EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1831874
Filing Year: 2025
Filename: 1831874_10-K_2025_0001410578-25-000751.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Iris Acquisition Corp (“we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” or “Iris”) is a blank check company incorporated on November 5, 2020 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have neither engaged in any operations unrelated to our search for business combination candidates nor generated any revenue to date.
The registration statement for our initial public offering was declared effective on March 4, 2021. On March 9, 2021, Iris consummated the initial public offering of 27,600,000 units (the “Units”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 3,600,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $276,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we consummated the sale of 5,013,333 private placement warrants to our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”), the representative of the underwriters of the IPO, at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds of $7,520,000. Each warrant (including the private placement warrants and the warrants included as part of the Units) entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share.
Trust Account
Following the closing of the initial public offering, $276,000,000 (approximately $10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, was deposited in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and was invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. In December 2022, Iris instructed Continental, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest bearing cash account. In September 2023, Iris further instructed Continental to move the funds held in the Trust Account to an interest bearing bank deposit program until the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or the liquidation of Iris. After the special meeting of stockholders held by Iris on December 20, 2022 to vote upon a charter amendment to extend the time to complete a business combination until September 9, 2023, public stockholders elected to redeem 26,186,896 shares of common stock, resulting in $15,127,621 of funds remaining in the Trust Account. After the special meeting of stockholders held by Iris on September 7, 2023, to vote upon a charter amendment to extend the time to complete a business combination until December 9, 2023 (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of our Board), public stockholders elected to redeem 1,006,495 shares of common stock, resulting in $4,184,782 of funds remaining in the Trust Account, subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax. On December 5, 2023, our Board exercised its discretion, as authorized by stockholders at the September 7, 2023, special meeting, to extend the time to complete a business combination to March 9, 2024. After the special meeting of stockholders held by Iris on March 7, 2024, to vote upon a charter amendment to extend the time to complete a business combination until June 9, 2024 (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of our Board), public stockholders elected to redeem 119,572 shares of common stock, resulting in $3,038,284 of funds remaining in the Trust Account, subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax. On May 13, 2024, our Board, exercising the discretion granted to it by the stockholders, extended the date for us to complete our business combination from June 9, 2024, to September 9, 2024. On September 5, 2024, public stockholders holding 48,107 shares of common stock properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.17 per share, subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax. Following such redemptions, 238,930 shares of Iris Class A Common Stock remained outstanding. After the special meeting of stockholders held by Iris on December 20, 2024, to vote upon a charter amendment to extend the time to complete a business combination until March 31, 2025 (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of our Board), public stockholders elected to redeem 64,453 shares of common stock, resulting in approximately $2,001,033 of funds remaining in the Trust Account, as adjusted for redemptions paid out of the Trust Account in January 2025 and subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax. On March 4, 2025, the Company’s stockholders approved the Business Combination and adopted the Business Combination Agreement (each as defined below). On March 4, 2025, public stockholders holding 59,844 shares of common stock properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.74 per share.
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to Iris to pay franchise taxes, the proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of: (i) the completion of initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of Iris’s public shares if Iris does not complete an initial business combination or amend its amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025, or (iii) the redemption of Iris’s public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Iris’s obligation to redeem 100% of its public shares if Iris has not consummated an initial business combination or amend its amended and restated certificate of incorporation within 51 months from the closing of the initial public offering or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Iris’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Iris’s public stockholders.
Liquidation if No Business Combination
Iris only has 51 months from the closing of the IPO to complete the initial business combination. However, if Iris is unable to complete the initial business combination or amend its amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination within that time period, Iris 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 (which interest shall be net of all applicable taxes payable from the Trust Account and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish the public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of Iris’s remaining stockholders and the Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in each case, to Iris’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
Redemption Rights
In connection with the business combination, our stockholders will be entitled to redeem all or a portion of their public shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of all applicable taxes payable from the Trust Account), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to: (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares they hold in connection with the completion of the initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation, (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any founder shares they hold if Iris fails to complete the initial business combination within required time period, and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of the initial business combination.
Background on our Sponsor
Our sponsor, Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC, is owned by: (i) a private equity fund managed by Arrow Capital (“Arrow”) and (ii) Iris Equity Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Iris Equity Holdings LLC is the managing member of our Sponsor.
Arrow is a boutique asset manager and investment advisory firm that is a registered investment management company with offices in Dubai (regulated by Dubai Financial Services Authority - DFSA) and Mauritius (regulated by Financial Services Commission - FSC). Iris Equity Holdings LLC is a vehicle formed and owned by Gaius Investment Partners Co., Ltd., a Korean company.
On June 1, 2022, Tribe Capital Markets LLC (“Tribe”) withdrew as a member of our sponsor. In conjunction with its withdrawal as a member, Tribe resigned as the managing member of our sponsor effective June 1, 2022.
Members holding a majority of the membership interest in the sponsor appointed Arrow Multi Asset Fund - Arrow SP6 as the managing member of the sponsor effective June 1, 2022.
On January 13, 2023, Arrow sold a majority interest in our sponsor to Columbass Limited (“Columbass”) and appointed Columbass as the managing member of the sponsor.
On July 24, 2024, Hana Immunotherapeutics, LLC, an affiliate of Chris Kim, the Chief Executive Officer of Liminatus Pharma, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and counterparty to the Business Combination Agreement (as defined below) (“Liminatus”), agreed to loan the buyer of the former managing member of the Company’s Sponsor approximately $1.216 million, to facilitate the acquisition of the former managing member (the “Acquisition”). As a result of the Acquisition, the former managing member, Columbass Limited, resigned as managing member of the Sponsor on October 30, 2024, and Iris Equity Holdings LLC was appointed as managing member of the Sponsor.
Our Management Team
We are led by individuals with decades of executive investment experience across several sectors and investment strategies. They collectively possess a deep understanding of and experience in investing and operating companies in sectors such as healthcare, retail, technology, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer care, among others, and possess strong knowledge and experience in financial, legal and regulatory matters, initial public offerings, private equity and venture capital. The management team and Board of Directors will be supported by Arrow’s investment team and the broader Arrow Capital organization.
Our Investment Team
Arrow’s investment team brings together a wealth of experience across investment banking, mergers & acquisitions, and asset management. Our investment team is further complemented by world-class support functions across legal, compliance, tax and finance. That team has deep experience in:
● sourcing, structuring and executing investment opportunities across the public-private spectrum;
● leveraging insights and experience through proprietary deal flow and investments, helping to qualify and optimize financial structures, performance and strategy of a company; and
● creating long-term shareholder value through identifying value enhancements and delivering operating efficiency.
Sumit Mehta is our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mehta was our Vice President from inception to May 2022. Mr. Mehta has been a managing director at Arrow Capital since 2019. He has over 15 years of experience across Corporate Finance, M&A and Private Equity, and a track record of identifying and executing successful transactions. In his previous role, starting in 2007, Mr. Mehta was the head of Deal Structuring & Advisory at Daman Investments, one of the leading investment companies in Dubai and part of the $5 billion Gargash Group. In his career span, Mr. Mehta has led large and complex investment deals, equity and debt financing transactions ranging from $50 million to $750 million across a wide range of sectors including technology, real estate, hospitality, education, auto, and consumer care. Mr. Mehta started his career with ABN AMRO in India as an investment advisor prior to moving to the Middle East.
Lisha Parmar is our Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Parmar is a seasoned financial services professional with over 13 years of experience in Asset Management, Corporate Finance, M&A and Private Equity advisory across sectors such as high growth technology, consumer care, automobile, real estate, insurance and hospitality in global markets. Ms. Parmar is currently a Vice President at Arrow Capital, where she leads origination, strategy, structuring, due-diligence and closing of buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory, Private Debt and Equity Fund raising and capital market advisory transactions including working closely with Companies and Founders on driving business growth and value post transaction. Prior to Arrow Capital, Ms. Parmar served as a Senior Associate at Daman Investments from 2017 to 2019, one of the leading investment companies in Dubai and family/ investment office of the Gargash Group in their Deal Structuring & Advisory Division. Ms. Parmar started her career with J.P. Morgan & Co in 2009 where she spent 7 years in J.P. Morgan Global Asset Management, responsible for portfolio management, research and investment analytics of Real Estate and Global Equities Fund Strategies with collectively $100+ billion in client assets. Ms. Parmar received her Masters in Management Studies in Finance from University of Mumbai and is currently pursuing a CFA designation.
Omkar Halady is our Vice President. Mr. Halady has over 11 years of experience in M&A, Private Equity and transactional advisory across sectors such as education, hospitality, healthcare, technology, FMCG and food & beverage. He has worked closely with founders of tech-driven businesses advising on growth strategy, fund raising and improving overall operations of company, guiding them through their growth journey. Mr. Halady is currently serving as a Senior Associate at Arrow Capital since 2021, responsible for buy-side and sell-side advisory transactions, Prior to Arrow Capital, Mr. Halady worked as a consultant in various GCC based private consulting firms such as Ideal Management Consultants (UAE based Consulting Firm) and Falak Consulting (Bahrain based Consulting Firm) between 2013-2021. Mr. Halady has also served in various analytical roles at Big 4 names such as Ernst & Young and Grant Thornton LLP from 2010 - 2013. Mr. Halady holds a Bachelors of Commerce from Periyar University.
Our Directors
Rohit Nanani is the Founder and CEO of Arrow Capital, which he founded in 2016, a leading boutique asset manager and investment advisory firm. Mr. Nanani has a proven track record as an international banker with 20+ years of experience in global financial markets. He has held several executive positions across notable global institutions, including as a Managing Director with Barclays Bank Plc (DIFC - Dubai), starting in 2013, and heading the GSAC (South Asian Clients) business and as Executive Director at UBS Singapore, having clientele across South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and UK. Prior to his private banking experience, Mr. Nanani spent ten years with global institutions such as ABN AMRO and Bank of Nova Scotia in India in the Corporate Banking business. His rich and varied experience across corporate banking and private banking gives him an advantage in providing holistic advisory services to ultra-high net worth clients and large family offices. Mr. Nanani was selected to serve as a director because of his experience as Founder and CEO of Arrow Capital, and his experience in investment banking.
Richard Peretz retired as the chief financial officer and treasurer of UPS, which he served from 2015 to 2020. Mr. Peretz was responsible for Global Finance activities at UPS. He also served as a member of the UPS Management Committee, setting strategy for long-term growth including the current capital structure realignment and transformation initiatives. Mr. Peretz was also responsible for UPS’s Initial Public Offering in 1999, at the time the largest in U.S. history. Prior to being named CFO, Mr. Peretz held various leadership positions at UPS, including corporate controller and treasurer from 2007-2015. Mr. Peretz currently serves as a director and chairman of the audit committee for Altus Power Inc. (NYSE: AMPS) and as executive chairman of Semper Paratus Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (NASDAQ: LGST). Mr. Peretz has an MBA from Emory University and holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from The University of Texas (San Antonio). Mr. Peretz was selected to serve as a director because of his extensive experience at a public company.
Manish Shah has a multi-decade career as an investor, operator and banker, including experience at Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns’ Technology investment banking groups and as a senior executive of a Nasdaq listed optical networking company. Since leaving Bear Stearns in 2006, he has invested his family’s capital in real estate and to sponsor a private investment platform, The London Fund, for growth companies, is a Senior Managing Director at Palladius Capital Management, a real estate asset management company, and is a Principal at Two Kings Mgmt LLC, a family office. Manish graduated from Yale University and Harvard University Law School. He has served as a founding board member for Yale’s Jackson School for Global Affairs and a member of Harvard’s Alumni Real Estate Board. He currently serves as an independent director on the board of Everyrealm. Mr. Shah was selected to serve as a director due to his extensive experience in investment banking.
Nicholas Fernandez has almost 20 years of experience across operations, accounting and finance. Mr. Fernandez has been with Athanor Capital, a hedge fund, since December 2019, most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Fernandez has chaired the Valuation Committee in addition to sitting on the Management Committee. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the Asset Management and Alternative Investments Divisions of Jeffries LLC, a global bulge bracket investment bank, from February 2017 to April, 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Fernandez worked at a variety of alternative investment managers in several capacities, progressing from a Fund Accountant to a Controller/Director of Operations. He started his career in public accounting with Ernst & Young in their Financial Services Office in New York, in their asset management practice with a concentration/serving Hedge, Private Equity and Venture Funds, as well as consulting. Mr. Fernandez earned a BS in Accounting and Finance with a minor in Business Administration from the University at Albany, SUNY. Mr. Fernandez holds an active Certified Public Accountant License in the state of New York. Mr. Fernandez serves on the Board of Iris Acquisition Corp. Mr. Fernandez was selected to serve as a director because of his experience in investment management, accounting and finance.
Business Strategy
Our strategy is to identify a business combination that we believe can benefit from our experience and strategic guidance, thus creating long-term value for our shareholders. We believe opportunities exist to target and combine with a high-growth business that are fundamentally sound and are poised for continued and accelerating growth, but need some form of financial, operational, strategic or managerial guidance to maximize value.
Acquisition Criteria
The objective is to generally merge with businesses which have compounding characteristics, strong growth potential, good capital efficiency, showing signs of creating large value within a niche of large sector and are run by competent management teams. We are industry-agonistic and opportunistic and will also focus on acquiring companies in special situations arising out of market or industry dynamics. While we are industry-agnostic, we intend to prioritize (i) emerging markets followed by the United States and rest of Asia (excluding China and Hong Kong), and (ii) technology-led companies focused on essential sectors. Below are the general criteria and guidelines that we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophy and our management’s experience, and that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. Our target search and evaluation process will be guided by the following criteria; however, we may decide to consummate our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet one or more of these criteria and guidelines.
Potential to grow globally. We intend to prioritize technology businesses with the potential to expand internationally and operating in a growing global market that is ripe for disruption.
Steady Growth Business with High Revenue Potential. We will focus on investments whose growth potential is backed by adoption of technology and whose end product can be consumed by the growing middle-class population. We view growth as an important driver of value and will seek companies whose growth potential can generate meaningful upside potential.
Strong Management Background. We intend to acquire a business that has an experienced management team with a proven track record for producing rapid growth and with an ability to clearly and confidently articulate the business and market opportunities to public market investors. As such, we will spend significant time assessing a company’s leadership and personnel, and evaluating what we can do to augment and/or upgrade the team over time as needed.
Efficient use of Capital to meet Growth Objectives. We will seek businesses that we believe are at an inflection point where the utilization of our capital can further propel the expansion of their business to the next operating level. We will spend significant time assessing a company’s growth plans and projections to understand how our capital translates to operating growth and investor returns over the long-term.
Uniqueness of Product Offering. We will evaluate metrics such as recurring revenues, product life cycle, market share, cohort consistency, customer lifetime value, and customer acquisition costs to focus on businesses whose products or services are differentiated or where we see an opportunity to create value by implementing best practices.
Attractive Valuations. We will seek target companies for our initial business combination based on disciplined valuation-centric metrics.
Public Market Readiness. We will seek to acquire a business that has or can put in place prior to the closing of a business combination the governance, financial systems and controls required in the public markets.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we have and may continue to encounter intense 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 acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have significant experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, the requirement that we acquire a target business or businesses that satisfy the 80% of net assets test at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating our initial business combination.
Employees and Human Capital Resources
We have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters and intend to devote only as much time as they deem necessary to our affairs. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on the stage of the initial business combination process Iris is in. Accordingly, management may spend more time investigating such target business and negotiating and processing the business combination (and consequently spend more time on our affairs) than had been spent prior to locating a suitable target business. We presently expect our executive officers to devote such amount of time as they reasonably believe is necessary to our business. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Audited Financial Statements
We have registered our units, common stock and warrants under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports, such as this Annual Report on Form 10-K, contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), as modified by The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering (“IPO”), (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates 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. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of any fiscal year for so long as either: (1) the market value of our shares of common stock held by non-affiliates does not equal or exceed $250.0 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues did not equal or exceed $100.0 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares of common stock held by non-affiliates did not equal or exceed $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of any reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Significant Events and Transactions
We entered into a Business Combination Agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”) with Iris Parent Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (“ParentCo”), Liminatus, Liminatus Pharma Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo (“Liminatus Merger Sub”), and SPAC Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo (“SPAC Merger Sub”) on November 30, 2022. Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, and assuming the satisfaction or waiver of various closing conditions, including approval of the business combination by our stockholders, (a) Liminatus Merger Sub will merge with and into Liminatus (the “Liminatus Merger”), with Liminatus surviving the Liminatus Merger as a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo, and (b) simultaneously with the Liminatus Merger, SPAC Merger Sub will merge with and into Iris (the “SPAC Merger”), with Iris surviving the SPAC Merger as a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo (the “Business Combination”).
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, ParentCo and Iris entered into an equity subscription agreement (the “PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement”) with one accredited investor (the “PIPE Investor”) pursuant to which the PIPE Investor has committed to purchase 1,500,000 shares of ParentCo common stock at a purchase price per share of $10.00 (the “PIPE Shares”), for an aggregate purchase price of $15,000,000. The obligations to consummate the transaction contemplated by the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement are conditioned upon, among other things, customary closing conditions and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement.
Simultaneously with the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement, ParentCo and Iris entered into a convertible note subscription agreement (the “Convertible Note Subscription Agreement”) with one accredited investor (the “PIPE Subscriber”) pursuant to which the PIPE Subscriber has committed to subscribe for and purchase 8% convertible notes (the “Convertible Notes”) of and from ParentCo in an aggregate principal amount of $25,000,000 due three years after the closing of the business combination, with an initial conversion price of $11.50 per share of ParentCo common stock, which is subject to future downward adjustment based upon the market price of the publicly traded ParentCo common stock. The obligations to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Convertible Note Subscription Agreement are conditioned upon, among other things, customary closing conditions and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement. The Convertible Note Subscription Agreement was terminated on July 23, 2024.
See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Overview” for more a detailed description of these agreements.
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, Iris, Liminatus, and our sponsor entered into a support agreement (the “Sponsor Support Agreement”), pursuant to which our sponsor agreed to, among other things, (i) appear at the Stockholder Meeting and vote all of its shares of Class A common stock of Iris it holds or has the power to vote (including any acquired in future) in favor of the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, (ii) be bound by certain transfer restrictions with respect to its shares of Class B common stock of Iris, and (iii) not redeem any of its shares of Class A common stock of Iris in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Sponsor Support Agreement.
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, ParentCo entered into a Lock-Up Agreement (“Lock-Up Agreement”) with our sponsor, and certain Liminatus members with respect to the shares of ParentCo common stock that will be issued as consideration under the Business Combination Agreement. The Lock-Up Agreement includes, among other things, that certain Liminatus members will not be able to transfer any shares of ParentCo common stock beneficially owned or otherwise held by them for a certain period.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks described below, which we believe represent some of the material risks related to our securities, together with the other information contained in this annual report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. This annual report also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks described below.
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be adversely impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. The Business Combination Agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, and will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the representative of the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with our initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate our initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a stockholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of our initial public offering not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until at least June 30, 2025, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of our initial public offering, only $1,000,000 was available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by our stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. The underwriters of our initial public offering as well as our independent registered public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due
to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other 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 public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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 we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of: (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if: (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate our initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our Board may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our Board and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
● restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
● restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
o
registration as an investment company with the SEC;
o
adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
o
reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are not subject to.
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor. We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. An investment in our common stock is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 51 months from the closing of our initial public offering or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial business combination activity, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law (“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 June 30, 2025 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24th month from the closing of our initial public offering in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by June 30, 2025 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.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and holders of our private placement warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our shares of Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with our initial public offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the shares of Class A common stock into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares and the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the shares of common stock owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our team to identify, acquire, and operate a business or businesses that can benefit from their established global relationships and operating experience. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business, such as Liminatus, with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the initial business combination is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our Board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our Board, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares were converted to shares of Class A common stock on September 25, 2023. If additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding after such conversion, including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding (i) any shares of Class A common stock redeemed by public stockholders in connection with our initial business combination and (ii) any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. This is different than some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies in which the initial stockholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to our initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and, as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be adversely impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may adversely impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants provided us with $266,340,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $9,660,000 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or
● dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could adversely impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could adversely impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We are targeting businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price of our initial business combination exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public stockholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular initial business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business.
None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares of Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
Warrants to purchase 6,900,000 shares of Class A common stock were included as part of the units offered and sold in our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 5,013,333 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, or $7,520,000. In addition, our working capital loans may be converted into up to an additional 1,500,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. To the extent we issue common stock to effectuate our initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2024. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate our initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected by future pandemics.
Future pandemics and other infectious diseases could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate our initial business combination could be materially and adversely affected. If the disruptions posed by future pandemics, other infectious diseases or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate our initial business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate our initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
Past performance by our team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our team or businesses associated with them is presented in this annual report for informational purposes only. The past performance of our team or their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either: (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii) success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. No member of our team has had management experience with special purpose acquisition corporations in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of our team’s or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of any future performance.
Risks Relating to Potential Conflicts
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our officers, directors and strategic advisors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer, director or strategic advisor of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act without our prior written consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld.
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing our initial business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Delaware law and we or our stockholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our stockholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue
such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for our initial business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after our initial public offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In December 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 5,750,000 founder shares. In February 2021, we effected a stock dividend of 0.2 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 6,900,000 founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued.
The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of our initial public offering would be a maximum of 27,600,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after our initial public offering. Currently, the founder shares represent 97.5% of the outstanding shares. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and the underwriter of our initial public offering (Cantor) purchased an aggregate of 5,013,333 private placement warrants of which 4,177,778 private placement warrants were purchased by our sponsor and 835,555 private placement warrants were purchased by Cantor, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, or $7,520,000, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing our initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 36-month anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
Risks Relating to Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to our initial business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could adversely impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could adversely impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
Risks Relating to Our Management Team
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this annual report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for our initial business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) completion of our initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to certain limitations, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025 or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial business combination activity, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if our plan to redeem our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by June 30, 2025 is not completed for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait until June 30, 2025 before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of
any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A common stock or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A common stock included in the units.
We are not registering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
You may only be able to exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the shares of Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the public warrants for redemption. If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our shares of Class A common stock (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported
closing price of the shares of Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and Board.
We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 280,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 272,925,523 and 20,000,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 51 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or shares of preferred stock:
● may significantly dilute the equity interest of our existing investors;
● may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock;
● could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of Class A common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and
● may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete our initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus adversely impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this annual report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
● default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
● acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
● our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
● our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
● our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock;
● using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
● limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
● increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
● limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders or warrant holders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares in connection with such initial business combination, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 51 months of the closing of our initial public offering or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. If we amend such provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a stockholder meeting. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 97.5% of our common stock following our initial public offering, may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Currently, the founder shares represent 97.5% of the outstanding shares. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 51 months from the closing of our initial public offering or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Certain agreements related to our initial public offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to our initial public offering to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreement and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without stockholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial stockholders, sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us, our initial stockholders and Cantor; the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and our sponsor; the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and Cantor; and the administrative services agreement among us, our sponsor and an affiliate of our sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public stockholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain lock-up provisions with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and other securities held by our initial stockholders, sponsor, officers and directors. Amendments to such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our Board, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our Board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our Board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement. Any amendment entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. For example, amendments to the lock-up provision discussed above may result in our initial stockholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own 97.5% of our issued and outstanding common stock. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our Board, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” Board, only a minority of the Board will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.0043 per founder share ($0.0036 after giving effect to a stock dividend of 0.2 shares per founder share) and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our shares of Class A common stock.
Our initial stockholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price. Public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution upon acquisition of our securities. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption provided that on the date we give notice of redemption. We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.
Because each unit contains one-fourth of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-fourth of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one common share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-fourth of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A market for our securities may not remain available, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be sustained.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to our units, their treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes is uncertain, and the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the share of Class A common stock and the one-fourth of one redeemable warrant included in each unit could be challenged by the Internal Revenue Service or the courts. In addition, if we are determined to be a personal holding company for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our taxable income would be subjected to an additional 20% federal income tax, which would reduce the net after-tax amount of interest income earned on the funds placed in our trust account. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we issued in our initial public offering is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our shares suspend the running of a U.S. holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether (i) any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A common stock is long-term capital gain or loss, (ii) any dividends we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for U.S. federal income tax purposes and (iii) any dividend we pay would be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
The SEC has issued final rules and guidance relating to certain activities of SPACs. The need for compliance with these rules and the guidance may cause us to liquidate the Company at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose.
On January 24, 2024, the SEC issued final rules (the “2024 SPAC Rules”) relating, among other things, to disclosures in SEC filings in connection with business combination transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) such as us and private operating companies; the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; and the use of projections by SPACs in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions. In connection with the issuance of the 2024 SPAC Rules, the SEC also issued guidance (the “SPAC Guidance”) regarding the potential liability of certain participants in business combination transactions and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act. The need for compliance with the SPAC Rules and the SPAC Guidance may cause us to 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 a business combination and instead liquidate the Company.
As noted above, the SPAC Guidance relates, among other matters, to the circumstances in which SPACs such as the Company could potentially be subject to the Investment Company Act and the regulations thereunder. If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities would be severely restricted. In addition, we would be subject to burdensome compliance requirements. We do not believe that our principal activities will subject us to regulation as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. However, if we are deemed to be an investment company and subject to compliance with and regulation under the Investment Company Act, we would be subject to additional regulatory burdens and expenses for which we have not allotted funds. As a result, unless we were able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may be unable to complete a business combination and could be required to liquidate the Company. Were we to liquidate, our warrants would expire worthless, and our securityholders would lose the investment opportunity associated with an investment in the target company with which we could have consummated a business combination.
To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we previously instructed the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in an interest-bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or our liquidation. As a result, following the liquidation of investments in the Trust Account, we will have received less interest on the funds held in the Trust Account than we would have had the Trust Account remained invested and our public stockholders will receive a lower amount upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company than what they would have received had the investments not been liquidated.
The funds in the Trust Account were previously held only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. However, to mitigate the risk of us being deemed to be an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act) under the proposed rules issued by the SEC and thus potentially subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, in December 2023, we instructed Continental, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest bearing demand deposit account at a bank until the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or the liquidation of the Company. Following such liquidation, we will have received less interest on the funds held in the Trust Account than we would have if we had not liquidated such assets. As a result, our public stockholders will receive a lower amount upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company as compared to what they would have received had the investments not been so liquidated.
Additional Risks
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial
business combination. We may be unable to complete our initial business combination, including the proposed business combination with Liminatus. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our shares of Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered Board and the ability of the Board to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will, subject to certain exceptions, be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action: (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may limit or make more costly a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary
information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
● costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations;
● rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
● complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
● laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
● exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;
● tariffs and trade barriers;
● regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
● local or regional economic policies and market conditions;
● unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
● challenges in managing and staffing international operations;
● longer payment cycles;
● tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
● currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
● rates of inflation;
● challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
● cultural and language differences;
● employment regulations;
● underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;
● corruption;
● protection of intellectual property;
● social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;
● regime changes and political upheaval;
● terrorist attacks and wars; and
● deterioration of political relations with the United States.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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.
The market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums
charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense and/or accept less favorable terms. Furthermore, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination entity’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, after completion of any initial business combination, our directors and officers could be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to such initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the SEC (the “SEC Staff”) issued a public statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Staff Statement”), wherein the SEC Staff expressed its view that certain terms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may require the warrants to be classified as liabilities on the SPAC’s balance sheet as opposed to being treated as equity. Specifically, the SEC Staff Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. As a result of the SEC Staff Statement, we re-evaluated the accounting treatment of our warrants, and pursuant to the guidance in ASC 815-40, determined the warrants should be classified as derivative liabilities measured at fair value on our balance sheet, with any changes in fair value to be reported each period in earnings on our statements of operations.
As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements may fluctuate quarterly based on factors which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024. 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.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. We identified a material weakness in our controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024 related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments. Such material weakness was evidenced by errors and subsequent restatements of previously issued financial statements related to the Company’s accounting for warrants and common stock subject to possible redemption. This material weakness remains unremediated at December 31, 2024.
An additional material weakness in internal control over financial reporting with respect to our income tax accounting was identified; specifically, the absence of a control to identify, reconcile and properly account for differences between our book income tax provision and the amount of tax per income tax returns. Additionally, the following material weaknesses were found: (1) the lack of controls needed to assure that we are maintaining compliance with income tax regulations, including the timely filing of complete and accurate income tax returns, (2) the lack of controls needed to assure the preparation of complete and accurate financial statement disclosures, and (3) lack controls needed to identify related party transactions, including, but not limited to, transactions involving our Sponsor and members of our Sponsor.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the identified material weaknesses. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
Since we have not yet completed our initial business combination, we are unable to currently ascertain the merits or risks of the industry or business in which we may ultimately operate.
There is no current basis for you to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the particular industry in which we may ultimately operate or the target business which we may ultimately acquire. To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable company or an entity in its development stage, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations of those entities. If we complete our initial business combination with an entity in an industry characterized by a high level of risk, we may be affected by the currently unascertainable risks of that industry. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular industry or target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors.
Our officers and directors may not have significant experience or knowledge regarding the jurisdiction or industry of the target business we may seek to acquire.
We may consummate our initial business combination with a target business in any geographic location or industry we choose. We cannot assure you that our officers and directors will have enough experience or have sufficient knowledge relating to the jurisdiction of the target or its industry to make an informed decision regarding our initial business combination.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with our initial business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous for us.
Our key personnel will be able to remain with the company after the consummation of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements or other appropriate arrangements in connection with our initial business combination. Such negotiations will take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they will render to the company after the consummation of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our IPO, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services.
It is likely we will consummate a business combination with a single target business, although we have the ability to simultaneously acquire several target businesses. By consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, or
● dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to a business combination.
Alternatively, if we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses and such businesses are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
Resources could be spent researching acquisitions that are not consummated, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.
It is anticipated that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting, and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents, and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If a decision is made not to complete a specific business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely will not be recoverable.
Furthermore, even if an agreement is reached relating to a specific target business, we may fail to consummate the business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.
Risks Related to the Business Combination
You should carefully consider the following risk factors, which we believe represent some of the material risks related to our proposed business combination with Liminatus, in addition to the other information included in this annual report. Unless otherwise indicated, reference in this section and elsewhere in this annual report to the proposed business combination with Liminatus being adversely affected, negatively impacted or harmed will include an adverse effect on, or a negative impact or harm to, our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, revenue and future prospects. These factors do not comprise all risks related to our proposed business combination with Liminatus known at this time, and we intend to disclose additional material risks in subsequent filings related to the business combination. There is no guarantee that the proposed business combination will close. These factors should be considered carefully, together with the information and financial data set forth in this annual report.
The sponsor and Iris’s current directors and executive officers and their affiliates own founder shares and warrants that will be worthless (other than with respect to public shares they may have acquired during or after Iris’s initial public offering) and may incur reimbursable expenses that may not be reimbursed or repaid if the proposed business combination is not approved. Such interests may have influenced their decision to approve the business combination.
The sponsor, Iris’s officers and directors and/or their affiliates beneficially own founder shares or warrants that they purchased prior to, or simultaneously with, Iris’s initial public offering. The sponsor and Iris’s executive officers, directors and their affiliates have no redemption rights with respect to these securities in the event a business combination is not effected in the required time period. Therefore, if the business combination contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement or another business combination is not approved within the required time period, such securities will be worthless. Additionally, the sponsor, Iris’s officers, directors, and any of their respective affiliates are entitled to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with certain activities on Iris’s behalf, such as identifying and investigating possible business targets and business combinations. Any such payments prior to the business combination will be made from: (i) funds held outside the Trust Account or (ii) interest earned on the Trust Account and released to Iris to pay its taxes. As of December 31, 2024, Iris’s officers, directors, initial stockholders and their affiliates had incurred approximately $1,453,720 for working capital purposes payable at the closing of the business combination. Furthermore, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended business combination, the sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor or certain of Iris’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan Iris funds as may be required. These loans will be due and payable in full immediately if Iris does not complete the business combination. However, the sponsor retains the right to waive the loan repayment in its discretion.
These financial interests may have influenced the decision of Iris’s directors and officers to approve the business combination and to continue to pursue such business combination.
Since the sponsor will lose its entire investment in Iris if a business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares it may acquire), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether the business combination, or an alternative initial business combination, is appropriate for Iris’s business combination.
In December 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock, or approximately $0.004 per share. In February 2021, we effected a stock dividend of 0.2 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 6,900,000 shares of Class B common stock. The shares of Class B common stock will be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. These shares were converted into shares of Class A common stock on September 25, 2023.
As a result, the sponsor may be incentivized to complete the business combination, or an alternative initial business combination with a less favorable company or on terms less favorable to stockholders, rather than to liquidate, in which case the sponsor would lose its entire investment. Further, Iris’s Class B contribution and the surrendering and forfeiture of all private placement warrants held by the sponsor for no consideration to be effected pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, the sponsor may realize a positive return on invested capital as a result of the business combination. As a result, the sponsor may have a conflict of interest in determining whether Liminatus is the appropriate business with which to effectuate a business combination and/or in evaluating the terms of the business combination. The Board was aware of and considered these interests, among other matters, in evaluating and unanimously approving the business combination and in recommending to Iris’s stockholders that they approve the business combination.
The exercise of Iris’s directors’ and officers’ discretion in agreeing to changes or waivers in the terms of the business combination may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether such changes to the terms of the business combination or waivers of conditions are appropriate and in Iris’s stockholders’ best interest.
In the period leading up to the closing of the business combination, events may occur that, pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, would require Iris to agree to amend the Business Combination Agreement, to consent to certain actions taken by Liminatus or to waive rights that Iris is entitled to under the Business Combination Agreement. Such events could arise because of changes in the course of Liminatus’s business, a request by Liminatus to undertake actions that would otherwise be prohibited by the terms of the Business Combination Agreement or the occurrence of other events that would have a material adverse effect on Liminatus’s business and would entitle Iris to terminate the Business Combination Agreement. In any of such circumstances, it would be at Iris’s discretion, acting through its Board, to grant its consent or waive those rights. The existence of the financial and personal interests of the directors described in the preceding risk factors may result in a conflict of interest on the part of one or more of the directors between what he or they may believe is best for Iris and what he or they may believe is best for himself or themselves in determining whether or not to take the requested action.
We may not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company if such initial business combination is subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and review by a U.S. government entity such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and ultimately prohibited by the same.
Our sponsor, Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company, but as our sponsor has certain ties with non-U.S. persons, CFIUS may deem our sponsor a “foreign person.” As such, an initial business combination with a U.S. business may be subject to CFIUS review, the scope of which was expanded by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”), to include certain non-passive, non-controlling investments in sensitive U.S. businesses. FIRRMA, and subsequent implementing regulations that are now in force, also subjects certain categories of investments to mandatory filings.
We may choose to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or to proceed with the initial business combination without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the initial business combination. If we do not file voluntarily with CFIUS and obtain CFIUS clearance of the initial business combination, CFIUS may initiate a review at any time in the future. Following review, CFIUS may decide to block the initial business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such initial business combination or order us to divest all or a portion of a U.S. business of the combined company if we haven’t first obtained CFIUS clearance, which may have an impact on the potential value of the transaction.
Moreover, the process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy and we have limited time to complete our initial business combination. If we cannot complete our initial business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by stockholder approval by June 30, 2025, because the review process continues on beyond such timeframe or because our initial business combination is ultimately prohibited by CFIUS or another
U.S. government entity, we may be required to liquidate. If we liquidate, our public stockholders may only receive an amount per share that will be determined by when we liquidate, and our warrants will expire worthless. This will also cause you to lose the investment opportunity in a target company and the chance of realizing future gains on your investment through any price appreciation in the combined company.
A new 1% U.S. federal excise tax could be imposed on us in connection with redemptions by us of our shares that occur after December 31, 2022.
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376) (the “IRA”), which, among other things, imposes a 1% excise tax on any publicly traded domestic corporation that repurchases its stock after December 31, 2022 (the “Excise Tax”). The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from which the stock is repurchased. Because we are a Delaware corporation and our securities trade on OTC Pink, we are a “covered corporation” within the meaning of the IRA. The amount of the Excise Tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the Excise Tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances made by such repurchasing corporations, if any, against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the Excise Tax. The U.S. Department of Treasury has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the Excise Tax. On December 27, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued Notice 2023-2 (the “Notice”), which provides interim guidance addressing the application of the Excise Tax. Under the Notice, liquidating distributions are exempt from the Excise Tax. In addition, redemptions may also be exempt if they occur in the same year as the liquidation. However, the U.S. Department of Treasury has yet to promulgate proposed or final regulations for the Excise Tax. While not free from doubt, absent any further guidance, there is significant risk that the Excise Tax will apply to any redemptions of our public shares after December 31, 2022, including redemptions made in connection with any future extensions approved by our stockholders or any redemptions made if we are unable to consummate a business combination or amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time to complete a business combination by or before the termination date of the Business Combination Agreement, which is June 30, 2025. The application of the Excise Tax to any redemptions we make after December 31, 2022 could potentially reduce the per-share amount that our Public Stockholders would otherwise be entitled to receive. During the second quarter of 2024, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations with respect to the timing and payment of the excise tax. Pursuant to those regulations, the Company would need to file a return and remit payment for any liability incurred during the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 on or before October 31, 2024. As of April 15, 2025, the Company has not remitted payment.
There may be tax consequences of the business combination that adversely affect Iris stockholders and holders of Public Warrants.
We intend for the proposed business combination to qualify (in whole or in part) as a tax-deferred exchange for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Section 351 of the Code. In addition, we intend for U.S. federal income tax purposes that the SPAC Merger qualifies as a tax-deferred reorganization under Section 368(a)(2)(E) or Section 368(a)(1)(B) of the Code to the extent that the applicable requirements are satisfied. If the SPAC Merger only qualifies as a tax-deferred exchange under Section 351 of the Code and does not qualify as a tax-deferred reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Code, then the exchange of public warrants for ParentCo warrants in the SPAC Merger would not qualify for tax-deferred treatment and would be taxable as is further described in the registration statement filed in connection with the business combination. There are significant factual and legal uncertainties as to whether the SPAC Merger will qualify as a tax-deferred reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Code, including that the assets of Liminatus are only investment-type assets and that it cannot be determined until following the closing of the business combination whether ParentCo will continue a significant line of Liminatus’s historic business or use a significant portion of Liminatus’s historic business assets. Under Section 368(a) of the Code, the acquiring corporation must continue, either directly or indirectly through certain controlled corporations, either a significant line of the acquired corporation’s historic business or use a significant portion of the acquired corporation’s historic business assets in a business. However, there is an absence of guidance as to how the provisions of Section 368(a) of the Code apply in the case of an acquisition of a corporation with only investment-type assets, such as Iris, and there are significant factual and legal uncertainties concerning the determination of this requirement. Moreover, qualification of the SPAC Merger as a tax-deferred reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Code is based on facts which will not be known until or following the closing of the business combination (such as the level of redemptions). As a result, Holland & Knight is unable to opine as to whether the SPAC Merger constitutes a reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Code. The closing of the business combination is not conditioned upon the receipt of an opinion of counsel that the business combination will so qualify as a tax-deferred reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Code. The parties intend to report: (a) the Liminatus Merger and the SPAC Merger taken together as a tax-deferred exchange under Section 351 of the Code, and (b) the SPAC Merger as a tax-deferred reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Code to the extent the applicable requirements are satisfied. However, any change that is made after the date hereof in any of the foregoing bases for the
intended tax treatment, including any inaccuracy of the facts or assumptions upon which such expectations were based, could adversely affect the intended tax treatment.
Further, Iris has not sought, and does not intend to seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequences described herein. The IRS may disagree with the descriptions of U.S. federal income tax consequences contained herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Any such determination could subject an investor or Iris to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences that would be different than those described herein. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the Liminatus Merger and the SPAC Merger, taken together or separately, will qualify for tax-deferred treatment under Section 351 or Section 368(a) of the Code. Each prospective investor is strongly urged to consult with a tax advisor with respect to the specific U.S. federal, state, local or foreign income or other tax consequences of the business combination to such prospective investor.
The scope of due diligence Iris has conducted in conjunction with the business combination may be different than would typically be conducted in the event Liminatus pursued an underwritten initial public offering, and you may be less protected as an investor from any material issues with respect to Liminatus’s business, including any material omissions or misstatements contained in the registration statement or this proxy statement/prospectus, than an investor in an initial public offering.
The scope of due diligence Iris has conducted in conjunction with the business combination may be different than would typically be conducted in the event Liminatus pursued an initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, the underwriters of the offering conduct due diligence on Iris to be taken public, and following the offering, the underwriters are subject to liability to private investors for any material misstatements or omission in the registration statement. While potential investors in an initial public offering typically have a private right of action against the underwriters of the offering for any of these material misstatements or omissions, there are no underwriters of the ParentCo common stock and ParentCo warrants that will be issued pursuant to the registration statement filed in connection with the business combination and thus no corresponding right of action is available to investors in the business combination for any material misstatements or omissions in such registration statement. Therefore, as an investor in the business combination, you may be exposed to future write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative impact on ParentCo’s financial condition and its share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment without certain recourse against any underwriter that may be available in an underwritten offering.
Iris may not be able to realize the anticipated benefits from the business combination.
The successful completion of the business combination may not yield the anticipated benefits or the benefits may not occur in the anticipated time frame. Moreover, the ability to realize the benefits in the expected time frame may be materially adversely affected by a number of factors. The proposed business combination to date has placed, and future acquisitions could continue to place, significant demands on both Liminatus’s and Iris’s administrative, operational and financial resources and may also result in the assumption of unexpected liabilities and may divert management’s attention from the operation of Liminatus’s business.
Additionally, strategic investments and partnerships with other companies may expose ParentCo to the risk that it may not be able to control the operations of the investee or partnership, which could decrease the amount of benefits ParentCo realizes from a particular relationship. ParentCo will also be exposed to the risk that its partners in strategic investments may encounter financial difficulties that could lead to disruption of investee or partnership activities, or impairment of assets acquired, which could materially adversely affect future reported results of operations and financial condition.
Each of Iris and Liminatus have incurred and will incur substantial costs in connection with the business combination and related transactions, such as legal, accounting, consulting and financial advisory fees.
Each of Iris and Liminatus have incurred and expect that it will incur significant, non-recurring costs in connection with consummating the business combination. Iris and Liminatus may also incur additional costs to retain key employees. Iris and Liminatus will also incur significant legal, financial advisor, accounting, banking and consulting fees, fees relating to regulatory filings and notices, SEC filing fees, printing and mailing fees and other costs associated with the business combination. Although the parties have been provided with estimates of the costs for each advisory firm, the total actual costs may exceed those estimates and some of these costs are payable regardless of whether the business combination are completed.
While Iris and Liminatus work to complete the business combination, management’s focus and resources may be diverted from operational matters and other strategic opportunities.
Successful completion of the business combination may place a significant burden on the management of Iris and Liminatus and other internal resources. The diversion of management’s attention and any difficulties encountered in the transition process could harm ParentCo’s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, including with respect to any future growth-oriented acquisitions undertaken by ParentCo. Diversion of management’s attention and any difficulties encountered in the transition process could have an adverse effect on ParentCo.
Iris’s operations may be restricted during the pendency of the business combination pursuant to terms of the Business Combination Agreement.
Iris is, prior to the consummation of the business combination, subject to customary interim operating covenants relating to carrying on its business in the ordinary course of business and is also subject to customary restrictions on actions that may be taken during such period without the consent of Liminatus. As a result, Iris may be unable, during the pendency of the business combination, to make certain acquisitions, dispositions and capital expenditures, borrow money or otherwise pursue other actions, even if such actions would prove beneficial.
The consummation of the business combination is subject to a number of conditions. If those conditions are not satisfied or waived, the Business Combination Agreement may be terminated in accordance with its terms and the business combination may not be completed.
The Business Combination Agreement is subject to a number of conditions which must be fulfilled in order to complete the business combination. Those conditions include: (i) approval by Iris’s stockholders; (ii) the absence of any statute, rule, regulation, injunction, order, or decree that is enacted, entered, promulgated, or enforced and prohibits, prevents, or makes illegal the completion of the business combination; and (iii) the absence of any claim, litigation or proceeding initiated and pending or threatened relating to the Business Combination Agreement or the business combination, or seeking to prevent the completion of the business combination. Each party’s obligation to complete the business combination is also subject to certain additional customary conditions. These conditions to the closing may not be fulfilled in a timely manner or at all, and, accordingly, the business combination may not be completed.
Iris’s ability to consummate the business combination may be negatively impacted because neither the Board nor any committee of the Board obtained a fairness opinion in determining whether or not to pursue the business combination, and as a result, the terms may not be fair from a financial point of view to Iris’s stockholders.
Neither the Board nor any committee of the Board is required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking or accounting firm regarding the value of Liminatus or that the price that Iris is paying for Liminatus in the business combination is fair to Iris or its stockholders from a financial point of view. In analyzing the business combination, the Board conducted due diligence on Liminatus. It also consulted with Liminatus’s management and legal counsel, financial advisors and other advisors and considered a number of factors, uncertainties and risks, and concluded that the business combination was in the best interest of Iris’s stockholders. The Board believes that because of the skills and background of its directors, it was qualified to conclude that the business combination was fair from a financial perspective to its stockholders and that Liminatus’s fair market value was at least 80% of the balance of the funds in the Trust Account (excluding any taxes payable). Accordingly, investors will be relying solely on the judgment of the Board in valuing Liminatus, and the Board may not have properly valued Liminatus.
As a result, the terms may not be fair from a financial point of view to Iris’s stockholders. The lack of a fairness opinion may also lead an increased number of Iris’s stockholders to vote against the business combination or demand redemption of their Class A common stock, which could potentially impact Iris’s ability to consummate the business combination.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We currently lease our executive offices at 3rd Floor Zephyr House, 122 Mary Street, George Town, PO Box 10085, Grand Cayman KY1-1001. We believe that our current office space is suitable and adequate for present purposes, and that the productive capacity is substantially being utilized.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
There are currently no material pending legal proceedings against us or to which any of our property is subject.

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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.
Market Information
Our Class A common stock is currently traded on OTC Pink under the symbol “IRAA”. Our Redeemable Warrants are currently traded on OTC Pink under the symbol “IRAAW”. Additionally, shares of our Class A common stock and Redeemable Warrants trade as Units consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-fourth of one Redeemable Warrant, and are traded on OTC Pink under the symbol “IRAAU”. Any over-the-counter market quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.
Holders
As of April 4, 2025, there was 2 holders of record of our Class A common stock, 1 holder of record of our units, and 3 holders of record of our warrants. This number does not include “street name,” or beneficial holders, whose shares are held of record by banks, brokers, financial institutions and other nominees.
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 the initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of the combined company’s board of directors at such time. 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. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board of directors does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future.

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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
References in this report (the “Annual Report”) to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Iris Acquisition Corp. References to our “Board,” “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC (formerly known as Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC). The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Annual Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) that are not historical facts and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Annual Report including, without limitation, statements in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “seek” and variations and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, but reflect management’s current beliefs, based on information currently available. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors section of this Annual Report. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on November 5, 2020 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. On November 30, 2022, we executed a Business Combination Agreement with Liminatus Pharma, LLC. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of our initial public offering 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. The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective by the SEC on March 4, 2021. On March 9, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 27,600,000 units (the “Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Unit, for total gross proceeds of $276,000,000. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant entitling its holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, pursuant to the Warrant Purchase Agreements, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 5,013,333 Warrants (each a “Private Placement Warrant”) to the Sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant. The sale of the Private Placement Warrants generated gross proceeds to the Company of $7,520,000.
After the special stockholders meeting held on December 20, 2022, to vote upon a charter amendment to extend the time to complete a business combination until June 9, 2023 (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of the Board), stockholders holding 26,186,896 Public Shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares (and did not withdraw their redemption) for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.08 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of $263,963,913. Following such redemptions, 1,413,104 Public Shares remained outstanding in the trust.
On April 26, 2023, Dr. Borade, an Audit Committee member, notified us of his intent to resign as a member of our Board effective April 26, 2023. Dr. Borade’s decision to resign was not the result of any dispute or disagreement with us on any matter relating to our operation, policies (including accounting or financial policies) or practices.
On May 30, 2023, our Board held a meeting and: (i) extended the date by which we must consummate a Business Combination for a three month period from June 9, 2023 to September 9, 2023, and (ii) appointed Nicholas Fernandez to serve as a director. Consistent with this extension by our Board, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement on June 1, 2023, to extend the date by which the parties thereto can terminate the Business Combination Agreement if the transaction has not closed by that date (the “Outside Date”) from June 7, 2023, to September 30, 2023.
On August 16, 2023, we filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC containing a proposal to stockholders to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to, among other things, extend the date by which we must consummate a business combination from September 9, 2023, to March 9, 2024. On August 14, 2023, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to extend the Outside Date from September 30, 2023 to March 9, 2024.
On September 7, 2023, we filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to: (i) to change the date by which we must consummate a business combination from September 9, 2023 to December 9, 2023 (the “Second Extension Amendment”) (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of our Board); (ii) to remove from the charter the limitation on share repurchases prior to the consummation of a business combination that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such repurchases, and the limitation that we shall not consummate a business combination if it would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior or subsequent to the consummation of such business combination (the “NTA Amendment”); and (iii) to amend the charter to provide for the right of a holder of shares of the Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, to convert such shares into shares of the Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis prior to the closing of a business combination (the “Founder Share Amendment” and, together with the Extension Amendment and the NTA Amendment, the “Charter Amendments”).
Our stockholders approved the Charter Amendments at a special meeting of stockholders (the “Second Special Meeting”) on September 7, 2023. The date by which we must consummate a business combination was subsequently extended to March 9, 2024.
In connection with the Second Special Meeting, stockholders holding 1,006,495 Public Shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of $10.29 per share, subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax, for an aggregate redemption amount of $10,358,754. Following such redemptions, 406,609 Public Shares remained outstanding.
On September 25, 2023, the Sponsor converted all of its Class B common stock on a one-for-one basis into Class A common stock. The Sponsor will not have any redemption rights in connection with the Converted Shares, and the Converted Shares will be subject to the restrictions on transfer entered into by the Sponsor in connection with the IPO.
On December 5, 2023, the Board held a meeting and extended the date by which the Company must consummate a Business Combination for a three month period from December 9, 2023 to March 9, 2024.
On February 7, 2024, we filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC containing a proposal to stockholders to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to, among other things, extend the date by which we must consummate a business combination from to March 9, 2024, to June 9, 2024 (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of the Board). Our stockholders approved the amendments to the Certificate of Incorporation at the special meeting on March 7, 2024.
On March 7, 2024, we filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to change the date by which we must consummate a business combination to June 9, 2024 (the “Third Extension Amendment”) (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of our Board). Our Board approved the additional three month extension on May 13, 2024 extending the date to consummate a business combination to September 9, 2024.
Our stockholders approved the Third Extension Amendment at a special meeting of stockholders (the “Third Special Meeting”) on March 7, 2024. The date by which we must consummate a business combination was subsequently extended to September 9, 2024.
In connection with the Third Special Meeting, stockholders holding 119,572 shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of $10.58 per share, adjusted for applicable taxes in the amount of $60,000 including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax, for an aggregate redemption amount of $1,265,669. Following such redemptions, 287,037 shares remained outstanding.
On March 9, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to extend the Outside Date to July 31, 2024. Additionally, on March 9, 2024, the parties to the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement and Convertible Note Subscription Agreement entered into amendments to such agreements to extend the termination date of the respective agreements to July 31, 2024.
On May 13, 2024, the Board extended the date by which the Company must consummate a Business Combination for a three month period from June 9, 2024 to September 9, 2024, pursuant to the discretion granted to the Board by the stockholders.
On July 19, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to extend the Outside Date to September 3, 2024.
On July 23, 2024, the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement was amended to increase the PIPE Investor’s committed purchase of PIPE Shares from 1,500,000 to 2,500,000, increase the PIPE Equity Investment from $15,000,000 to $25,000,000, and extend the date by which the PIPE Investor can terminate the agreement to September 3, 2024. On July 23, 2024, the parties to the Convertible Note Subscription Agreement terminated such agreement pursuant to a termination agreement.
On August 16, 2024, Liminatus informed us that Targeted Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Inc., Liminatus’s license partner for the intellectual property and other rights related to GCC (CAR-T therapy and cancer vaccine), terminated the License and Development Agreement, dated June 10, 2018, by and between Targeted Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Inc. and Liminatus. As a result of this termination, a post-effective amendment to ParentCo’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 was filed on November 8, 2024, to disclose the change to Liminatus’s business and to reschedule a previously scheduled meeting of stockholders to a later date.
On August 16, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to extend the Outside Date to December 31, 2024. Also on August 16, 2024, the parties to the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement entered into an amendment to such agreement to extend the termination date of the agreement to December 31, 2024.
On August 26, 2024, we filed a proxy statement with the SEC containing a proposal to stockholders to amend our Certificate of Incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate a business combination from September 9, 2024 to December 31, 2024. Our stockholders approved the amendments to the Certificate of Incorporation at the special meeting on September 5, 2024. On September 5, 2024, we filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to change the date by which we must consummate a business combination to December 31, 2024. Additionally, on September 5, 2024, stockholders holding 48,107 shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.17 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $537,200, subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax. Following such redemptions, 238,930 Public Shares remained outstanding.
On October 23, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to, among other things, reduce the enterprise value associated with Liminatus to $175 million.
On October 31, 2024, the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement was amended to decrease the PIPE Investor’s committed purchase of PIPE Shares from 2,500,000 to 1,500,000, and decrease the PIPE Equity Investment from $25,000,000 to $15,000,000.
On December 9, 2024, we filed a proxy statement with the SEC containing a proposal to stockholders to amend the Certificate of Incorporation to extend the date by which Iris must consummate a business combination from December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025 (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of the Board). Our stockholders approved the amendments to the Certificate of Incorporation at the special meeting on December 20, 2024.
On December 20, 2024, stockholders holding 64,453 public shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.47 per share, subject to adjustment for taxes payable from the trust account, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $739,195. Following such redemptions, 174,477 Public Shares will remain outstanding. The redemptions were settled on February 3, 2025.
On December 26, 2024, we filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to change the date by which we must consummate a business combination to March 31, 2025 (subject to an additional three month extension at the discretion of the Board). On December 26, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination
Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to extend the date by which the parties thereto can terminate the Business Combination Agreement to June 30, 2025.
On December 26, 2024, the parties amended the date by which the PIPE Investor can terminate the agreement to June 30, 2025.
On March 4, 2025, we held a special meeting of stockholders. At the special meeting, the Company’s stockholders voted to approve the business combination, and adopt the Business Combination Agreement, among other items. In connection with the special meeting, stockholders holding 59,844 public shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.74 per share, subject to adjustment for taxes payable from the trust account, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $702,359.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities for the period from November 5, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2024 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the IPO, and identifying a target company for our initial Business Combination. We generate non-operating interest income form cash and cash equivalents marketable securities held in the Trust Account and changes in the value of warrant liabilities. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing), as well as for due diligence expenses. We will not be generating any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial Business Combination.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we had net loss of $2,904,299, which consisted of $2,906,319 of formation and operating costs, interest expense of $136,763, interest expense - related party of $1,339 and offering cost and provision for income taxes of $18,841, which are offset by a $19,044 gain on the change in fair value of warrants and interest income on investments held in the Trust Account of 137,717, and a gain on the fair value of derivatives of $2,202.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we had a net loss of $1,226,218, which consisted of $2,577,946 of formation and operating costs, interest expense of $8,265, interest expense - related party of $103,089 and income tax provision of $33,987, offset by an unrealized gain on fair value of warrant liabilities of $566,202, an unrealized gain on derivative liability of $102,226, forgiveness of unrelated payables for $275,000, interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $553,641.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We consummated our IPO on March 9, 2021. As of December 31, 2024, we had $65,343 in our operating bank account, which includes $12,347 of restricted cash to be used for tax payments only, and negative working capital of approximately $7,868,773. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or 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. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were no Working Capital Loans outstanding.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash used in operating activities was $3,106,462, which was due to our net loss of $2,904,299, unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $19,044, interest earned on investments held in the Trust Account of $137,717, and unrealized gain on change in fair value of derivative liability of $2,202, which were offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities of $44,539 and the accretion of discount on related party loans of $1,339.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $2,089,180, which was due to our net loss of $1,226,218, unrealized gain on fair value of warranty liability of $566,202, an unrealized gain on derivative liability of $102,226, forgiveness of unrelated vendor payables of $275,000, and interest earned on cash and Investments held in the Trust Account of $553,641, partially offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities of $531,018 and the accretion of discount on related party loans of $103,089.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, there was cash provided by investing activities of $1,968,249, which was the result of proceeds from the Trust Account used for redemptions and tax payments in the amounts of $1,802,869 and $354,519, respectively, which was offset by the advances to the Trust Account of $189,139.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, there was cash provided by investing activities of $11,389,930, which was the result of cash proceeds from the Trust Account for redemptions and tax payments in the amounts of $10,657,185 and $853,261, respectively, offset by advances to the Trust Account of $120,516.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash provided by financing activities was $1,047,131, which was a result of the proceeds from Liminatus promissory note of $2,850,000, offset by the redemption of Class A common stock of $1,802,869.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in financing activities was $9,424,965, which was a result of Class A Common Stock that was redeemed in September 2023 in the amount of $10,358,754, the 2023 adjustment to share price for shares redeemed in December 2022 in the amount of $298,431, which was offset by net proceeds from the promissory note from a related party of $413,720 and the proceeds from the promissory note from Liminatus of $818,500.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern, management has determined that the Company has and will continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its acquisition plans which raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon consummation of our initial Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our initial Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Management has determined that if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination or amend the Certificate of Incorporation by June 30, 2025 (the “Combination Period”), then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution as well as the Company’s working capital deficit raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after the Combination Period.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements and related disclosures requires us to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, costs and expenses and related disclosures.
We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if: (i) the accounting estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made, and (ii) changes in the estimate are reasonably likely to occur from period to period or use of different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, would have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. The critical accounting estimates, assumptions, judgements and the related policies that we believe have the most significant impact on its financial statements are described below:
Fair Value of Warrants
In determining the fair value of our Private Placement Warrants, our Board used the most observable inputs available. The valuation approach utilized the Monte Carlo simulation model. Some of the inputs used in the model include the expected common stock price volatility, risk-free interest rate, expected Business Combination date and probability of completing the Business Combination. Several of these inputs are known and several use judgement. For instance, the probability of completing the Business Combination is derived by taking a sample of other special purpose acquisition companies and calculating the implied probability of completion for each company in the sample set. Changes in any or all of these estimates and assumptions, or the relationships between these assumptions, impact our valuation of our Private Placement Warrants as of each valuation date and may have a material impact on the valuation of these warrants.
Recent Accounting Standards
Our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.

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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
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 688)
Financial Statements
Balance Sheets
Statements of Operations
Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit
Statements of Cash Flows
Notes to Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Iris Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Iris Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph - Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company is a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation that was formed for the purpose of effectuating a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities on or before June 30, 2025. The Company entered into a Merger Agreement and Plan of Reorganization with a business combination target on November 30, 2022; however, the completion of this transaction is subject to the approval of the Company’s stockholders among other conditions. There is no assurance that the Company will obtain the necessary approvals or raise the additional capital it needs to fund its business operations and complete any business combination prior to June 30, 2025, if at all. The Company also has no approved plan in place to extend the business combination deadline beyond June 30, 2025 and lacks the capital resources needed to fund operations and complete any business combination, even if the deadline to complete a business combination is extended to a later date. These matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, NY
April 15, 2025
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
BALANCE SHEETS
December 31,
Assets
Current assets
Cash(1)
$
65,343
$
156,425
Restricted cash - held in Trust Account
739,195
-
Due from Sponsor
1,256
1,256
Franchise tax receivable
5,200
53,200
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
1,664
-
Total current assets
812,658
210,881
Cash and Investments held in Trust Account
2,016,274
4,291,332
Total Assets
$
2,828,932
$
4,502,213
Liabilities, Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption and Stockholders’ Deficit
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$
2,613,095
$
2,326,918
Due to related party
75,000
75,000
Class A common stock pending redemption (64,453 shares)
739,195
-
Income taxes payable
2,913
379,965
Excise tax payable
129,008
103,587
Derivative liability
-
2,202
Promissory notes - related party
1,453,720
1,452,381
Promissory note - Liminatus
3,668,500
818,500
Total current liabilities
8,681,431
5,158,553
Deferred underwriting fee payable
9,660,000
9,660,000
Warrant liability
357,400
376,444
Total Liabilities
18,698,831
15,194,997
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 7)
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, 174,477 and 406,609 shares at redemption value of $10.07 and $9.96 at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
1,756,468
4,049,650
Stockholders’ Deficit
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding
-
-
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 280,000,000 shares authorized; 6,900,000 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 174,477 and 406,609 shares subject to possible redemption, respectively) at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023
-
-
Extension deposits due from Sponsor
(160,677)
-
Additional paid-in capital
51,795
140,000
Accumulated deficit
(17,518,175)
(14,883,124)
Total Stockholders’ Deficit
(17,626,367)
(14,742,434)
Total Liabilities, Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption and Stockholders’ Deficit
$
2,828,932
$
4,502,213
(1) As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, include $12,347 and $85,084, respectively of the restricted cash to be used for tax payments only.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the years ended December 31,
Formation and operating costs
$
(2,906,319)
$
(2,577,946)
Forgiveness of unrelated vendor payables
-
275,000
Loss from operations
(2,906,319)
(2,302,946)
Other income (expense):
Unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrant liabilities
19,044
566,202
Unrealized gain on change in fair value of derivative liability
2,202
102,226
Interest income on investments held in Trust Account
137,717
553,641
Interest expense
(136,763)
(8,265)
Interest expense - related party
(1,339)
(103,089)
Total other income
20,861
1,110,715
Loss before provision for income taxes
(2,885,458)
(1,192,231)
Provision for income taxes
(18,841)
(33,987)
Net loss
$
(2,904,299)
$
(1,226,218)
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption
7,191,610
3,040,753
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption
$
(0.40)
$
(0.15)
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B common stock
-
4,971,781
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B common stock
$
-
$
(0.15)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2024 AND 2023
Class A
Class B
Extension
Additional
Total
Common Stock
Common Stock
deposits due
Paid-in
Accumulated
Stockholders’
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
from Sponsor
Capital
Deficit
Deficit
Balance as of January 1, 2022
-
$
-
6,900,000
$
$
-
$
140,000
$
(13,974,105)
$
(13,833,415)
Remeasurement of Class A common stock to redemption amount
-
-
-
-
-
-
420,786
420,786
Excise tax payable attributable to redemption of common stock
-
-
-
-
-
-
(103,587)
(103,587)
Conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock
6,900,000
(6,900,000)
(690)
-
-
-
-
Net loss
-
-
-
-
-
-
(1,226,218)
(1,226,218)
Balance as of December 31, 2023
6,900,000
-
-
-
140,000
(14,883,124)
(14,742,434)
Deemed contribution for extension deposit from Sponsor
-
-
-
-
(160,677)
160,677
-
-
Remeasurement of Class A common stock to redemption amount
-
-
-
-
-
(248,882)
-
(248,882)
Excise tax payable attributable to redemption of Class A common stock
-
-
-
-
-
-
(25,421)
(25,421)
Recovery of excess redemptions - tax claim
-
-
-
-
-
-
294,669
294,669
Net loss
-
-
-
-
-
-
(2,904,299)
(2,904,299)
Balance as of December 31, 2024
6,900,000
$
-
$
-
$
(160,677)
$
51,795
$
(17,518,175)
$
(17,626,367)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
December 31,
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net loss
$
(2,904,299)
$
(1,226,218)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities
(19,044)
(566,202)
Change in fair value of derivative liability
(2,202)
(102,226)
Forgiveness of unrelated vendor payables
-
(275,000)
Interest income on investments held in Trust Account
(137,717)
(553,641)
Accretion of discount on related party loans
1,339
103,089
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Franchise tax receivable
48,000
(53,200)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
(1,664)
78,753
Franchise taxes payable
-
(447,133)
Income taxes payable
(377,052)
(159,858)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
286,177
1,112,456
Net cash used in operating activities
(3,106,462)
(2,089,180)
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Proceeds from Trust Account for redemptions
1,802,869
10,657,185
Proceeds from Trust Account for tax payments
354,519
853,261
Extension deposits to Trust Account
(189,139)
(120,516)
Net cash provided by investing activities
1,968,249
11,389,930
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Redemption of Class A common stock
(1,802,869)
(10,657,185)
Proceeds from related party loan
-
400,000
Repayment of related party loan
-
(400,000)
Proceeds from promissory note - related party
-
533,720
Repayment of promissory note - related party
-
(120,000)
Proceeds from promissory note - Liminatus
2,850,000
818,500
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
1,047,131
(9,424,965)
Net Change in Cash
(91,082)
(124,215)
Cash, beginning of year
156,425
280,640
Cash, end of year
$
65,343
$
156,425
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash operating and financing activities:
Conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock
$
-
$
Remeasurement of Class A common stock subject to redemption value
$
248,882
$
420,786
Pending redemptions of Class A common shares
$
739,195
$
-
Derivative on promissory note - related party
$
-
$
104,428
Excise tax
$
25,421
$
103,587
Income taxes paid
$
396,127
$
193,845
Recovery of excess redemptions - tax claim
$
294,669
$
-
Deemed contribution for extension deposit from sponsor
$
160,677
$
-
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Iris Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) formally known as Tribe Capital Growth Corp I (name of the Company was changed on July 27, 2022), is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on November 5, 2020. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”).
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from November 5, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2024 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering described below (the “IPO”), and subsequent to the IPO identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the IPO and unrealized gains and losses and the change in fair value of its warrants.
The Company’s sponsor is Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC (formerly known as Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC), a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on March 4, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On March 9, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 27,600,000 units (the “Units”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 3,600,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $276,000,000, which is discussed in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 5,013,333 warrants (the “Private Warrants”) to the Sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”), the representative of the underwriters of the IPO, at a price of $1.50 per Private Warrant, generating gross proceeds of $7,520,000, which is discussed in Note 4. Each warrant (including the Private Warrants and the warrants included as part of the Units) entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share.
Transaction costs for the IPO amounting to $15,627,893 (consisting of $5,520,000 of underwriting discount, $9,660,000 of deferred underwriting discount, and $447,893 of other offering costs) were recognized, of which $606,622 was (i) allocated to the public warrants and Private Warrants and (ii) included in the statements of operations, and $15,021,271 was charged directly to stockholders’ equity.
Following the closing of the IPO on March 9, 2021, $276,000,000 (approximately $10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO, including the proceeds from the sale of the Private Warrants, was deposited in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee (the “Trustee”), and was invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. In December 2022, the Company instructed the Trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest bearing cash account. In September 2023, the Company further instructed the Trustee to move the funds held in the Trust Account to an interest bearing bank deposit program until the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or the liquidation of the Company. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay franchise taxes, the proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Warrants will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of initial Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of the Company’s public shares if the Company does not complete an initial Business Combination within 51 months from the closing of the IPO, subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of the Company’s public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend its amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its public shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within 51 months from the closing of the IPO or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Company’s public stockholders.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company will provide its public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, in its sole discretion. The stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of income taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations. The amount in the Trust Account is initially approximately $10.00 per public share. The per share amount the Company will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the representative of the underwriters. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the income taxes payable of $248,523 and $241,682 represents the difference between the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption of $1,756,468 and $4,049,650, respectively and the Cash and Investments held in the Trust Account of $2,016,274 and $4,291,332, respectively presented on the balance sheets.
The shares of common stock subject to redemption are recorded at redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the IPO, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”). In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company seeks stockholder approval, and a majority of the issued and outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
On December 26, 2024, the Company extended the time to complete the initial Business Combination to June 30, 2025 as described below (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of income taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish the public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in each case, to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and public shares they hold in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, and (iv) vote any Founder Shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of the initial Business Combination.
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other 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 the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and the Company believes that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
On September 7, 2023, stockholders holding 1,006,495 Public Shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.29 per share, subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax, for an aggregate redemption amount of $10,358,754. Following such redemptions, 406,609 Public Shares remained outstanding.
In January 2024, the Company recovered an excess redemption to shareholders in the amount of $294,669 for federal tax payments that were due.
On March 7, 2024, stockholders holding 119,572 Public Shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.58 per share, adjusted for applicable taxes in the amount of $60,000, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax, for an aggregate redemption amount of $1,265,669. Following such redemptions, 287,037 Public Shares remained outstanding. The redemptions were settled on April 2, 2024.
On September 5, 2024, stockholders holding 48,107 Public Shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.17 per share, subject to adjustment for applicable taxes, including, but not limited to, franchise tax, excise tax and income tax, for an aggregate redemption amount of $537,200. Following such redemptions, 238,930 Public Shares remained outstanding.
On December 20, 2024, stockholders holding 64,453 public shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.47 per share, subject to adjustment for taxes payable from the trust account, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $739,195. Following such redemptions, 174,477 Public Shares will remain outstanding. The redemptions were settled on February 3, 2025.
Business Combination Agreement
On November 30, 2022, Iris Acquisition Corp, a Delaware corporation (“we,” “our,” or “Iris”), Iris Parent Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation (“ParentCo”), Liminatus Pharma, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Liminatus”), Liminatus Pharma Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo (“Liminatus Merger Sub”), and SPAC Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo (“SPAC Merger Sub” and together with Liminatus Merger Sub, the “Merger Subs”), entered into a business combination agreement (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Business Combination Agreement”): (a) Liminatus Merger Sub will merge with and into Liminatus (the “Liminatus Merger”), with Liminatus surviving the Liminatus Merger as a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo, and (b) simultaneously with the Liminatus Merger, SPAC Merger Sub will merge with and into Iris (the “SPAC Merger” and, together with the Liminatus Merger, the “Mergers”), with Iris surviving the SPAC Merger (the “SPAC Surviving Subsidiary”) as a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of ParentCo (the transactions contemplated by the foregoing clauses (a) and (b) the “Business Combination,” and together with the other transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, the “Transactions”).
Liminatus is an early stage single-asset biotech company focused on oncology. The company is looking to develop a next generation CD47 checkpoint inhibitor targeting various solid tumors. CD47 is a potent ‘do not eat me’ signal that enables cancer cells to evade detection by the immune system. The CD47 next generation antibody has shown to preferentially bind to immune cells, but negligibly to red blood cells and platelets without inducing destruction of red blood cells which is a key differentiating feature. The next generation of anti CD47 monoclonal antibodies have catalysed a resurgence of interest in the field. Currently IND enabling studies are underway to progress the asset into clinical trials.
Liminatus is actively reviewing opportunities to in-license or acquire other clinical candidates that match the area of expertise of the company.
The aggregate consideration to be paid in the Transactions to the direct or indirect owners of Liminatus will consist of 17.5 million shares of ParentCo’s common stock. The number of shares of the equity consideration was determined based on $10.00 per share value for ParentCo’s common stock.
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, ParentCo and Iris have entered into an equity subscription agreement (the “PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement”) with one accredited investor (the “PIPE Investor”) pursuant to which the PIPE Investor has committed to purchase 1,500,000 shares of ParentCo Common Stock at a purchase price per share of $10.00 (the “PIPE
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Shares”), for an aggregate purchase price of $15,000,000 (the “PIPE Equity Investment”). The obligations to consummate the transaction contemplated by the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement are conditioned upon, among other things, customary closing conditions and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement.
On July 19, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to extend the date by which the parties thereto can terminate the Business Combination Agreement, which was September 3, 2024.
On July 23, 2024, the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement was amended to increase the PIPE Investor’s committed purchase of PIPE Shares from 1,500,000 to 2,500,000, increase the PIPE Equity Investment from $15,000,000 to $25,000,000, and extend the date by which the PIPE Investor can terminate the agreement to September 3, 2024.
On August 16, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement (the “Fifth Amendment”) to extend the date by which the parties thereto can terminate the Business Combination Agreement, which is December 31, 2024.
On October 23, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to amend the consideration to be paid in the Transactions to consist of 17.5 million shares of ParentCo’s common stock at $10 per share value.
On October 31, 2024, the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement was amended to decrease the PIPE Investor’s committed purchase of PIPE Shares from 2,500,000 to 1,500,000, and decrease the PIPE Equity Investment from $25,000,000 to $15,000,000.
On December 26, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement amended the Business Combination Agreement to extend the date by which the parties thereto can terminate the Business Combination Agreement to June 30, 2025.
On December 26, 2024, the parties amended the date by which the PIPE Investor can terminate the agreement to June 30, 2025.
Simultaneously with the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement, ParentCo and Iris entered into a convertible note subscription agreement (the “Convertible Note Subscription Agreement”) with one accredited investor (the “PIPE Subscriber”) pursuant to which the PIPE Subscriber committed to subscribe for and purchase 8% convertible notes (the “Convertible Notes”) of and from ParentCo in an aggregate principal amount of $25,000,000 (the “Convertible Notes Investment”) due three years after the Closing of the Business Combination, with an initial conversion price of $11.50 per share of ParentCo Common Stock, which was subject to future downward adjustment based upon the market price of the publicly traded ParentCo Common Stock. The parties to the Convertible Note Subscription Agreement terminated the Convertible Note Subscription Agreement on July 23, 2024.
Nasdaq Delisting Notice
On May 2, 2024, the Company received a written notice from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq, notifying the Company that because it no longer meets the minimum 500,000 publicly held shares requirement for The Nasdaq Capital Market, pursuant to Listing Rule 5810(d)(2) of the Rules this deficiency now becomes an additional basis for delisting and the Company must address this deficiency. The Company timely requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Hearing”). On May 21, 2024, the Company received a response from the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) granting the Company’s request for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The Company has until September 3, 2024 to demonstrate compliance with all applicable requirements for initial listing on the Nasdaq Global Market.
On August 21, 2024, the Company received a written notice (the “Notice”) from Nasdaq that pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(d)(2), the Company’s failure to timely file Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 (the “Q2 2024 Form 10-Q”) by August 19, 2024 served as an additional basis for delisting. On August 23, 2024, the Company filed the Q2 2024 Form 10-Q.
On September 4, 2024, the Company received written notice (the “Notice Letter”) from the Panel indicating that the Panel had determined to delist the Company’s securities from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) and that trading in the Company’s securities would be suspended at the open of trading on September 6, 2024, due to the Company’s failure to satisfy the terms of the Panel’s Decision. Pursuant to the terms of the Decision, amongst other things, the Company was required to close its initial business combination, with the new entity demonstrating compliance with the initial listing criteria set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5500 on or
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
before September 3, 2024. Accordingly, the Panel determined to delist the Company’s securities from Nasdaq as set forth in the Notice Letter.
Following the suspension of trading on Nasdaq, the Company’s Units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants began trading on the OTC Pink Marketplace under the symbols “IRAAU,” “IRAA” and “IRAAW,” respectively.
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
The Company consummated its IPO on March 9, 2021. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $65,343 of cash in its operating bank account, which includes $12,347 of restricted cash to be used for tax payments only in its operating bank account, and working capital deficit of $7,868,773, respectively. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company with Working Capital Loans (see Note 5). As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were no Working Capital Loans outstanding. Additionally, the Company issued promissory notes to the Sponsor and Liminatus to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there was $1,453,720 and $1,452,381, respectively for the Promissory Notes - Related Party and $3,668,500 and $818,500 for the Promissory Note - Liminatus, respectively.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB ASC 205-40, Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern, management has determined that the Company has and will continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its acquisition plans which raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Moreover, the Company may need to obtain additional financing either to complete its initial Business Combination or because the Company becomes obligated to redeem a significant number of public shares upon consummation of the initial Business Combination, in which case the Company may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, the Company would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of its initial Business Combination. If the Company is unable to complete its initial Business Combination because it does not have sufficient funds available to it, the Company will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following the initial Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, the Company may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet its obligations.
Management has determined that if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by June 30, 2025, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution as well as the Company’s working capital deficit raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after the Combination Period. The Business Combination Agreement provides that if the transaction is not closed by June 30, 2025, either party can terminate the Business Combination Agreement.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Reclassification
Certain prior period amounts in the financial statements, pertaining to the Liminatus interest expense has been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. The financial statements have otherwise been prepared on the same basis as the audited 2023 financial statements. The reclassification has no effect on net income, earnings per share, retained earnings, cash flows.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of 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. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Class A shares subject to possible redemption and the valuation of the Private Placement Warrants required management to exercise significant judgement in its estimates.
Cash
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had operating cash (i.e., cash held outside the Trust Account) of $65,343 and $156,425, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were certain amounts that are restricted as they were withdrawn from the Trust Account for income tax payments, which totaled $12,347 and $85,084, respectively.
Cash and Cash Equivalents held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had a total of $2,016,274 and $4,291,332, respectively in the Trust Account held in money market funds cash equivalents. As noted above, on December 20, 2024 stockholders holding 64,453 shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares. As of December 31, 2024 the stockholders have not been paid out, as such, the amount owed to the stockholders of approximately $739,195 is recorded on the balance sheets as Restricted Cash - held in Trust Account.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Forgiveness of Unrelated Vendor Payables
The Company negotiated and certain vendors agreed to forgive outstanding payables. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the outstanding balance totaled $350,000 was settled for cash payments totaling $75,000. As the Company was unable to provide payment in full, a compromise for a one-time lump-payment was agreed upon for each vendor. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized a gain for the forgiven of the outstanding payable of $275,000 which were recorded in the statements of operations.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its shares of common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as a component of temporary equity. At all other times, shares of common stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value of $10.07 and $9.96 as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheets.
Net Loss Per Common Stock
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share. The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock (see Note 8 for more details). Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the IPO and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 11,913,333 of the Company’s Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since their exercise is contingent upon future events. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share of common stock is the same as basic net income (loss) per share of common stock for the periods. Accretion of the carrying value of Class A common stock to redemption value is excluded from net income (loss) per common stock because the redemption value approximates fair value. The table below presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net income (loss) per share for each class of common stock:
Year Ended December 31, 2024
Year Ended December 31, 2023
Class A
Class B
Class A
Class B
Basic and diluted net loss
Numerator:
Net loss
$
(2,904,299)
$
-
$
(465,349)
$
(760,869)
Denominator:
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding
7,191,610
-
3,040,753
4,971,781
Basic and diluted net loss per share
$
(0.40)
$
-
$
(0.15)
$
(0.15)
Debt Discount
The Company presents the debt discount in the balance sheets as a direct reduction from the carrying amount of debt and are amortized over the term of the related debt using the effective yield method. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company accreted the debt discount for $1,339 and $103,089, respectively, which is included in interest expense - related party on the accompanying statements of operations.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”), approximates the carrying amounts in the balance sheets, excluding the warrants, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). Derivative instruments are recorded at fair value on the grant date and re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. The Company has determined that the warrants are a derivative instrument.
The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including notes payable, to determine if such instruments contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives.
Embedded derivatives must be separately measured from the host contract if all the requirements for bifurcation are met. The assessment of the conditions surrounding the bifurcation of embedded derivatives depends on the nature of the host contract. Bifurcated embedded derivatives are recognized at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations each period. The Company has determined that the promissory note - related party included an embedded derivative for the redemption feature for the amount equal to 150% of the principal amount upon the consummation of a business combination. See Note 5.
ASC Topic 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options, addresses the allocation of proceeds from the issuance of convertible debt into its equity and debt components. The Company applies this guidance to allocate IPO proceeds from the Units between Class A common stock and warrants, using the residual method by allocating IPO proceeds first to fair value of the warrants and then the Class A common stock.
Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
● Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets;
● Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and
● Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the condensed financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carryforwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.
ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s condensed financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no tax accruals relating to uncertain tax positions.
The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company has identified the United States as its only “major” tax jurisdiction. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. These examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and is subject to federal examination by the federal taxing authorities. The Company was incorporated in the State of Delaware and is required to pay franchise taxes to the State of Delaware on an annual basis.
The Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) was enacted on August 16, 2022. The IRA includes provisions imposing a 1% excise tax on share repurchases that occur after December 31, 2022 and introduces a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax (“CAMT”) on adjusted financial statement income. The CAMT will be effective for us beginning in fiscal 2024. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded an excise tax on the redemption of stock.
Advances due from Sponsor
The Company accounts for advances due from the Sponsor as a contra equity balance unless payment has been received subsequent to year end. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company has $160,677 and $0 of extension deposit advances due from the Sponsor. See Note 5.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. The amendments in this ASU require disclosures, on an annual and interim basis, of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating officer decision maker (“CODM”), as well as the aggregate amount of other segment items included in the reported measure of segment profit or loss. The ASU requires that a public entity disclose the title and position of the CODM and an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measure(s) of segment profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources. Public entities will be required to provide all annual disclosures currently required by Topic 280 in interim periods, and entities with a single reportable segment are required to provide all the disclosures required by the amendments in this ASU and existing segment disclosures in Topic 280. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. As of December 31, 2024, this ASU became effective and the Company’s management adopted this ASU in its financial statements and related disclosures.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures,” which requires public entities to disclose consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation and for income taxes paid. It also includes certain other amendments to improve the effectiveness of income tax disclosures. The guidance is effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The accounting pronouncement is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s related disclosures.
The Company’s management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Risks and Uncertainties
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Separately, in October 2023, Israel and certain Iranian-backed Palestinian forces began an armed conflict in Israel, the Gaza Strip, and surrounding areas, which threatens to spread to other Middle Eastern countries including Lebanon and Iran. The impact of these conflicts and related sanctions on the world economy are not determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements.
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by publicly traded U.S. domestic corporations and certain U.S. domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations occurring on or after January 1, 2023. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. For purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out and prevent the abuse or avoidance of
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
the excise tax. In April 2024, the Treasury issued proposed regulations providing guidance with respect to the excise tax. Taxpayers must rely on these proposed regulations until final regulations are issued. Under the proposed regulations, liquidating distributions made by publicly traded domestic corporations are exempt from the excise tax. In addition, any redemptions that occur in the same taxable year as a liquidation is completed will also be exempt from such tax.
On December 27, 2022, the Treasury published Notice 2023-2, which provided clarification on some aspects of the application of the excise tax. The notice generally provides that if a publicly traded U.S. corporation completely liquidates and dissolves, distributions in such complete liquidation and other distributions by such corporation in the same taxable year in which the final distribution in complete liquidation and dissolution is made are not subject to the excise tax. On June 28, 2024, the Treasury finalized certain of the proposed regulations (those relating to procedures for reporting and paying the Excise Tax). The remaining regulations (largely relating to the computation of the Excise Tax) remain in proposed form. The Treasury intends to finalize these proposed regulations at a later date and, until such time, taxpayers may continue to rely on the proposed regulations.
As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company recorded a total of $129,008 and $103,587 of excise tax liability calculated as 1% of the fair market value of the shares redeemed. The liability does not impact the accompanying statements of operations and is offset against additional paid-in capital or accumulated deficit if additional paid-in capital is not available.
During the second quarter of 2024, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations with respect to the timing and payment of the excise tax. Pursuant to those regulations, the Company would need to file a return and remit payment for any liability incurred during the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 on or before October 31, 2024. As of the filing date, the Company has not remitted payment.
The Company is currently evaluating its options with respect to payment of this obligation. As the Company was unable to timely pay its obligation in full, it will be subject to additional interest and penalties which are currently estimated at 10% interest per annum and a 5% underpayment penalty per month or a portion of a month up to 25% of the total liability for any amount that is unpaid from November 1, 2024, until paid in full. The Company accrued a total of $12,085 recorded to interest expense on the statement of operations related to additional tax interest and penalties.
In early 2025, the U.S. government implemented new tariff measures impacting global trade. As a result, the Company anticipates continued uncertainty and volatility with respect to capital markets, the costs of materials and supply chains. The duration and scope of these conditions cannot be predicted, and therefore, any anticipated negative financial impact to the Company’s operating results cannot be reasonably estimated.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
On March 9, 2021, the Company sold 27,600,000 units, which includes 3,600,000 units issued pursuant to the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $276,000,000. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination or 12 months from the closing of the IPO, March 9, 2021, and will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation (see Note 7).
The Company paid an underwriting fee at the closing of the IPO of $5,520,000. As of March 9, 2021, an additional fee of $9,660,000 (see Note 7) was deferred and will become payable upon the Company’s completion of an initial Business Combination. The deferred portion of the fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event the Company completes its initial Business Combination.
All of the 27,600,000 shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the units in the IPO contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such shares of Class A common stock in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s certificate of incorporation. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Class A common stock is subject to SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or to recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur. Immediately upon the closing of the IPO, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable common stock resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the common stock reflected on the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption at January 1, 2023
$
15,127,621
Less: Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value
(420,786)
Less: 2023 adjustment to share price for shares redeemed in December 2022
(298,431)
Less: Shares redeemed in September 2023
(10,358,754)
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption as December 31, 2023
4,049,650
Less: Shares redeemed in 2024
(2,542,064)
Plus: Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value
248,882
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption as December 31, 2024
$
1,756,468
Warrants - Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed herein. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the initial stockholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the initial stockholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 12 months from the closing of the IPO or 30 days after the completion of its initial Business Combination, and will expire five years after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fifteen (15) business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, it will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its best efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60th) business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if the Company’s Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, it will use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the warrants for redemption for cash:
● in whole and not in part;
● at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
● upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder (the “30-day redemption period”); and
● if, and only if, the closing price of the common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending three business days before the Company sends to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company for cash, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor and Cantor purchased an aggregate of 5,013,333 Private Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $7,520,000, in a private placement. Each Private Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the private placement was added to the proceeds from the IPO held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Warrants will expire worthless.
The Private Warrants are identical to the public warrants included as part of the Units sold in the IPO except that they will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis for as long as the Private Warrants are held by the Sponsor or Cantor, the representative of the underwriters, or its permitted transferees. Additionally, for so long as the Private Warrants are held by Cantor or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the commencement of sales of the IPO.
On November 30, 2022, the Sponsor entered into a Sponsor Forfeiture Agreement (the “Sponsor Forfeiture Agreement”) with the Company and Liminatus, pursuant to which, contingent upon the closing of the Business Combination, the Sponsor agreed to forfeit all 4,177,778 of its Private Placement Warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, exercisable at $11.50 per share (the “Forfeited Private Placement Warrants”), acquired by the Sponsor in March 2021 in connection with the Initial Public Offering. At the closing of the Business Combination, the Forfeited Private Placement Warrants shall be transferred from the Sponsor to the Company for cancellation in exchange for no consideration and the Company shall retire and cancel all of the Forfeited Private Placement Warrants.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
In December 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain offering costs in consideration for 5,750,000 Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”). In February 2021, the Company effected a stock dividend of 0.2 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 6,900,000 Founder Shares (up to an aggregate of 900,000 of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the stock dividend. As a result of the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their over-allotment option, the 900,000 shares were no longer subject to forfeiture.
In March 2023, unpaid fees amounting to $475, related to reimbursements due to sponsor, have been recorded under accrued expenses.
On September 25, 2023, the Sponsor converted all of its Class B common stock on a one-for-one basis into Class A common stock (the “Converted Shares”). The Sponsor will not have any redemption rights in connection with the Converted Shares, and the Converted Shares will be subject to the restrictions on transfer entered into by the Sponsor in connection with the IPO.
The Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination and (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination that results in all of its stockholders having the right to
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property (the “lock-up”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.
Promissory Notes - Related Party
On May 27, 2022, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 for working capital purposes. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due on demand. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the outstanding note is due on demand.
On October 10, 2022, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note in the aggregate principal amount up to $550,000 to Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC, the Company’s Sponsor. Pursuant to the Note, the Sponsor agreed to loan to the Company an aggregate amount up to $550,000 payable on demand. The Note does not bear interest. In the event that the Company does not consummate a business combination, the Note will be repaid only from amounts remaining outside of the Trust Account, if any. The proceeds of the Note will be used by the Company for working capital purposes. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company’s outstanding balance was $540,000 under this loan.
On December 20, 2022, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note in the aggregate principal amount up to $750,000 to the Company’s Sponsor. Pursuant to the Note, the Sponsor agreed to loan to the Company an aggregate amount up to $750,000, which was due the earlier of six months or the consummation of a business combination. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Note is due and payable on demand. The Note does not bear interest. Upon the closing of a business combination, the Company shall pay an amount equal to 150% of the principal amount. In the event that the Company does not consummate a business combination, the Note will be repaid only from amounts remaining outside of the Trust Account, if any. The proceeds of the Note will be used by the Company for working capital purposes. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company’s outstanding balance was $613,720 under this loan. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, $28,463 and $120,515 of the total $613,720 outstanding balance was used for extension payments to the Trust Account, and the remaining balance was advanced for working capital purposes.
In accordance with ASC 815, the premium for the 150% of the principal upon a business combination was determined to be an embedded feature that is bifurcated from the notes and is recorded as derivative liability. Management used a probability weighted expected return model to estimate the fair value of the redemption features at issuance of the promissory note - related party and as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the fair value of the derivative liability was $0 and $2,202, respectively. The Company recorded a decrease in fair value of the derivative liability of $2,202 and $102,226 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. At issuance, the debt discount for derivative liability was $104,428. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the debt discount for derivative liability was $0 and $1,339, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company recorded accretion of the debt discount of $1,339 and $103,089, respectively, which is included in interest expense - related party on the accompanying statements of operations.
In March 2023, during the United States banking crisis, the Company held cash in First Republic Bank and transferred $120,000 to the Sponsor to avoid delays in receiving funds from the bank in the event of collapse. In June 2023, this amount was still held by the Sponsor and used as a repayment of the outstanding principal balance.
On March 13, 2024, the December 2022 unsecured promissory note with the Sponsor was amended and restated to eliminate the 150% that would have been due upon the closing of a business combination.
At December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the total balance outstanding on the promissory notes - related party amounted to $1,453,720 and $1,452,381, respectively, which are net of the debt discount of $0 and a $1,339, respectively.
Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required on a non-interest bearing basis (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes the initial Business Combination, the Company will repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that the initial Business Combination
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Warrants. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company obtained proceeds of $400,000 from the Sponsor to use for the payment of vendors. Before these proceeds were disbursed to vendors, Management decided to repay the outstanding balance in full. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
In addition, in order to fund the extension payments, the Sponsor or its designees has agreed to loan to the Company the lesser of: (x) $50,000 and (y) $0.035 per month for each public share that is not redeemed (the “Extension Payments Loan”). During March 2024, the agreed Extension Payments Loan payments were updated to the lesser of: (x) $30,000 and (y) $0.06 per month for each public share that is not redeemed. During September 2024, the agreed Extension Payments Loan payments were updated to the lesser of: (x) $17,000 and (y) $0.06 per month for each public share that is not redeemed. The Extension Payments Loan will only be made on a month-to-month basis at the end of every month and until the consummation of the business combination transaction. The amount of the Extension Payments Loan will not bear interest and will be repayable by the Company to the Sponsor or its designees upon consummation of an initial business combination, in cash, at the option of the Sponsor. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $160,677 recorded as Extension deposits due from Sponsor on the accompanying balance sheet for unfunded extension payments from the Sponsor that were funded by the Company.
On July 24, 2024, Hana Immunotherapeutics, LLC, an affiliate of Chris Kim, the Chief Executive Officer of Liminatus, agreed to loan Gaius Investment Partners (“Gaius”), the buyer of the managing member of the Company’s Sponsor, Columbass Limited (“Columbass”), approximately $1.216 million to facilitate Gaius’ acquisition of Columbass. As a result of the Acquisition, the former managing member, Columbass Limited, resigned as managing member of the Sponsor on October 30, 2024, and Iris Equity Holdings LLC was appointed as managing member of the Sponsor.
Advances due from Sponsor
The Company accounts for advances due from the Sponsor as a contra equity balance unless payment has been received subsequent to period end. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company has $160,677 and $0 of extension deposit advances due from the Sponsor.
Administrative Support Agreement
On March 11, 2024, the Company entered into an administrative support agreement (the “Agreement”) with Arrow Capital Management LLC (“Arrow”). Pursuant to the Agreement, Arrow will provide certain office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support (the “Services”) to the Company. In exchange for the Services, the Company will pay to Arrow $10,000 per month, beginning January 1, 2024, and continuing until the earlier of the consummation by the Company of an initial business combination or the Company’s liquidation.
On August 30, 2024, the Company amended the Agreement with Arrow. In exchange for the Services mentioned above, the Company will pay to Arrow $30,000 per month, beginning September 1, 2024, and continuing until the earlier of the consummation by the Company of an initial business combination or the Company’s liquidation.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company incurred $200,000 for the administrative support agreement, which is included in formation and operating costs on the statements of operations.
NOTE 6. PROMISSORY NOTE - LIMINATUS
On October 4, 2023, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note in the aggregate principal amount up to $1,500,000 to Liminatus. Pursuant to the Note, Liminatus agreed to loan to the Company an aggregate amount up to $1,500,000 payable following the earlier of (i) closing of the Business Combination, as defined in the Business Combination Agreement dated November 30, 2022, or (ii) thirty (30) days following the termination of the Business Combination Agreement; provided, however, in the event the Company commences liquidation proceedings, this Note shall be cancelled and all amounts due, including all principal and accrued interest, shall be forgiven.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Interest on the Note compounds annually and accrues on each unpaid Advance made under this Note at the rate of 5% per annum. On February 28, 2024, the Liminatus unsecured promissory note was amended and restated to increase the aggregate principal amount to up to $2,500,000, and add advances that occurred under the note. On August 2, 2024, the Liminatus unsecured promissory note was amended and restated to increase the aggregate principal amount to up to $3,500,000, and add advances that occurred under the note. On November 27, 2024, the Liminatus unsecured promissory note was amended and restated to increase the aggregate principal amount to up to $5,000,000, and add advances that occurred under the note. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company’s outstanding balance was $3,668,500, and including $818,500 respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company recorded interest expense of $119,843 and $8,265, respectively, which is included within interest expense on the statements of operations and accounts payable and accrued expenses on the balance sheets. For the year ended December 31, 2024, total outstanding accrued interest is $128,108.
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration Rights
The holders of the (i) Founder Shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of the IPO, (ii) Private Warrants, which were issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of the IPO and the shares of Class A common stock underlying such Private Warrants (iii) the PIPE Shares issuable pursuant to the PIPE Equity Subscription Agreement, and (iv) Private Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans will have registration rights to require the Company to register a sale of any of the Company’s securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the Effective Date. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding Form S-3 demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the Company’s completion of its initial Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters are entitled to an underwriting discount of 2% (or $5,520,000) of the gross proceeds of the IPO and deferred underwriting discount of 3.5% (or $9,660,000) of the gross proceeds of the IPO upon the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination.
On October 11, 2023, the Company executed a Fee Reduction Agreement with the underwriters to reduce the deferred underwriting discount of $9,660,000 to $8,000,000 in the event that the business combination with Liminatus is consummated. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the reduced deferred underwriting discount shall be payable by the Company to the underwriters in $1,000,000 cash and $7,000,000 of the common equity securities of the public entity that survives the transaction. As of December 31, 2024, the deferred underwriting discount of $9,660,000 has not been reduced to $8,000,000 because the release of the payable will occur upon the consummation of the business combination with Liminatus.
Capital Markets Advisory Agreement
On July 19, 2024, the Company entered into a capital markets advisory agreement with Benjamin Securities, Inc. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC to perform certain services for the Company and Liminatus Pharma, LLC. At the time of the agreement signing $125,000 was owed to Benjamin Securities, Inc. as a deposit, with an additional $485,000 owed at consummation of the business combination. The Company and Benjamin Securities, Inc. subsequently amended the agreement shortly after execution to delay the services provided until the business combination becomes effective. As such, no obligations are owed to Benjamin Securities, Inc. until the business combination becomes effective.
NOTE 8. STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preferred stock-The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 and with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Class A common stock-The Company is authorized to issue 280,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were 7,074,477 and 7,306,609, respectively, shares issued and outstanding, of which 174,477 and 406,609 are subject to possible redemption, respectively.
Class B common stock-The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At both December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were no shares of Class B common stock outstanding.
Stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Holders of Class A common stock and holders of Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders except as required by law. Unless specified in the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or as required by applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the Company’s shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by its stockholders.
The Class B common stock is convertible at any time and from time to time at the option of the holder thereof and will automatically convert into Class A common stock upon the consummation of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, the number of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 83% of the total number of Class A common stock outstanding after such conversion, including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding (i) any shares of Class A common stock redeemed by public stockholders in connection with the initial Business Combination and (ii) any Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any Private Warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
On September 25, 2023, the Sponsor converted all of its Class B common stock on a one-for-one basis into Class A common stock (such shares, the “Converted Shares”). The Sponsor will not have any redemption rights in connection with the Converted Shares, and the Converted Shares will be subject to the restrictions on transfer entered into by the Sponsor in connection with the IPO.
NOTE 9. INCOME TAXES
The Company’s net deferred tax assets (liability) at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 are as follows:
December 31,
December 31,
Deferred tax asset:
Startup expenses
$
1,480,938
$
1,041,535
Accrued Interest
29,490
7,307
Total deferred tax asset
1,510,428
1,048,842
Valuation allowance
(1,510,428)
(1,048,842)
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance
$
-
$
-
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The income tax provision for the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consists of the following:
December 31,
December 31,
Federal
Current
$
18,841
$
33,987
Deferred
(461,586)
(411,035)
State
Current
-
-
Deferred
-
-
Change in valuation allowance
461,586
411,035
Income tax provision
$
18,841
$
33,987
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the change in the valuation allowance was $461,586 and $411,035, respectively.
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 are as follows:
December 31,
December 31,
Provision/(Benefit) at Statutory Rate
21.00
%
21.00
%
State Tax Provision/(Benefit) net of federal benefit
-
%
-
%
Permanent differences:
Change in fair value of Warrant Liability
0.15
%
9.98
%
Prior year adjustments
-
%
20.83
%
Other permanent items
(0.23)
%
(0.62)
%
Acquisition Facilitative Expenses
(5.55)
%
(19.54)
%
Change in valuation allowance
(16.02)
%
(34.50)
%
Income Tax Provision/(Benefit)
(0.65)
%
(2.85)
%
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to federal examination.
NOTE 10. RECURRING FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company’s warrant liabilities were valued at $357,400 and $376,444, respectively. Under the guidance in ASC 815-40, the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment. As such, the warrants must be recorded on the balance sheets at fair value. This valuation is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each re-measurement, the warrant valuation will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statements of operations.
All of the Company’s permitted investments are held in a money market fund. Fair values of these investments are determined by Level 1 inputs utilizing quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets. The Company’s warrant liability for the Private Placement Warrants is based on a valuation model utilizing management judgment and pricing inputs from observable and unobservable markets with less volume and transaction frequency than active markets. Significant deviations from these estimates and inputs could result in a material change in fair value. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrant liability is classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company’s warrant liability for the Public Warrants is based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. The fair value of the Public Warrant liability is classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.
The following table presents fair value information as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
Amount at Fair
Description
Value
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
December 31, 2024
Assets:
Cash equivalents held in Trust Account:
$
2,016,274
$
2,016,274
$
-
$
-
Restricted cash - held in Trust Account
739,195
739,195
-
-
Liabilities:
Public Warrants
207,000
207,000
-
-
Private Warrants
150,400
-
-
150,400
December 31, 2023
Assets:
Cash equivalents held in Trust
4,291,332
4,291,332
-
-
Liabilities:
Public Warrants
207,690
207,690
-
-
Private Warrants
168,754
-
-
168,754
Derivative liability
$
2,202
$
-
$
-
$
2,202
Measurement - The Company established the initial fair value for the warrants on March 9, 2021, the date of the consummation of the IPO. On December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the fair value was remeasured. In May 2021, the Public Warrants were separately traded in the open market and the valuation for the Public Warrants was based on unadjusted quoted prices at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023. For December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company used a Monte Carlo simulation model to value the Private Placement Warrants.
The key inputs into the Monte Carlo simulation model for the Warrants were as follows at initial measurement, December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:
December 31, 2024
December 31, 2023
Risk-free interest rate
4.19
%
4.91
%
Expected term (years)
0.80
0.87
Expected volatility
-
%
5.7
%
Stock Price
$
11.22
$
10.33
Exercise Price
$
11.50
$
11.50
The Company utilized a probability weighted expected return model for the initial valuation of the promissory note - related party bifurcated derivative. The derivatives were estimated utilizing a probability-weighted approach based on the expected outcomes of both a successful and unsuccessful business combination. The following table provides the significant inputs used in the model to measure the fair value of the bifurcated derivative upon each draw of the promissory note-related party:
December 31, 2023
Risk-free rate for debt
4.39 - 5.56
%
Expected term (years)
0.25 - 0.52
Likelihood of completing a business combination
8.88 - 11.68
%
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The change in the fair value of the warrant and derivative liabilities classified as Level 3 for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 is summarized as follows:
Warrant Liabilities
Derivative Liability
Fair value at December 31, 2022
$
418,246
$
-
Issuance of derivative liability
-
104,428
Change in fair value
(249,492)
(102,226)
Fair value at December 31, 2023
$
168,754
$
2,202
Change in fair value
(18,354)
(2,202)
Fair value at December 31, 2024
$
150,400
$
-
NOTE 11. SEGMENT INFORMATION
ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” establishes standards for companies to report in their financial statements information about operating segments, products, services, geographic areas, and major customers. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available that is regularly evaluated by the Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), or group, in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance.
The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a Business Combination. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had not commenced any operations. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on the investments held in the Trust Account.
The Company’s CODM has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews the operating results for the Company as a whole to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing financial performance. Accordingly, management has determined that the Company is a single segment entity. When evaluating the Company’s performance and making key decisions regarding resource allocation the CODM reviews several key metrics, which include the following:
December 31, 2024
December 31, 2023
Cash
$
65,343
$
156,425
Cash and Investments held in Trust Account
$
2,016,274
$
4,291,332
For the Year Ended
For the Year Ended
December 31, 2024
December 31, 2023
Other general and administrative expenses
$
1,909,768
$
1,231,012
Professional services fees in connection with Business Combination
996,551
1,071,934
Total operating expenses
$
2,906,319
$
2,302,946
Interest income on investments held in Trust Account
$
137,717
$
553,641
The key measures of segment profit or loss reviewed by the CODM are interest earned on investments held in Trust Account and operating and formation costs. The CODM reviews interest earned on investments held in Trust Account to measure and monitor shareholder value and determine the most effective strategy of investment with the Trust Account funds while maintaining compliance with the trust agreement. Within the operating expenses, the CODM specifically reviews professional service fees in connection with the Business Combination, which are a significant segment expense, and include legal fees, and advisory fees, as these represent significant costs affecting the Company’s consummation of the Business Combination. Other general and administrative expenses, including accounting expenses, printing expenses, and regulatory filing fees, are reviewed in aggregate to ensure alignment with budget and contractual obligations. These expenses are monitored to manage and forecast cash available to complete a business combination within the required period.
All other segment items included in net income or loss are reported on the statement of operations and described within their respective disclosures.
IRIS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company’s management has evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events other than the below that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On January 7, 2025, the Company obtained additional advances under the Liminatus unsecured promissory note of $250,000, which resulted in a total outstanding principal balance of $3,918,500.
On February 3, 2025, the Company paid $739,195 to the shareholders whom redeemed their shares on December 20, 2024.
On February 3, 2025, the Company withdrew $15,000 from the Trust account for the payment of taxes.
On February 13, 2025, the Company obtained additional advances under the Liminatus unsecured promissory note of $125,000 which resulted in a total outstanding principal balance of $4,043,500.
On March 4, 2025, stockholders holding 59,844 public shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.74 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $702,359.
On March 7, 2025, the Company obtained additional advances under the Liminatus unsecured promissory note of $200,000 which resulted in a total outstanding principal balance of $4,243,500.
On March 31, 2025, the Board of Directors extended the date by which the Company must complete a Business Combination to June 30, 2025.
On April 3, 2025, the Company obtained additional advances under the Liminatus unsecured promissory note of $200,000 which resulted in a total outstanding principal balance of $4,443,500.

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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 are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this quarterly report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2024, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) and 15d-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2024, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.
Specifically, management’s determination was based on the following material weaknesses which existed as of December 31, 2024, related to: (1) the difficulty we experienced in our accounting for complex financial instruments, (2) the lack of controls needed to assure that we are maintaining compliance with income tax regulations, including the timely filing of complete and accurate income tax returns, (3) the lack of controls needed to assure the preparation of complete and accurate financial statement disclosures, (4) controls over income tax accounting, including those needed to identify, reconcile and properly account for difference between our book income tax provision and tax returns are ineffective, and (5) lack controls needed to identify related party transactions, including, but not limited to, transactions involving our Sponsor and members of our Sponsor. The Company has begun to develop a remediation plan which is more fully described below.
After identifying the material weaknesses, we have commenced our remediation efforts by taking the following steps:
·
We have expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards.
·
We have increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications.
·
We are establishing additional monitoring and oversight controls designed to ensure the accuracy and completeness of our financial statements and related disclosures.
·
We plan to hire consultants to prepare and complete the filing of our tax returns.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim condensed financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Notwithstanding the determination that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective, as of December 31, 2024 based on the material weaknesses described above, we believe that our condensed financial statements contained in this quarterly report fairly present our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the years covered hereby in all material respects.
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.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
During the fourth quarter of 2024, none of the Company’s officers or directors adopted or terminated any “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or any “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as each term is defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Directors and Executive Officers
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name
Age
Title
Sumit Mehta
Chief Executive Officer
Lisha Parmar
Chief Financial Officer
Omkar Halady
Vice President
Rohit Nanani
Director
Richard Peretz
Independent Director
Manish Shah
Independent Director
Nicholas Fernandez
Independent Director
Sumit Mehta is our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mehta was our Vice President from inception to May 2022. Mr. Mehta has been a managing director at Arrow Capital since 2019. He has over 15 years of experience across Corporate Finance, M&A and Private Equity, and a track record of identifying and executing successful transactions. In his previous role, starting in 2007, Mr. Mehta was the head of Deal Structuring & Advisory at Daman Investments, one of the leading investment companies in Dubai and part of the $5 billion Gargash Group. In his career span, Mr. Mehta has led large and complex investment deals, equity and debt financing transactions ranging from $50 million to $750 million across a wide range of sectors including technology, real estate, hospitality, education, auto, and consumer care. Mr. Mehta started his career with ABN AMRO in India as an investment advisor prior to moving to the Middle East.
Lisha Parmar has served as our Chief Financial Officer since 2022. Ms. Parmar is a seasoned financial services professional with over 13 years of experience in Asset Management, Corporate Finance, M&A and Private Equity advisory across sectors such as high growth technology, consumer care, automobile, real estate, insurance and hospitality in global markets. Ms. Parmar is currently a Vice President at Arrow Capital, where she leads origination, strategy, structuring, due-diligence and closing of buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory, Private Debt and Equity Fund raising and capital market advisory transactions including working closely with Companies and Founders on driving business growth and value post transaction. Prior to Arrow, Ms. Parmar served as a Senior Associate at Daman Investments from 2017 to 2019, one of the leading investment companies in Dubai and family/ investment office of the Gargash Group in their Deal Structuring & Advisory Division. Ms. Parmar started her career with J.P. Morgan & Co in 2009 where she spent 7 years in J.P. Morgan Global Asset Management, responsible for portfolio management, research and investment analytics of Real Estate and Global Equities Fund Strategies with collectively $100+ billion in client assets. Ms. Parmar received her Masters in Management Studies in Finance from University of Mumbai and is currently pursuing a CFA designation.
Omkar Halady has served as our Vice President since 2022. Mr. Halady has over 11 years of experience in M&A, Private Equity and transactional advisory across sectors such as education, hospitality, healthcare, technology, FMCG and food & beverage. He has worked closely with founders of tech-driven businesses advising on growth strategy, fund raising and improving overall operations of company, guiding them through their growth journey. Mr. Halady is currently serving as a Senior Associate at Arrow Capital since 2021, responsible for buy-side and sell-side advisory transactions. Prior to Arrow, Mr. Halady worked as a consultant in various GCC based private consulting firms such as Ideal Management Consultants (UAE based Consulting Firm) and Falak Consulting (Bahrain based Consulting Firm) between 2013-2021. Mr. Halady has also served in various analytical roles at Ernst & Young from 2010 - 2013. Mr. Halady holds a Bachelors of Commerce from Periyar University.
Rohit Nanani is the Founder and CEO of Arrow Capital, which he founded in 2016, a leading boutique asset manager and investment advisory firm. Mr. Nanani has a proven track record as an international banker with 20+ years of experience in global financial markets. He has held several executive positions across notable global institutions, including as a Managing Director with Barclays Bank Plc (DIFC - Dubai), starting in 2013, and heading the GSAC (South Asian Clients) business and as Executive Director at UBS Singapore, having clientele across South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and UK. Prior to his private banking experience, Mr. Nanani spent ten years with global institutions such as ABN AMRO and Bank of Nova Scotia in India in the Corporate Banking business. His rich and varied experience across corporate banking and private banking gives him an advantage in providing holistic advisory services to ultra-high net worth clients and large family offices. Mr. Nanani has served on the Board of Iris Acquisition Corp. since 2021. Mr. Nanani was selected to serve as a director because of his experience as Founder and CEO of Arrow Capital, and his experience in investment banking.
Nicholas Fernandez has almost 20 years of experience across operations, accounting and finance. Mr. Fernandez has been with Athanor Capital, a hedge fund, since December 2019, most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Fernandez has chaired the Valuation Committee in addition to sitting on the Management Committee. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the Asset Management and Alternative Investments Divisions of Jeffries LLC, a global bulge bracket investment bank, from February 2017 to April, 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Fernandez worked at a variety of alternative investment managers in several capacities, progressing from a Fund Accountant to a Controller/Director of Operations. He started his career in public accounting with Ernst & Young in their Financial Services Office in New York, in their asset management practice with a concentration/serving Hedge, Private Equity and Venture Funds, as well as consulting. Mr. Fernandez earned a BS in Accounting and Finance with a minor in Business Administration from the University at Albany, SUNY. Mr. Fernandez holds an active Certified Public Accountant License in the state of New York. Mr. Fernandez has served on the Board of Iris Acquisition Corp. since 2024. Mr. Fernandez was selected to serve as a director because of his experience in investment management, accounting and finance.
Richard Peretz retired as the chief financial officer and treasurer of UPS, which he served from 2015 to 2020. Mr. Peretz was responsible for Global Finance activities at UPS. He also served as a member of the UPS Management Committee, setting strategy for long-term growth including the current capital structure realignment and transformation initiatives. Mr. Peretz was also responsible for UPS’s Initial Public Offering in 1999, at the time the largest in U.S. history. Prior to being named CFO, Mr. Peretz held various leadership positions at UPS, including corporate controller and treasurer from 2007-2015. Mr. Peretz currently serves as a director and chairman of the audit committee for Altus Power Inc. (NYSE: AMPS) and as executive chairman of Semper Paratus Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (NASDAQ: LGST). Mr. Peretz has an MBA from Emory University and holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from The University of Texas (San Antonio). Mr. Peretz has served on the Board of Iris Acquisition Corp. since 2021. Mr. Peretz was selected to serve as a director because of his extensive experience at a public company.
Manish Shah has a multi-decade career as an investor, operator and banker, including experience at Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns’ Technology investment banking groups and as a senior executive of a Nasdaq listed optical networking company. Since leaving Bear Stearns in 2006, he has invested his family’s capital in real estate and to sponsor a private investment platform, The London Fund, for growth companies, is a Senior Managing Director at Palladius Capital Management, a real estate asset management company, and is a Principal at Two Kings Mgmt LLC, a family office. Manish graduated from Yale University and Harvard University Law School. He has served as a founding board member for Yale’s Jackson School for Global Affairs and a member of Harvard’s Alumni Real Estate Board. He served as an independent director on the board of Everyrealm. Mr. Shah has served on the Board of Iris Acquisition Corp. since 2022. Mr. Shah was selected to serve as a director due to his extensive experience in investment banking.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our Board consists of four members and is divided into two classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class serving a two-year term. All directors will serve until the closing of our business combination, which is expected to occur by April 31, 2025.
Our officers are appointed by the Board and serve at the discretion of the Board, rather than for specific terms of office. Our Board is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Director Independence
Our Board has determined that Messrs. Peretz, Shah and Fernandez are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and the applicable OTC and SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Subsequent to the closing of our initial public offering, Iris began paying a then-affiliate of our sponsor, Tribe, a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services (the “Services”) provided to members of Iris’s management team until Tribe withdrew as a member of our sponsor in July 2022. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. On August 30, 2024, the Company amended the Agreement with Arrow. In exchange for the Services mentioned above, the Company will pay to Arrow $30,000 per month, beginning September 1, 2024, and continuing until the earlier of the consummation by the Company of an initial business combination or the Company’s liquidation.
Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the Board for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our Board.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board
Our Board has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that has been approved by our Board and will have the composition and responsibilities described below. The charters of the audit committee and the compensation committee are filed as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, respectively.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the Board. Messrs. Peretz, Shah and Fernandez serve as members of our audit committee, and Mr. Peretz chairs the audit committee. All members of our audit committee are independent of and unaffiliated with our sponsor and our underwriters. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and the Board has determined that Richard Peretz qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
·
assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
·
pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
·
setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;
·
meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction;
·
reviewing with management, the independent, 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; and
·
such other matters as are assigned to the audit committee by the Board pursuant to its charter or as mandated under applicable laws, rules and regulations (including the Exchange Act).
Compensation Committee
The members of Iris’s compensation committee are Messrs. Peretz, Fernandez and Shah. Mr. Shah serves as chairman of the compensation committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, Iris is required to have a compensation committee comprised entirely of independent directors. Messrs. Peretz, Fernandez and Shah are independent.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
·
reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;
·
reviewing and making recommendations to our Board with respect to the compensation, and any incentive compensation and equity based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers;
·
reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;
·
implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
·
assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
·
approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;
·
producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and
·
reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by 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 listing rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq listing rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the Board. The Board 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. Peretz, Shah and Fernandez. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq listing 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 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 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 considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics our audit committee and compensation committee charters as exhibits to this annual report. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters of the committees will be provided without charge upon request from us. If we make any amendments to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form S-1 or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
·
the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;
·
the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and
·
it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. 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 business combination opportunity to such entity. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers, directors and strategic advisors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer, director or strategic advisor of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act without our prior written consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual
Entity
Affiliation
Rohit Nanani
Arrow Capital (Mauritius)
Owner, Director
Arrow Capital DIFC Ltd (Dubai)
Director
Arrow Capital APAC Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Owner, Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC (Cayman)
Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC - SP4 (Cayman)
Director
Digiscope Ventures Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Owner, Director
Sumit Mehta
Arrow Capital APAC Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Director
Digiscope Ventures Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Director
Quizkart Technology Pte Ltd (India)
Director
Arrow Capital (Mauritius)
Director
Arrow Capital DIFC Ltd (Dubai)
Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC (Cayman)
Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC - SP4 (Cayman)
Director
Lisha Parmar
Arrow Capital (Mauritius)
Director
Arrow Capital DIFC Ltd (Dubai)
Director
Arrow Capital APAC Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC (Cayman)
Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC - SP4 (Cayman)
Director
Omkar Halady
Arrow Capital (Mauritius)
Director
Arrow Capital DIFC Ltd (Dubai)
Director
Arrow Capital APAC Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC (Cayman)
Director
Arrow Multi Assets Fund SPC - SP4 (Cayman)
Director
Richard Peretz
Altus Solar Power
Chair of Audit Committee
Electric Last Mile (through June 2022)
Director
Tribe Capital Growth Corp. I
Chair of Audit Committee
Semper Paratus Acquisition Corp.
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Manish Shah
Paladius Real Estate LLC
Senior Managing Director
Two Kings Mgmt LLC
Partner
Next Horizon WB LLC
Partner
Comprehensive Care Center
Partner
Kismet Partners
Partner
The London Fund
Partner
Fortis Capital Management
Independent Contractor
Nicholas Fernandez
Athanor Capital
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
·
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs.
·
Our initial stockholders purchased founder shares prior to the date of our initial public offering and purchased private placement warrants in a transaction that closed simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. Our initial stockholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares they hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our initial stockholders with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after our initial public offering. Additionally, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or any extended period of time that we may have to consummate an initial business combination as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our executive
officers and directors own common stock or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
·
Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
·
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Subsequent to the closing of our initial public offering, Iris began paying a then-affiliate of our sponsor, Tribe, a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of Iris’s management team until Tribe withdrew as a member of our sponsor in July 2022.
We cannot assure you that any of the above-mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote any founder shares they hold and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.
We have entered into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We will purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors. Except with respect to any public shares they may acquire in our initial public offering or thereafter (in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination), our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and not to seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever, including with respect to such indemnification.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Familial Relationships
There are no familial relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than ten percent of any publicly traded class of our equity securities, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership of equity securities of the Company with the SEC. Officers, directors, and greater-than-ten-percent stockholders are required by the SEC’s regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms that they file.
Based solely upon a review of Forms 3 furnished to the Company during the most recent fiscal year, we believe that all such forms required to be filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act were timely filed by the officers and directors during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, other than a Form 3 for Mr. Fernandez.
Insider Trading Policy
We have adopted an insider trading policy governing the purchase, sale, and/or other dispositions of our securities by us, our directors, officers and employees that we believe is reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations, and the listing standards applicable to us. A copy of our insider trading policy is filed as Exhibit 19 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
No executive officer has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us.
Other than the payment of consulting, success or finder fees to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors, initial stockholders or their affiliates in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination and the repayment of any loan made by our sponsor to us, no compensation or fees of any kind will be paid to our sponsor, initial stockholders, members of our Team or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, they will receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses, performing business due diligence on suitable target businesses and business combinations as well as traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses to examine their operations. There is no limit on the amount of consulting, success or finder fees payable by us upon consummation of an initial business combination. Additionally, there is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account, such expenses will not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders. However, the amount of such compensation may not be known at the time of the stockholder meeting held to consider an initial business combination, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation. In this event, such compensation will be publicly disclosed at the time of its determination in a Current Report on Form 8-K or a periodic report, as required by the SEC.

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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 the date of this annual report by:
● each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
● each of our officers and directors; and
● all of our officers and directors as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this annual report.
As of April 4, 2025, there were 7,074,477 shares of Class A common stock and issued and outstanding.
Number of Shares
Percentage of
Beneficially
Outstanding
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)
Owned
Common Stock
Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC (our sponsor)(2)
6,900,000
97.5
%
Moore Capital Management, LP(3)
100,000
1.4
%
Sumit Mehta(4)
-
-
Lisha Parmar(4)
-
-
Omkar Halady(4)
-
-
Rohit Nanani(4)
-
-
Richard Peretz(4)
-
-
Nicholas Fernandez(4)
-
-
All executive officers and directors as a group (7 individuals)
6,900,000
97.5
%
(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is at 3rd Floor Zephyr House, 122 Mary Street, George Town, PO Box 10085, Grand Cayman KY1-1001.
(2) Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Iris Equity Holdings LLC is the managing member of our sponsor. Our sponsor is owned by two Cayman private equity funds: Arrow Multi-Asset Fund SPC - SP 4 and Arrow Multi-Asset Fund SPC - SP 6, and Iris Equity Holdings LLC. In its role as managing member, Iris Equity Holdings LLC possesses sole voting and investment power over the Iris Class A Shares held by our sponsor. The natural person who has voting and/or investment power over the shares held by the sponsor is Joon Seok Yoo. Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, which were initially classified as Class B common stock. Such shares were converted into shares of Class A common stock on September 25, 2023.
(3) According to the Schedule 13G filed on February 14, 2023, Moore Capital Management, LP (“MCM”), MMF LT, LLC (“MMF”), Moore Global Investments, LLC (“MGI”), Moore Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (“MCA”) and Louis M. Bacon (“Mr. Bacon”) own an aggregate of 100,000 shares of our Class A common stock. MCM, MMF, MGI, MCA and Mr. Bacon maintain sole voting and sole dispositive power over an aggregate of 100,000 shares of our Class A common stock. The address of the principal business office of each of the persons referred to in this footnote is 11 Times Square, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10036.
(4) Each of our officers and directors is, directly or indirectly, a member of our sponsor or have direct or indirect economic interests in our sponsor, and each of them disclaims any beneficial ownership of any shares held by our sponsor except to the extent of his or her ultimate pecuniary interest.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
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 funds as may be required on a non-interest bearing basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. 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 such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
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 proxy solicitation or tender offer 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.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our Board will adopt a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the company’s total assets at year-end for the prior two completed fiscal years in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy will include: (i) our directors, nominees for director or executive officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the company and its stockholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or executive officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
The following is a summary of fees paid to Marcum LLP, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements, reviews of our quarterly financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. The aggregate fees for Marcum LLP for audit fees for the year ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 were approximately $113,883 and $182,310, respectively.
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 year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. The aggregate audit related fees for Marcum LLP for the year ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 were approximately $82,400 and $123,600, respectively.
Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Marcum LLP did not render any tax services.
All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Marcum LLP did not render any other services.
Pre-Approval Policy
The audit committee pre-approved 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 II. OTHER INFORMATION

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a) The following documents are included as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
1. Financial Statements - See Index to Financial Statements in Item 8.
2. Financial Statement Schedules - Not Applicable.
3. Exhibits.
No.
Description of Exhibit
2.1*
Business Combination Agreement, dated November 30, 2022, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp., Liminatus Pharma, LLC, Liminatus Pharma Merger Sub, Inc. and SPAC Merger Sub, Inc.***
2.2*
Amendment to Business Combination Agreement, dated as of June 1, 2023, by and among the Company, Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
2.3*
Second Amendment to Business Combination Agreement, dated as of August 14, 2023, by and among Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
2.4*
Third Amendment to Business Combination Agreement, dated as of March 9, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
2.5*
Fourth Amendment to Business Combination Agreement, dated as of July 19, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
2.6*
Fifth Amendment to Business Combination Agreement, dated as of August 16, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
2.7*
Sixth Amendment to Business Combination Agreement, dated as of October 23, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
2.8*
Seventh Amendment to Business Combination Agreement, dated as of December 26, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
3.1*
Certificate of Incorporation.
3.2*
Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
3.3*
Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Tribe Capital Growth Corp I.
3.4*
Second Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
3.5*
Third Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
3.6*
Fourth Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
3.7*
Fifth Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
3.8*
Sixth Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
3.9*
Amended and Restated Bylaws.
4.1*
Specimen Unit Certificate.
4.2*
Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate.
4.3*
Specimen Warrant Certificate.
4.4*
Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.
4.5*
Description of Securities.
10.1*
Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC and each of the executive officers and directors of the Registrant.
10.2*
Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.
10.3*
Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant, Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC and the Holders signatory thereto.
10.4*
Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC.
10.5*
Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
10.6*
Form of Indemnity Agreement.
10.7*
Promissory Note issued to Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC.
10.8*
Securities Subscription Agreement between the Registrant and Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC.
10.9*
Form of Administrative Support Agreement between the Registrant and Tribe Capital Markets LLC.
10.10*
PIPE Commitment Agreement between the Registrant and Arrow Capital.
10.11*
Sponsor Support Agreement, dated November 30, 2022, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Liminatus Pharma, LLC and Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC.
10.12*
Lock-Up Agreement, dated November 30, 2022, by and among Iris Parent Holding Corp., Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC, Consonatus LLC, Car-Tcellkor Inc., Curis Biotech Holdings LLC and Ewon Confortech Co., Ltd.
10.13**
Waiver and Consent, dated August 9, 2024, by and between Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC.
10.14**
Amended and Restated Waiver and Consent, dated January 2, 2025, by and between Iris Parent Holding Corp. and Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC.
10.15*
PIPE Subscription Agreement, dated November 28, 2022, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp and Iris Parent Holding Corp.
10.16*
First Amendment to PIPE Subscription Agreement, dated August 14, 2023, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp and Iris Parent Holding Corp.
10.17*
Second Amendment to PIPE Subscription Agreement, dated March 9, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp and Iris Parent Holding Corp.
10.18*
Third Amendment to PIPE Subscription Agreement, dated July 23, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp and Iris Parent Holding Corp.
10.19*
Fourth Amendment to PIPE Subscription Agreement, dated August 16, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp and Iris Parent Holding Corp.
10.20*
Fifth Amendment to PIPE Subscription Agreement, dated October 31, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp and Iris Parent Holding Corp.
10.21*
Sixth Amendment to PIPE Subscription Agreement, dated December 26, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp and Iris Parent Holding Corp.
10.22*
Sponsor Forfeiture Agreement, dated November 30, 2022, by and between Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC and Iris Acquisition Corp.
10.23*
Form of Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, by and among, Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp, Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and certain other parties thereto.
10.24*
Convertible Note Subscription Agreement, dated November 30, 2022, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp., and the PIPE Subscriber.
10.25*
First Amendment to Convertible Note Subscription Agreement, dated August 14, 2023, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp., and the PIPE Subscriber.
10.26*
Second Amendment to Convertible Note Subscription Agreement, dated March 9, 2024, by and
10.27*
Termination Agreement to Convertible Note PIPE, dated July 23, 2024, by and among Iris Acquisition Corp, Iris Parent Holding Corp., and the PIPE Subscriber.
10.28*
Form of Convertible Note.
10.29*
Promissory Note issued to Tribe Arrow Holdings I LLC
10.30*
Promissory Note Issued to Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC
10.31*
Promissory Note issued to Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC
10.32*
Promissory Note issued to Iris Acquisition Holdings LLC
10.33*
First Amended and Restated Promissory Note
10.34*
Second Amended and Restated Promissory Note, dated August 2, 2024, by and between Iris Acquisition Corp and Liminatus Pharma, LLC.
10.35*
Administrative Support Agreement.
10.36**
Letter Agreement.
14**
Code of Ethics.
19**
Insider Trading Policy.
31.1**
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d- 14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2**
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1**
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2**
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
97*
Iris Acquisition Corp Clawback Policy.
99.1*
Audit Committee Charter.
99.2*
Compensation Committee Charter.
101.INS
XBRL Instance Document.
101.SCH
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema.
101.CAL
XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase.
101.DEF
XBRL Definition Linkbase Document.
101.LAB
XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase.
101.PRE
XBRL Definition Linkbase Document.
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
*Previously filed.
**Filed herewith.
***The schedules to this Exhibit have been omitted in accordance with Regulation S-K Item 601(b)(2). Iris agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted schedule to the SEC upon its request; provided, however, that Iris may request confidential treatment for any such schedules so furnished.