of the end of the periods covered by this Report, due to the material weakness in accounting for complex financial instruments.
In light of this material weakness, we have enhanced our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements including making greater use of third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. We believe our efforts will enhance our controls relating to accounting for complex financial transactions, but we can offer no assurance that our controls will not require additional review and modification in the future as industry accounting practice may evolve over time.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company,
(2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that we did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022.
Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
This Report does not include an attestation report of our internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Other than as discussed above, there have been no changes to our internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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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 Executive Officers
As of the date of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows:
Name Age Position
Jason Ader Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
John Lewis Chief Financial Officer
Rafael Ashkenazi Director
Joseph Kaminkow Director
Gregory S. Lyss Director
J. Randall Waterfield Director
The experience of our directors and executive officers is as follows:
Jason Ader has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman since inception. He is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of SpringOwl. Founded in 2013, SpringOwl is a New York-based SEC-registered asset management firm and independent sponsor leading corporate turnarounds, with a particular focus on the real estate, gaming and lodging sectors. Mr. Ader has been involved in turning around companies in the gaming and hospitality industry for many years, including with the Las Vegas Sands Corp., where he served as an independent director from 2009-2016, IGT, The Stars Group and most recently, Playtech. Mr. Ader earned his MBA in Finance from New York University and a BA in Economics from New York University. Mr. Ader is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his position as our Chief Executive Officer and the Managing Member of our sponsor and his extensive experience in leading corporate turnarounds.
John Lewis has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary since inception. He is the Chief Financial Officer of SpringOwl. He spent the past 25 years in the hedge fund industry as a Chief Financial Officer and controller, including a combined 17 years at SpringOwl Associates LLC (formerly known as Cumberland Associates LLC) and three years at Ardea Capital Management LP, a start-up hedge fund. Prior to that, he was assistant controller at a mid-sized retail/wholesale corporation with 17 stores. He has a BA in accounting from The State University of New York at Oswego. He is also a New York State Certified Public Accountant and member of the AICPA.
Rafael Ashkenazi has served as one of our directors since January 2021. Since January 1, 2022, Mr. Ashkenazi is acting as the executive managing director, executive chair of Hardrock Digital. Mr. Ashkenazi has served as a non-executive director of gaming company Flutter Entertainment Plc. since August 2020. Previously, Mr. Ashkenazi served in various roles at gaming company The Stars Group Inc. from January 2013 until its merger with Flutter Entertainment in May 2020. Mr. Ashkenazi served as CEO at The Stars Group from March 2016 to May 2020 and COO from January 2013 to March 2015. From January 2006 to January 2013, Mr. Ashkenazi served in various roles at gaming company Playtech PLC, including COO from January 2006 to January 2010 and then from September 2011 to December 2012. Mr. Ashkenazi earned a B.A. in industrial engineering from Shankar College in Israel in 2002. Mr. Ashkenazi is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience as an executive officer of numerous companies in the gaming industry.
Joseph Kaminkow has served as one of our directors since January 2021. Since October 2018, Mr. Kaminkow has served as Special Advisor to the Chief Product Officer at Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd., a leading gaming provider and games publisher. Mr. Kaminkow previously served as Aristocrat’s Chief Innovation Officer from May 2013 to October 2018. Mr. Kaminkow also currently serves as Vice President of Game Design at Zynga Inc., where he has been since September 2019. He previously served as Zynga’s Chief Game Designer from June 2012 to September 2019. From August 2010 to June 2012, Mr. Kaminkow served as CEO of software company Spooky Cool Labs, LLC. Mr. Kaminkow earned a B.A. from Curry College in 1983. Mr. Kaminkow is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his background in the design and production of gaming products.
Gregory S. Lyss has served as one of our directors since January 2021. Mr. Lyss is a member of an affiliate of Saddle Point Management, L.P., an investment adviser registered with the SEC, which affiliate is serving as the co-sponsor of Advanced Merger Partners, Inc., a SPAC for which he serves as Chief Operating Officer. From 2011 to 2019, he served as the Chief Investment Officer for TABLE Management, L.P., a single family office. Prior to TABLE, Mr. Lyss was a partner and analyst at Alson Capital Partners, L.P., an investment manager to multibillion dollar hedge funds. Mr. Lyss ALSO previously worked as an investment analyst at Gotham Partners, L.P. and co-founded Cohanzick Management, L.P., a private investment partnership. Prior to Cohanzick Management, Mr. Lyss worked as an analyst for Leucadia National Corporation (now Jeffries Financial Group Inc.). Mr. Lyss serves on the board of directors of Alpha Precision Media Inc. (an Amazon media buying specialist). He previously served on the boards of Calendre Company, MD Insider, and Maverick Brands. Mr. Lyss received his A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business. Mr. Lyss is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive business experience, specifically, his investment experience.
J. Randall Waterfield has served as one of our directors since May 2021. Mr. Waterfield has served as Chairman of Waterfield Group, a diversified holding company, since June 1999. Mr. Waterfield also has served on the board of directors of Waterfield Technologies since January of 2014; SEC registered investment adviser, Red Oak Partners since May 2012; and U.S. Strategic Metals since February 2018; and he has formerly served on the boards of SMTC Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTX from April 2012 to April 2021), Asure Software (Nasdaq: ASUR from March 2011 to March 2020) and RF Industries (Nasdaq: RFIL from April 2012 to March 2013). In addition, he was the 2017-2018 Global Chairman of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Previously, Mr. Waterfield was at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he worked as an equity research analyst from May 1996 through March of 1999, responsible for the small capitalization growth portfolios. Mr. Waterfield is a member of Mensa and a Chartered Financial Analyst, and he earned a B.S. from Harvard University in 1996. Mr. Waterfield is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive knowledge of the financial and investment industry.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Effective May 18, 2021, the board of directors of the Company approved an increase in the size of the board of directors from four (4) to five (5) directors. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we were not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Ashkenzi and Waterfield, expired at the 2022 Special Meeting, which was held in lieu of our first annual meeting of stockholders. Each of Messrs. Ashkenzi and Waterfield were re-elected as directors at the 2022 Special Meeting, with a term expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2025. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Kaminkow, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Ader and Lyss, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
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, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq 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 rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Ashkenazi, Lyss, Kaminkow, and Waterfield serve as members of our audit committee, and Mr. Waterfield chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Messrs. Ashkenazi, Lyss, Kaminkow, and Waterfield meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Lyss qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
● the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
● pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
● setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations;
● setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
● obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence;
● reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
● reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Ashkenazi, Lyss, Kaminkow, and Waterfield serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Messrs. Ashkenazi, Lyss, Kaminkow, and Waterfield are independent, and Kaminkow chairs the compensation committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officers’ compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officers’ performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officers based on such evaluations;
● reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers;
● reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans;
● assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
● implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
● approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;
● if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and
● reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for up to 24 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee, though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Messrs. Ashkenazi, Lyss and Kaminkow. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, 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.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the IPO Registration Statement in connection with our completed initial public offering. You can review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, advisory fee, reimbursement or consulting fee, is paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals are 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. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their respective affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination have been and will continue to be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not have and do not expect to need any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination, such as the UEI Registration Statement. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of April 16, 2023 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of common stock by:
● each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock;
● each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our common stock; and
● all our executive officers and directors as a group.
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 10,305,228 shares of our common stock, consisting of (i) 3,430,228 shares of our Class A common stock and (ii) 6,875,000 shares of our Class B common stock issued and outstanding as of March 30, 2023. On all matters to be voted upon, holders of the shares of Class A common stock and shares of Class B common stock vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the shares of Class B common stock are convertible into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Report.
Class A Common Stock Class B Common Stock Approximate
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
Approximate
Percentage
of Class Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
Approximate
Percentage
of Class Percentage
of Outstanding
Common
Stock
26 Capital Holdings LLC (2) - - 6,875,000 100 % 66.7 %
Jason Ader (2)(3) - - 6,875,000 100 % 66.7 %
John Lewis - - - - -
Rafael Ashkenazi (3) - - - - -
Joseph Kaminkow (3) - - - - -
Gregory S. Lyss (3) - - - - -
J. Randall Waterfield (3) - - - - -
All executive officers and directors as a group (six individuals) - - 6,875,000 100 % 66.7 %
Other 5% Stockholders
Owl Creek Parties (4) 500,000 14.6 % - - 4.9 %
Moore Parties (5) 400,000 11.6 % - - 3.9 %
(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o 26 Capital Acquisition Corp., OfficeEdge Miami, 701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1550, Miami, Florida 33131.
(2)
Our sponsor is the record holder of such shares. SpringOwl Capital Management, of which Jason Ader, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the managing member has sole voting and dispositive power of all shares of the Company owned by the Sponsor. Zama Capital Partners, LLC (“Zama”) owns a majority of the pecuniary interests in the Sponsor and the remainder of the pecuniary interests therein are owned by non-related third parties as well as SpringOwl Management. But Zama is not currently involved with the strategic decision making of either the Sponsor or the Company. In addition, Zama has represented to SpringOwl Management that it owns a minority non-controlling interest in Universal Entertainment Corp. (“UEC”). Zama’s pecuniary interest is disclosed here because of our litigation against UEC filed on February 2, 2023, described in Item 3, and proposed (non-final) S.E.C. rules seeking to enhance disclosure relating to SPACs. Additionally, Messrs. Ashkenazi, Kaminkow and Waterfield have a pecuniary interest in the warrants of the Company owned by the Sponsor.
(3) Each of Messrs. Ader, Askenazi, Kaminkow, Lyss and Waterfield hold a direct or indirect interest in our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly.
(4) According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 9, 2023, by (i) Owl Creek Asset Management, L.P. (“Owl Creek”), a Delaware limited partnership and the investment manager of Owl Creek Credit Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd. (the “Owl Creek Fund”), with respect to shares of Class A common stock owned by the Owl Creek Fund; and (ii) Jeffrey A. Altman (“Mr. Altman”, together with Owl Creek, the “Owl Creek Parties”), as managing member of the general partner of Owl Creek Asset Management, L.P., with respect to the shares of Class A common stock owned by the Owl Creek Fund. The business address for each of the Owl Creek Parties is 640 Fifth Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10019.
(5) According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023 by (i) Moore Capital Management, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“MCM”), (ii) MMF LT, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“MMF”), (iii) Moore Global Investments, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“MGI”), (vi) by Moore Capital Advisors, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company (“MCA”) and (v) by Louis M. Bacon, a United States citizen, in his capacity as chairman, chief executive officer and director of MCM (“Mr. Bacon,” and together with MCM, MMF, MGI and MCA, the “Moore Parties”). a Delaware corporation, and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, a New York limited liability company. MCM, as the investment manager of MMF, has voting and investment control over the shares of Class A common stock held by MMF. MGI and MCA are the sole owners of MMF. Mr. Bacon controls the general partner of MCM, is the chairman and director of MCA, and is the indirect majority owner of MMF. The business address for each of the Moore Parties is 11 Times Square, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10036.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Changes in Control
For more information about the UEI Business Combination, see “Item 1. Business.”

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
In August 2020, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. In January 2021, we effected a stock dividend of 0.2 shares for each founder share outstanding, resulting in an aggregate of 6,900,000 founder shares outstanding and held by the sponsor (up to 900,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by the sponsor if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full). On January 20, 2021, the sponsor forfeited 25,000 founder shares (based upon the underwriters’ failure to exercise the over-allotment option in full) resulting in an aggregate of 6,875,000 founder shares outstanding.
Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,500,000 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant in the private placement, generating gross proceeds of $7,500,000. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
On August 27, 2020, we issued an unsecured promissory note to our sponsor in the aggregate principal amount of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering. This loan was non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the closing of our initial public offering. On January 20, 2021, we repaid $275,000 to our sponsor.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us Working Capital Loans on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay any such Working Capital Loans. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay any such Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. 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.
In addition, in connection with the Extension, our sponsor or its designees have agreed to loan to us (i) the Initial Extension Loan of $275,000 plus (ii) if the initial business combination is not consummated by February 20, 2023, an Additional Extension Loan of $275,000 per month (which commenced on February 21, 2023, and on the 21st day of each subsequent month), or portion thereof, that is needed by us to complete the initial business combination until the Extended Date. For example, if we take until the Extended Date to complete its initial business combination, our sponsor or its designees would make Extension Loans of approximately $2,475,000.
The Initial Extension Loan was deposited in the trust account promptly following the 2022 Special Meeting. Each Additional Extension Loan will be deposited in the trust account within seven calendar days from the 20th of such calendar month (or portion thereof). The amount of the Extension Loans will not bear interest and will be repayable by us to our sponsor or its designees upon consummation of the initial business combination. Our board will have the sole discretion whether to extend for additional calendar months after February 20, 2023 and until the Extended Date and if our board determines not to continue extending for additional calendar months, our sponsor’s obligation to make Additional Extension Loans following such determination will terminate.
On January 11, 2023, we issued the Convertible Note to our sponsor, pursuant to which we may borrow up to an aggregate maximum amount of $2,500,000 from our sponsor to pay fees and expenses and for other general corporate purposes. Any advances under the Convertible Note shall be made at the sole discretion of our sponsor. The Convertible Note matures upon the earlier of (a) the satisfaction of all conditions set forth in Article 7 of the UEI Merger and Share Acquisition Agreement, other than those conditions set forth in Article 7 that by their nature cannot be satisfied other than at the UEI Closing (such date, the “Pre-Closing Satisfaction Date”) and (b) the date that the winding up of the Company is effective. The Convertible Note does not bear interest.
Subject to the prior receipt of stockholder approval, and provided that we have not deposited an amount equal to the unpaid principal of the advances outstanding under the Convertible Note to an account designated for the benefit of our sponsor, then upon the occurrence of the Pre-Closing Satisfaction Date, the unpaid principal amount of advances under the Convertible Note will convert into a number of shares of Class A common stock at a conversion price of $2.50 per share (the “Equity Conversion”), up to a maximum of 2,000,000 shares issued in the aggregate in connection with the ongoing funding of the Company after the date of the Convertible Note. In addition, following a notice of voluntary prepayment, our sponsor may cause the Equity Conversion to occur in certain circumstances.
In connection with the issuance of the Convertible Note, our sponsor granted an option to TRLEI to purchase any equity received by our sponsor in the Equity Conversion exercisable within 60 days following the UEI Closing.
On January 5, 2023, we borrowed $1,000,000 available to us under the Convertible Note. On February 17, 2023, we borrowed the remaining $1,500,000 available under the Convertible Note. As of March 30, 2023, we have borrowed the maximum principal amount of $2,500,000 available under the Convertible Note.
Other than the foregoing, no compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, has been or will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals are 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. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their respective affiliates and determines which expenses and the amount of expenses that are to be reimbursed. 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.
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 and director compensation.
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors a form of which is filed as an exhibit to the IPO Registration Statement. These agreements require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares.
In connection with the UEI Business Combination, we also expect to enter into the UEI Registration Rights Agreement at the UEI Closing with TRA, UEI and our sponsor. For more information about the UEI Business Combination, see “Item. 1 Business.”
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of Messrs. Ashkenazi, Lyss, Kaminkow, and Waterfield are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

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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 Withum, for services rendered.
Audit Fees
Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Withum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of Withum for professional services in connection with our initial public offering and 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 2021 totaled approximately $166,920 and $99,395, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees
Audit-related fees 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. During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 we did not pay Withum any audit-related fees.
Tax Fees
We did not pay Withum for tax services, planning or advice for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
All Other Fees
We did not pay Withum for any other services for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Report:
(1) Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID No.100)
Financial Statements:
Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021
Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Statements of Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Notes to Financial Statements to
(2) Financial Statement Schedules
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto beginning on page of this Report.
(3) Exhibits
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits can be inspected on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.