UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K/A
(Amendment No. 2)
(Mark One)
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
OR
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM __ TO __ |
Commission File Number: 001-39445
Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
84-4117825 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| 4218
NE 2nd Avenue Miami, FL (Address of principal executive offices) |
33137 (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (305) 573-3900
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Units,
each consisting of one share of Class A Common Stock and one-half of one Redeemable Warrant |
LCAPU | The Nasdaq Capital Market LLC | ||
| Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share | LCAP | The Nasdaq Capital Market LLC | ||
| Redeemable Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 | LCAPW | The Nasdaq Capital Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |||
| Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
The registrant was not a public company as of June 30, 2020 and therefore it cannot calculate the aggregate market value of its voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates as of such date.
As of December 6, 2021, there were 23,650,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,750,000 shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding.
LIONHEART ACQUISITION CORPORATION II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
CERTAIN TERMS
References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II, a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on December 23, 2019. References to our “Sponsor,” “Lionheart” or “Lionheart Equities” refer to Lionheart Equities, LLC, our Sponsor and an affiliate of Mr. Ophir Steinberg, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. References to our “Public Offering” refer to the initial public offering of Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II, which closed on August 18, 2020.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company,” “we”, “our” or “us”) is filing this Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K (this "Amendment"), to amend our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2020, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC”) on March 31, 2021, as amended on May 19, 2021 (the "Original Filing"), to restate our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 29, 2021, as amended on May 19, 2021, (the “Original Financial Statements”).
In connection with the preparation of the Company’s financial statements as of September 30, 2021, the Company’s management, in consultation with its advisors, identified an error made in certain of its previously issued financial statements, arising from the manner in which, as of the closing of the Company’s initial public offering, the Company valued its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption. The Company previously determined the value of such Class A common stock to be equal to the redemption value of such shares of Class A common stock, after taking into consideration the terms of the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, under which a redemption cannot result in net tangible assets being less than $5,000,001. Management has now determined, after consultation with its advisors, that the shares of Class A common stock underlying the units issued during the initial public offering can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered to be outside the Company’s control. Therefore, management has concluded that the redemption value of its shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption should reflect the possible redemption of all shares of Class A common stock. As a result, management has noted a reclassification error related to temporary equity and permanent equity. This has resulted in a restatement of the initial carrying value of the shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, with the offset recorded to additional paid-in capital (to the extent available), accumulated deficit and shares of Class A common stock. As a result, on November 19, 2021, after consultation with Marcum LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors concluded that the Original Financial Statements should no longer be relied upon and are to be restated in order to correct the classification error.
The Company has not amended its Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 18, 2020 or its quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on November 16, 2020 for the period affected by the restatement. The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported is superseded by the information in this Amendment, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed report should no longer be relied upon.
The restatement is more fully described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein. In addition, the Management Discussion & Analysis, Risk Factors, Note 9a and Item 8 have been updated to detail further disclosure of the effects and actions taken by management and the Board of Directors.
In addition, as required by Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, new certifications by the Company’s principal executive officers and principal financial officer are filed as exhibits (in Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 32.1 and 32.2) to this Amendment under Item 15 of Part IV hereof.
Except as described above, this Amendment does not amend, update or change any other items or disclosures contained in the Original Filing, and accordingly, this Amendment does not reflect or purport to reflect any information or events occurring after the original filing date or modify or update those disclosures affected by subsequent events. Accordingly, this Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Original Filing and the Company’s other filings with the SEC. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Original Filing.
ii
Items Amended In This Amendment
For the convenience of the reader, this Amendment sets forth the Original Filing in its entirety, as amended to reflect the restatement. No attempt has been made in this Amendment to update other disclosures presented in the Original Filing, except as required to reflect the effects of the restatement. The following items have been amended as a result of the restatement:
| • | Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors. |
| • | Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
| • | Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. |
| • | Part II – Item 9A. Controls and Procedures. |
| • | Part IV – Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules. |
This Amendment does not reflect adjustments for events occurring after March 31, 2021, the date of the filing of the Original Filing, except to the extent they are otherwise required to be included and discussed herein and did not substantively modify or update the disclosures herein other than as required to reflect the adjustments described above. This Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 10, 2021 and November 30, 2021.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Amendment contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this Amendment, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. When we discuss our strategies or plans, we are making projections, forecasts or forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. Actual results and stockholders’ value will be affected by a variety of risks and factors, including, without limitation, international, national and local economic conditions, merger, acquisition and business combination risks, financing risks, geo-political risks, acts of terror or war, and those risk factors described under “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Many of the risks and factors that will determine these results and stockholder value are beyond our ability to control or predict.
All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Amendment. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.
iii
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on December 23, 2019 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 (in each case, a “Business Combination”). We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, we are a “shell company” as defined under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting solely of cash and/or cash equivalents. While we may pursue a target for our Business Combination in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we currently intend to concentrate our efforts in businesses that apply innovative digital technologies and technology-enhanced services and solutions to the identification, design, development, construction, operation, financing, management and disposition of real estate properties, commonly referred to as “PropTech.” Our definition of PropTech applies to both technology companies that are disrupting the real estate sector as well as to real estate and consumer-oriented companies with a real estate component that utilize innovative technologies. Our management team has an extensive track record of acquiring attractive assets at disciplined valuations, investing in growth while fostering financial discipline and improving business results.
On January 10, 2020, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares (the “Founder Shares”) of our Class B Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (our “Class B Common Stock”), for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per share. Subsequently, on February 6, 2020, the Company declared a stock dividend of 0.15 share for each Founder Share outstanding, resulting in our Sponsor holding an aggregate of 5,750,000 Founder Shares. In July 2020, our Sponsor sold 82,500 Founder Shares to Nomura Securities International, Inc. (“Nomura”) for a purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share.
On August 18, 2020 (the “IPO Closing Date”), we consummated our initial public offering (our “Public Offering”) of 20,000,000 of our units (the “Public Units”), including 3,000,000 Public Units issued pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option (the “Over-Allotment”). Each Public Unit consists of one share of our Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (our “Class A Common Stock” and, together with the Class B Common Stock, our “Capital Stock”), and one-half of one of our redeemable warrants (each, a “Public Warrant”), each whole Public Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment). Our Public Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Public Unit, generating gross proceeds to us of $230,000,000 after giving effect to the Over-Allotment.
Simultaneously with the consummation of our Public Offering, we completed the private sale (our “Private Placement”) of an aggregate of 650,000 units (the “Private Units”) to our Sponsor and Nomura at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit, each entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, generating gross proceeds to us of $6,500,000. The Private Units are identical to the Public Units sold in our Public Offering, and the private warrants (the “Private Warrants”) included in the Private Units are identical to the Public Warrants except that the Private Warrants will be non-redeemable and may be exercised on a cashless basis, in each case so long as they continue to be held by our Sponsor, Nomura or their permitted transferees. The sale of the Private Units was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
On the IPO Closing Date, $230,000,000 of the gross proceeds from our Public Offering and our Private Placement was deposited in a U.S.-based trust account (the “Trust Account”) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee (the “Trustee”), and on the IPO Closing Date we had $2,039,384 of cash held outside of the Trust Account, after payment of costs related to our Public Offering, and available for working capital purposes. We incurred $13,128,937 in transaction costs related to our Public Offering, including $4,600,000 of underwriting discounts, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriters’ commissions and $478,937 of other offering costs.
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Funds held in the Trust Account have been invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund, selected by the Company meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with a Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (b) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date, subject to applicable law.
Business Strategy
While we may pursue a Business Combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we are focusing our search on companies in the PropTech industry, and secondarily on companies in other industries with strong proprietary data analytics capabilities. We define the PropTech sector as businesses that apply innovative digital technologies and technology-enhanced services and solutions to the identification, design, development, construction, operation, financing, management and disposition of real estate properties. This definition applies to both technology companies that are disrupting the real estate sector as well as to real estate companies that utilize innovative technology.
Combined, real estate and technology represent a significant segment of the U.S. economy. Further, digital transformation is driving technological innovation across the broader real estate sector. Real estate has traditionally been a human capital- and resource-intensive sector, but technology has become a strategic imperative as businesses seek ways to increase the efficiency of their assets. Innovation is being driven by both incumbent firms and disruptive new entrants that are leveraging B2B technology solutions from other industries as well as applying consumer-facing technologies to the commercial market. Examples of innovative technology trends driving digital transformation in the real estate sector include: artificial intelligence and machine learning, data and analytics, mobility, cloud technologies, the Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, financial and mortgage technology, 5G and drones. Digital transformation has also enabled new business models including iBuying, co-working, flexible warehousing, and crowdfunding.
The businesses we are currently seeking to acquire offer innovative software, hardware, products, operations or services that are technologically equipped to improve property ownership; property financing; property valuation; property operations; property management; leasing; property insurance; real estate asset management and investment management; and design, construction and development. These businesses have a large addressable market across the broader real estate sector, potentially including landlords, tenants, developers, operators, managers, brokers, investors, lenders, architects, engineers and general contractors. We believe the acquisition of one or more businesses in this sector can serve as a platform for expansion, both organically and through further acquisitions, including “roll-ups” of smaller players in some of the more fragmented, emerging sectors such as co-working and co-living. While we intend to focus our search for Business Combination targets in the PropTech sector, we may pursue an acquisition in any business industry or sector, or in any particular geographical area, including within or without the United States. We are currently seeking to acquire established businesses of scale that we believe are poised for continued growth with capable management teams and proven unit economics, but potentially in need of financial, operational, strategic or managerial enhancement to maximize value. We do not currently intend to acquire startup companies or companies without established business plans, but may ultimately do so. Our management team and Board will seek to leverage their access to proprietary deal flow, sourcing capabilities and network of industry contacts to generate business combination opportunities.
3
Business Opportunity Overview
Real estate investment represents a significant segment of the U.S. economy. In 2018, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts estimated the total value of commercial real estate in the United States to be $16.0 trillion, and Zillow estimated the total value of residential real estate in the United States to be $33.6 trillion in 2019. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real estate, rental and leasing comprised the largest share of U.S. GDP, with $2.9 trillion of seasonally adjusted annualized value added as of the third quarter of 2019, representing 13.3% of U.S. GDP in that quarter.
Real estate has historically lagged in technology adoption. This is evidenced by the prevalence of paper-driven processes, lack of data transparency and intermediaries present in transactions. However, there is an understanding emerging at real estate companies that leveraging technology is a strategic advantage. According to KPMG, 97% of real estate organizations believe that digital and technological innovation will impact their business and 73% consider it an opportunity. Furthermore, in a sign of recognition that technology within real estate remains under-developed, 93% of real estate organizations believe they must engage with PropTech companies in order to adapt to the changing global environment.
As PropTech is an established and rapidly expanding sector, it is currently being impacted by a new wave of innovative technologies, which has led to a 378% increase in PropTech funding from 2015 to 2018, according to the 2019 GCA Real Estate Tech report. In 2019, total PropTech funding was $8.9 billion and exceeded the amount of total funding in 2018. Significant investment from venture capital firms as well as corporations has grown substantially from 217 funding rounds in 2017 to 420 in 2019. In addition, there has been a higher percentage of later-stage funding in recent years.
4
Nonetheless, we believe we are still early in this cycle relative to other industry-specific technology sectors. For example, PropTech has received a relatively low amount of venture funding compared to other industry-specific technologies. For example, in 2018, U.S. PropTech companies received just $5.3 billion of venture funding compared to approximately $47 billion for U.S. financial technology companies, according to GCA.
We believe that business opportunities within PropTech are poised to increase, driven by digital transformation initiatives that will enable businesses throughout the real estate ecosystem to increase the efficiency of their assets. The benefits of digital transformation in the real estate sector include improving building utilization, optimizing customer relationship management, creating better tenant experiences, streamlining construction projects, and reducing friction from financial transactions. According to CRETech, 1,385 private companies have received over $48 billion in venture funding globally between 2017 and 2019. Furthermore, CRETech expects global PropTech venture funding to reach approximately $30 billion in 2020.
We believe that the combination of (i) the massive scale of the real estate economy; (ii) lagging technology adoption; (iii) an inflection point in the application of technologies to the real estate sector; (iv) underfunding concerns; (v) an increasingly challenged IPO market; and (vi) the emergence of PropTech as an investment theme, evidenced by strong investor demand for PropTech assets, make PropTech an attractive and timely sector with quality businesses that could benefit from a Business Combination with our company.
Our strategy is currently to identify, evaluate, acquire and, after our initial business combination, continue to grow a compelling PropTech business.
However, while we are currently focusing our efforts in identifying a target for our Business Combination in the PropTech industry, our search for targets companies will not be limited to companies in the PropTech industry, nor to companies in any particular geographical area. Rather, we may ultimately pursue a Business Combination target in any industry or sector, and may pursue targets within or without the United States, at any stage of its corporate evolution.
Our Investment Thesis and Strategy
We believe that we are uniquely qualified among SPAC vehicles due to our management’s extensive research, analysis, credentials and relationships with respect to U.S. real estate and technology companies. Because PropTech is an established and rapidly expanding sector, we believe that a key differentiator in this space, should we pursue a Business Combination with a PropTech target, will be combining our deal making experience across real estate and technology with superior access to the entrepreneurs that are driving the rapid growth of PropTech and the investors funding this growth.
5
We believe that our management team’s proprietary network and experience investing and executing across real estate and technology companies, together with our Board’s extensive management, private equity, venture capital and technology experience, position us to identify an attractive target company and close a Business Combination with such a target, should we pursue a Business Combination with a company in the PropTech space.
Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective targets, irrespective of sector or industry. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our Business Combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines.
| • | Target Business Size. We will seek to invest in one or more businesses, determined in the sole discretion of our officers and directors according to reasonably accepted valuation standards and methodologies. We believe we have a superior and proprietary network to identify the greatest number of attractive opportunities at disciplined valuations. |
| • | Proven Unit Economics and Growing Companies. We are currently planning to invest in one or more businesses that have generated attractive unit economics at scale, and are currently focusing on acquiring on one or more businesses that have established and growing revenue streams. We do not intend to acquire startup companies, companies with speculative business plans or companies that are excessively leveraged, but this may ultimately occur. |
| • | Competitive Position. We intend to invest in one or more businesses that have a leading, growing or unique niche market position in their respective sectors, which may or may not include the PropTech sector or technology companies in general. We will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of target businesses relative to their competitors. We will seek to invest in one or more businesses that demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, including capable management team, defensible proprietary technology, strong adoption rates and relevant domain expertise. |
| • | Capable Management Team. We will seek to invest in one or more businesses that have experienced management teams or those that provide a platform for us to assemble an effective and capable management team. We will focus on management teams with a track record of driving revenue growth and creating value for their shareholders. |
| • | Benefit from Being a Public Company. We intend to invest in one or more businesses that will benefit from being publicly listed and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital and the public profile to grow and accelerate shareholder value creation. |
| • | Defensible Business Niche. We will seek companies that have a leading or niche market position and that demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, which may help to create barriers to entry against new competitors. |
| • | Potential for Stable Free Cash Flow. We will seek to acquire a business that has historically generated, or has the near-term potential to generate, strong and sustainable free cash flow. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular Business Combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we find an opportunity that has characteristics more compelling to us than the characteristics described above, we would pursue such opportunity. Despite our current focus on target companies in the PropTech industry, we may ultimately identify a target for our Business Combination outside of the PropTech industry, or with characteristics materially different from those identified above as desirable criteria for our management team.
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Forward Purchase and Forward Financing Arrangements
On August 13, 2020, Nomura, an underwriter of our Public Offering, entered into a forward purchase agreement (the “Forward Purchase Agreement”) with us, which provides for the purchase by Nomura of our public shares for an aggregate purchase price of up to $100.0 million through, other than as described below, open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions with one or more third parties. In lieu of purchasing public shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions, up to $85.0 million of such aggregate purchase price may instead be in the form of an investment in our equity securities on terms to be mutually agreed between Nomura and us, to occur concurrently with the closing of our Business Combination. The decision to make such an investment in other equity securities will not reduce the aggregate purchase price. However, Nomura will be excused from its purchase obligation in connection with a specific Business Combination unless, within five business days following written notice delivered by us of our intention to enter into such Business Combination, Nomura notifies us that it has decided to proceed with the purchase in whole or in part. Nomura may decide not to proceed with the purchase for any reason, including, without limitation, if it has determined that such purchase would constitute a conflict of interest. Nomura will also be restricted from making purchases if they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
Nomura has also indicated its intent, if so requested by us, to use its commercially reasonable efforts to underwrite, arrange and/or syndicate up to $400 million of additional financing for us in the form of equity or debt (or a combination thereof) in connection with our Business Combination, subject to market conditions and on terms and conditions satisfactory in all respects to Nomura in its sole judgment and determination. The forward purchase and forward financing arrangements are not anticipated to have any impact on the redemption price of our Class A Common Stock, the conversion ratio of our Class B Common Stock to Class A Common Stock or the exercise of the warrants.
Initial Business Combination
The rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our Business Combination. Our Board will make the determination as to the fair market value of our Business Combination. If our Board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our Business Combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our Board will be unable to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our Business Combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the Business Combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction 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 in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the Business Combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
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Our Business Combination Process
In evaluating prospective Business Combinations, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review process that will encompass, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal due diligence and other diligence as we deem appropriate. We will also utilize our expertise analyzing companies and evaluating operating projections, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business.
We are not prohibited from pursuing a Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors. However, in the event we seek to complete our Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our Business Combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Our Forward Purchase Agreement provides for the purchase by Nomura of our public shares for an aggregate purchase price of up to $100.0 million through, other than as described below, open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions with one or more third parties. In lieu of purchasing public shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions, up to $85.0 million of such aggregate purchase price may instead be in the form of an investment in our equity securities on terms to be mutually agreed between Nomura and us, to occur concurrently with the closing of our Business Combination. The funds from the sale of forward purchase shares received by us may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. The Forward Purchase Agreement allows Nomura to be excused from its purchase obligation in connection with a specific Business Combination, in whole or in part, unless, within five business days following written notice delivered by us of our intention to enter into such Business Combination, Nomura notifies us that it has decided to proceed with the purchase. Nomura may decide not to proceed with the purchase for any reason, including, without limitation, if it has determined that such purchase would constitute a conflict of interest. Nomura’s forward purchase commitment will be reduced by the aggregate amount of commitments by third parties to purchase our securities, if any, in private placements to occur concurrently with the closing of our Business Combination. The obligations under the Forward Purchase Agreement are not affected by any redemptions by our public stockholders of shares of our Class A Common Stock.
Nomura has also indicated its intent, if so requested by us, to use its commercially reasonable efforts to underwrite, arrange and/or syndicate up to $400 million of additional financing for us in the form of equity or debt (or a combination thereof) in connection with our Business Combination, subject to market conditions and on terms and conditions satisfactory in all respects to Nomura in its sole judgment and determination. The forward purchase and forward financing arrangements are not anticipated to have any impact on the redemption price of our Class A Common Stock, the conversion ratio of our Class B Common Stock to Class A Common Stock or the exercise of the warrants.
Certain of our officers and directors directly or indirectly own Class A Common Stock, Founder Shares and/or Private Units, and because of this ownership, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our Business Combination. For additional information regarding our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and potential conflicts of interest, see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.”
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our Business Combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any officer or director unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as an officer or director of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the officer or director is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
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Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive Business Combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other Business Combination with us. Following a Business Combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a Business Combination with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of our Class A Common Stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A Common Stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.
Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process with a SPAC, and there are significant expenses in the traditional initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed Business Combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following a Business Combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic 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 IPO Closing Date, (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 worldwide 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.
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Financial Position
With funds available for a Business Combination initially in the amount of $221,950,000 assuming no redemptions before fees and expenses associated with our Business Combination and after payment of $8.05 million of deferred underwriting commissions from the Over-Allotment, plus proceeds we may receive from the Forward Purchase Agreement with Nomura, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our Business Combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of our Public Offering and our Private Placement and from the proceeds we may receive from the Forward Purchase Agreement, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our Business Combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into at a later date), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our Business Combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our Business Combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the Trust Account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our Business Combination or used for redemptions of our Class A Common Stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the Trust Account, as well as the proceeds we may receive from the Forward Purchase Agreement, for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our Business Combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
In addition to the proceeds from the Forward Purchase Agreement that we may receive, we may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our Business Combination, and we may effectuate our Business Combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the Trust Account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our Public Offering and our Private Placement, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. In the case of a Business Combination funded with assets other than the Trust Account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the Business Combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our Business Combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
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Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have our public filings and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our Sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our Sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the Trust Account. In no event, however, will our Sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our Sponsor or officers or directors are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by a prospective business combination target prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the completion of our Business Combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective Business Combination target in connection with a contemplated Business Combination. We have agreed to pay our Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our Sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing a Business Combination. We may also agree to pay a finder’s fee to one or more independent directors to the extent such director(s) render services in connection with locating the target business with which a successful Business Combination transaction is consummated. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our Business Combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of a Business Combination candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing a Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors. However, in the event we seek to complete a Business Combination with a target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment bank which is a member of FINRA or a qualified independent accounting firm that such a Business Combination is fair to us from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
As more fully discussed in the section of this Amendment entitled “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial Business Combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such Business Combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our Business Combination. The fair market value of our Business Combination will be determined by our Board based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of mergers and acquisitions transactions of comparable businesses. If our Board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our Business Combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our Board will be unable to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our Business Combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our Business Combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our Business Combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
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In any case, we will only complete a Business Combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for our stockholders to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our Business Combination.
To the extent we effect our Business Combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our Business Combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our Business Combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another Business Combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our Business Combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for a Business Combination in a single industry, although no guarantee can given that we will ultimately consummate a Business Combination with a target in any particular industry. By completing our Business Combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| • | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our Business Combination, and |
| • | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
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Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our Business Combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management of such target business may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our Business Combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our Business Combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our Business Combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our officers and directors will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our officers and directors will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our Business Combination.
Following a Business Combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or Nasdaq rules, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of Business Combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
| Type of Transaction | Whether
Stockholder Approval is Required |
|
| Purchase of assets | No | |
| Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the Company | No | |
| Merger of target into a subsidiary of the Company | No | |
| Merger of the Company with a target | Yes |
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our Business Combination if, for example:
| • | we issue shares of Class A Common Stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock then outstanding; |
| • | any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| • | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
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Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our Business Combination pursuant to the SEC’s tender offer rules, our Sponsor and Nomura (to whom we refer to as our “initial stockholders”), directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares of our Class A Common Stock, Public Units or Public Warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our Business Combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the Trust Account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our Business Combination.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the Business Combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the Business Combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our Business Combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our Business Combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our Business Combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A Common Stock or Public Warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our Sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our Business Combination. To the extent that our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the Trust Account or vote against our Business Combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our Business Combination. Our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our Sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our Sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of our Class A Common Stock or our securities generally if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A Common Stock upon the completion of our Business Combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the Trust Account will initially be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares or any shares of Class A Common Stock held by them in connection with the completion of our Business Combination.
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Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A Common Stock upon the completion of our Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with us where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure our Business Combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed Business Combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or Nasdaq rules or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| • | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| • | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our Business Combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our Business Combination, we or our Sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A Common Stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our Business Combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our Sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our Business Combination upon consummation of our Business Combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the Business Combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| • | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| • | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
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In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our Business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the Business Combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our Business Combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of our outstanding capital stock representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders (including Nomura) will count toward this quorum, and our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura have agreed to vote any Founder Shares and private shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the Public Offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our Business Combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our Business Combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to the Founder Shares and private shares held by our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura, we may need only 950,001, or approximately 4.13%, of the 23,000,000 share of Class A Common Stock sold in the Public Offering to be voted in favor of a Business Combination (assuming only a quorum is present at the stockholders meeting) in order to have our Business Combination approved. Any forward purchase shares issued by us to Nomura will not be entitled to vote on our Business Combination since those shares will not be issued until the closing of such transaction, although Nomura may elect to purchase (and vote) shares from existing stockholders. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our Sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our Business Combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that 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 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our Business Combination upon consummation of our Business Combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions. For example, the proposed Business Combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed Business Combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A Common Stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A Common Stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination if We Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our Business Combination pursuant to the SEC’s tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our Public Offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed Business Combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our Public Offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our Public Offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our Business Combination, particularly in connection with a Business Combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our Business Combination.
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Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the Business Combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian (“DWAC”) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our Business Combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the Business Combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the initial business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our Business Combination.
If our Business Combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the Trust Account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
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If our Business Combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a Business Combination with a different target until 18 months from the IPO Closing Date.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 18 months from the IPO Closing Date to complete our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination within such 18-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our Business Combination within the 18-month time period.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date. However, if our Sponsor, officers and directors acquire public shares at a later date, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our Business Combination within the allotted 18-month time period.
Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with our Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A Common Stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our Business Combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $2,039,384 of proceeds held outside the Trust Account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the Trust Account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the Trust Account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the Trust Account balance, we may request the Trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
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If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the sale of the Private Units, other than the proceeds deposited in the Trust Account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the Trust Account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. We are not aware of any product or service providers who have not or will not provide such waiver other than the underwriters of our Public Offering and our independent registered public accounting firm.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. Our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our 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 the Company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors, in exercising their business judgment, may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.
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We will seek to reduce the possibility that our Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account. Our Sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,150,000 from the proceeds of the Public Offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our Trust Account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the Company 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 Company, a 90-day period during which the Company may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our Public Offering is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the expiration of such 18-month period and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280 of the DGCL, Section 281(b) requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the Trust Account is remote. Further, our Sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the Trust Account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
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If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with our Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the Trust Account. However, in the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our Business Combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the Business Combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the Trust Account.
Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our Business Combination, we may 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 business combinations. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the initial business combination of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our Business Combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a Business Combination.
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Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 4218 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33137, and our telephone number is (305) 573-3900. Our executive offices are provided to us by our Sponsor. Commencing on August 18, 2020, we have agreed to pay our Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our Business Combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our Business Combination and the stage of the Business Combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our Business Combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our Public Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), or international financing reporting standards (“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 targets we may conduct a Business Combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our Business Combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential Business Combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential Business Combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such Business Combination. We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our Business Combination.
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 IPO Closing Date, (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 worldwide market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
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Corporate Information
We are 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”). 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 of 2002 (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 IPO Closing Date, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th (the end of our second fiscal quarter), 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 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 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 such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Effecting our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds held in the Trust Account from our Public Offering and our Private Placement, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our Business Combination. We may seek to complete our Business Combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our Business Combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the Trust Account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our Business Combination or used for redemptions of purchases of our Class A Common Stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the Trust Account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our Business Combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
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We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our Business Combination, and we may effectuate our Business Combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the Trust Account. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. In the case of a Business Combination funded with assets other than the Trust Account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the Business Combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our Business Combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third-party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Our initial stockholders hold 4,745,000 Founder Shares, which automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock at the time of our Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A Common Stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in our Public Offering and related to the closing of the Business Combination, the ratio at which the Founder Shares shall convert into shares of our Class A Common Stock will be adjusted so that the number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all shares of our Capital Stock outstanding upon the completion of the Public Offering plus all shares of Class A Common Stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the Business Combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the Business Combination or pursuant to the Private Placement Warrants issued to our Sponsor. Holders of the Founder Shares and holders of our Class A Common Stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as required by law.
In the case of a Business Combination funded with assets other than the Trust Account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the Business Combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law or applicable stock exchange rules, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with a Business Combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third-party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise in connection with a Business Combination.
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains certain requirements and restrictions relating to our Public Offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our Business Combination. If we seek to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity, we will provide dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote. Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and shares of Class A Common Stock in connection with the completion of our Business Combination. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:
| • | prior to the consummation of our Business Combination, we shall either (1) seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed Business Combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in our Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) or (2) provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to tender their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in our Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) in each case subject to the limitations described herein; |
| • | we will consummate our Business Combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares of Capital Stock voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination; |
| • | if our Business Combination is not consummated within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in our Trust Account; and |
| • | prior to our Business Combination, we may not issue additional shares of Capital Stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from our Trust Account or (ii) vote on any Business Combination. |
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These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of 65% of our Capital Stock. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our Business Combination, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may consummate our Business Combination only if approved by a majority of the shares of Capital Stock voted by our stockholders voting at a duly held stockholders meeting.
Conflicts of Interest
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a Business Combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. 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 Business Combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our Company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue. For more information on the conflicts of interest applicable to our officers and directors, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.”
Risk Factor Summary
An investment in or ownership of our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Amendment, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
Risks Relating to a Special Purpose Acquisition Company and our Securities
| • | We are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| • | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the Business Combination. |
| • | The requirement that we complete our Business Combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential Business Combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our Business Combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders. |
| • | We may not be able to complete our Business Combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| • | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
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Risks Relating to our Securities
| • | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
| • | If we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A Common Stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A Common Stock. |
| • | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for Business Combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| • | If the net proceeds of our Public Offering and the sale of the Private Units not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months, we may be unable to complete our Business Combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| • | Our search for a Business Combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. |
| • | We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our Business Combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors. |
| • | We are not registering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. |
| • | The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our Business Combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A Common Stock. |
| • | 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 Business Combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations. |
Risks Relating to Lionheart Capital, LLC (“Lionheart Capital”), our Sponsor and our management team
| • | Past performance by members of our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company. |
| • | We may seek Business Combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise. |
| • | Our ability to successfully effect our Business Combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our officers and directors, some of whom may join us following our Business Combination. The loss of officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. |
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| • | Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests. |
| • | We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a Business Combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us. |
| • | We may attempt to complete our 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. |
| • | Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our Business Combination. |
| • | We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a Business Combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree. |
| • | We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our 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. |
| • | Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support. |
| • | Our warrants and Founder Shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A Common Stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our Business Combination. |
Risks Relating to a Special Purpose Acquisition Company and our Securities
We are a newly formed 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 newly formed company with no operating results, and we commenced limited operations from the IPO Closing Date. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our Business Combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a Business Combination and may be unable to complete our Business Combination. If we fail to complete our Business Combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the Business Combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our Business Combination. Since our Board may complete a Business Combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the Business Combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote.
Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our Business Combination.
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The requirement that we complete our Business Combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential Business Combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our 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 Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination, knowing that if we do not complete our Business Combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our 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 Business Combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our Business Combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our Business Combination within such time period. If we have not completed our 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 ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of a Business Combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A Common Stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with our Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. 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.
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Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed Business Combination, which means we may complete our Business Combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our Business Combination unless the Business Combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our Business Combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the Business Combination we complete. Please see the section of this Amendment entitled “Item 1. Business—Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination, our Sponsor, officers and directors and Nomura have agreed to vote in favor of such Business Combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura have agreed to vote any Founder Shares and private shares held by them, as well as any public shares purchased during or after the Public Offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our Business Combination. As a result, in addition to the Founder Shares and private shares held by our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura, we may need only 950,001, or approximately 4.13%, of the 23,000,000 public shares sold in our Public Offering to be voted in favor of a Business Combination (assuming only a quorum is present at the stockholders meeting) in order to have our Business Combination approved. Any forward purchase shares issued by us to Nomura will not be entitled to vote on our Business Combination since those shares will not be issued until the closing of such transaction, although Nomura may elect to purchase (and vote) shares from existing stockholders. Our initial stockholders (including Nomura) own shares representing 17.21% of our outstanding shares of Capital Stock (including the private shares). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination, the agreement by our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura to vote in favor of our Business Combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such Business Combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential Business Combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a Business Combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a Business Combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. While we may have access to proceeds from the Forward Purchase Agreement, if too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the Business Combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our Business Combination upon consummation of our Business Combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our Business Combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related Business Combination and may instead search for an alternate Business Combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a Business Combination with us.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed Business Combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A Common Stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our Business Combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the Trust Account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the Business Combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the Business Combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our Business Combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of Public Warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our Business Combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our Business Combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A Common Stock or Public Warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our Business Combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our Business Combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our Business Combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the Business Combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this Amendment entitled “Item 1. Business—Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Business Combination—Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”
We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our Business Combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our Business Combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions) at a price of $10.00 per share or which approximates the per-share amounts in our Trust Account at such time, which is generally approximately $10.00. A purpose of such issuances may be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-Business Combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time.
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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 Business Combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our Business Combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B Common Stock results in the issuance of Class A Common Stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B Common Stock at the time of our Business Combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable Business Combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an 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 per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
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 Business Combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.
If our 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 stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
If the net proceeds of our Public Offering and our Private Placement not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our Business Combination and we will depend on loans from our Sponsor or management team to fund our search for a Business Combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our Business Combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our Business Combination.
Of the net proceeds from our Public Offering and our Private Placement, only approximately $2,039,384 was initially available to us, on the IPO Closing Date, outside the Trust Account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, 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 increase or decrease. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the Trust Account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our Sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our Sponsor, 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 Business Combination. Up to $1 million of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the Private Units. Prior to the completion of our 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 obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our 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 approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
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Subsequent to the completion of our Business Combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, 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 surface all material issues that may be present inside 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 Business Combination. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the 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 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 constituted an actionable material misstatement or omission.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 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, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. We are not aware of any product or service providers who have not or will not provide such waiver other than the underwriters of our Public Offering and our independent registered public accounting firm.
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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 Business Combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our 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 share initially held in the Trust Account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a letter agreement (the “Letter Agreement”), our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors, in exercising their business judgment, and subject to their fiduciary duties, may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 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, directors and Nomura have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account and not to seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate a 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.
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If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our Board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our 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 Business Combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our Business Combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our Business Combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective Business Combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our Business Combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of the Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
We may seek Business Combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our Business Combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting 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 company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our Business Combination with an affiliated entity or our Board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to the Company 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 Business Combination.
We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our Business Combination. We may also issue shares of Class A Common Stock upon the conversion of the Class B Common Stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our Business Combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Following the Public Offering and the Private Placement, there are 69,025,000 and 5,000,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account the shares of Class A Common Stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon conversion of Class B Common Stock. Following our Public Offering and our Private Placement, there are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of our Class B Common Stock are convertible into shares of our Class A Common Stock initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A Common Stock or equity-linked securities related to our Business Combination. These amounts exclude the issuance of forward purchase shares issuable pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement at the time of the Business Combination.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our Business Combination (including pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement) or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our Business Combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-Business Combination activity). We may also issue shares of our Class A Common Stock upon conversion of our Class B Common Stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our Business Combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our Business Combination, we may not issue additional shares of Capital Stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the Trust Account or (ii) vote on any Business Combination. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with the approval of our stockholders. However, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with our Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
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The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our Public Offering; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| • | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A Common Stock and/or Public Warrants. |
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 Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific 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 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 Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
Our ability to successfully effect our Business Combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our officers and directors, some of whom may join us following our Business Combination. The loss of officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our Business Combination is dependent upon the efforts of our officers and directors. The role of our officers and directors in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our officers and directors may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our 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 employ after our Business Combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. In addition, the officers and directors of a Business Combination candidate may resign upon completion of our Business Combination. The departure of a Business Combination target’s officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of a Business Combination candidate’s officers and directors upon the completion of our Business Combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of a Business Combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the Business Combination candidate following our Business Combination, it is possible that members of the management of an Business Combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our Business Combination. 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 officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular Business Combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our 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 officers and directors may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our 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. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our Business Combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential Business Combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our officers and directors will remain with us after the completion of our Business Combination. We cannot assure you that any of our officers and directors will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our officers and directors will remain with us will be made at the time of our Business Combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our Business Combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our Business Combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the 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.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our Business Combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a Business Combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our Business Combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our Business Combination.
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Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our Business Combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our Sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business. Ophir Sternberg, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Paul Rapisarda, our Chief Financial Officer, each hold the same positions at Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV Corp, special purpose acquisition companies affiliated with our Sponsor. Steven Berrard and Roger Meltzer, two of our directors, are expected to serve as directors of each of Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV Corp upon the completion of their respective public offerings.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.
Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.”
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, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our Sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described in “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for Business Combination opportunities. Our Sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our Business Combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a Business Combination with any such affiliated 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 a Business Combination as set forth in the section of this Amendment entitled “Proposed Business—Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of a Business Combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the Business Combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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Since our Sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our Business Combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular Business Combination target is appropriate for our Business Combination.
In January 2020, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,000,000 Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per share. Subsequently, in February 2020, we declared a dividend of 0.15 share for each outstanding share, resulting in 5,750,000 Founder Shares issued and outstanding. In July 2020, our Sponsor sold 82,500 Founder Shares to Nomura for a purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share. The number of Founder Shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such Founder Shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the Public Offering (excluding the private shares). The Founder Shares will be worthless if we do not complete a Business Combination. In addition, our Sponsor and Nomura purchased an aggregate of 650,000 Private Units in our Private Placement, at $10.00 per unit, among which 595,000 units were purchased by our Sponsor and 55,000 units were purchased by Nomura. Holders of Founder Shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed Business Combination and (B) not to redeem any Founder Shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed Business Combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our Sponsor, affiliates of our Sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target Business Combination, completing a Business Combination and influencing the operation of the business following the Business Combination.
We may only be able to complete one Business Combination with the proceeds from the Public Offering, the Private Placement and the Forward Purchase Agreement received by us, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from our Public Offering and our Private Placement, $230,000,000 will be available to complete our Business Combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes $8.05 million for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions). In addition, Nomura has entered into the Forward Purchase Agreement with us, which provides for the purchase by Nomura of our public shares for an aggregate purchase price of up to $100.0 million through, other than as described below, open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions with one or more third parties. In lieu of purchasing public shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions, up to $85.0 million of such aggregate purchase price may instead be in the form of an investment in our equity securities on terms to be mutually agreed between Nomura and us, to occur concurrently with the closing of our Business Combination. We may effectuate our 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 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 Business Ccombination 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 Ccombinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. In addition, we intend to focus our search for a Business Combination in 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 Business Combination.
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We may attempt to simultaneously complete Business Combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our Business Combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other Business Combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our Business Combination. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our 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.
In order to effectuate a Business Combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our Business Combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a Business Combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of “business combination,” increased redemption thresholds 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 65% of the outstanding 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 (A) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with our Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any securities offered in the Public Offering, 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 a Business Combination in order to effectuate our Business Combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-Business Combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the Trust Account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the Trust Agreement to facilitate the completion of a 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 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 and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the Trust Account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our Sponsor, officers, directors, and Nomura, who collectively beneficially own 19.86% of our common stock following the closing of the Public Offering (including the private shares), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or Trust Agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-Business Combination behavior more easily than some other blank check 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.
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Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with our Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A Common Stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in the Letter Agreement that we have entered into with our Sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our Sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
In evaluating a prospective target business for our Business Combination, our management may rely on the availability of all of the funds that we may receive from the sale of the forward purchase shares to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the Business Combination. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase shares fails to close, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our Business Combination.
We have entered into the Forward Purchase Agreement with Nomura which provides for the purchase by Nomura of our public shares for an aggregate purchase price of up to $100.0 million through, other than as described below, open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions with one or more third parties. In lieu of purchasing public shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions, up to $85.0 million of such aggregate purchase price may instead be in the form of an investment in our equity securities on terms to be mutually agreed between Nomura and us, to occur concurrently with the closing of our Business Combination. The obligations under the Forward Purchase Agreement are not affected by any redemptions by our public stockholders of shares of our Class A Common Stock. However, if the sale of the forward purchase shares does not close by reason of (i) the failure of a condition or contingency or (ii) Nomura’s failure to fund the purchase price for the forward purchase shares, either because they determine that it would constitute a conflict of interest, because they lack sufficient funds or because they determine that it is not in their best interest to fund the purchase price for any reason whatsoever, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our Business Combination, or we may need to seek alternative financing. In the event of any such failure to fund by Nomura, we may not be able to obtain additional funds to account for such shortfall on terms favorable to us or at all. We have not obligated Nomura to reserve funds to satisfy its obligations under the Forward Purchase Agreement.
Nomura has the right to excuse itself from its obligation to purchase the forward purchase shares for any reason.
Pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement with Nomura, if, upon notification of our intention to enter into a Business Combination, Nomura decides not to purchase forward purchase shares for any reason, including, without limitation, if it has determined that such purchase would constitute a conflict of interest, it will be excused from its obligation to purchase such forward purchase shares. This excusal right could give Nomura significant influence over our decision of whether or not to proceed with a Business Combination with a particular target business. We may not be able to obtain any or enough additional funds to account for such shortfall, which may impact our ability to consummate a Business Combination.
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If we effect our Business Combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our Business Combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | tax issues, including but not limited to tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | changes in industry, regulatory or environmental standards within the jurisdictions where we operate; |
| • | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
| • | government appropriations of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We may face risks related to businesses in the PropTech sector.
Business Combinations with businesses in the PropTech sector entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a Business Combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:
| • | the markets we may serve may be subject to general economic conditions and cyclical demand, which could lead to significant shifts in our results of operations from quarter to quarter that make it difficult to project long-term performance; |
| • | we may be unable to attract or retain customers; |
| • | we may be subject to the negative impacts of catastrophic events; |
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| • | we may face competition and consolidation of the specific sector of the industry within which the target business operates; |
| • | we may be subject to volatility in costs for strategic raw material and energy commodities (such as natural gas, including exports of material quantities of natural gas from the United States) or disruption in the supply of these commodities could adversely affect our financial results; |
| • | we may be unable to obtain necessary insurance coverage for the target business’ operations; |
| • | we may incur additional expenses and delays due to technical problems, labor problems (including union disruptions) or other interruptions at our manufacturing facilities after our initial business combination; |
| • | we may experience work-related accidents that may expose us to liability claims; |
| • | our manufacturing processes and products may not comply with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, or if we manufacture products containing design or manufacturing defects, demand for our products may decline and we may be subject to liability claims; |
| • | we may be liable for damages based on product liability claims, and we may also be exposed to potential indemnity claims from customers for losses due to our work or if our employees are injured performing services; |
| • | our products may be subject to warranty claims, and our business reputation may be damaged and we may incur significant costs as a result; |
| • | we may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights; |
| • | our products and manufacturing processes will be subject to technological change; |
| • | we may be subject to increased government regulations, including with respect to, among other matters, increased environmental regulation and worker safety regulation, and the costs of compliance with such regulations; and |
| • | the failure of our customers to pay the amounts owed to us in a timely manner. |
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a Business Combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the PropTech sector. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.
Risks Relating to our Securities
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our Public Offering and our Private Placement are intended to be used to complete a Business Combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 following our Public Offering and our Private Placement and have 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.
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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 may have a longer period of time to complete our Business Combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our Public Offering had been 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 a Business Combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A Common Stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A Common Stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our Public Offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our Business Combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our Business Combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our Business Combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for Business Combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more 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 the Public Offering and the Private Placement, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A Common Stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our Business Combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our Business Combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
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If the net proceeds of our Public Offering and the sale of the Private Units not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months, we may be unable to complete our Business Combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the Trust Account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months, assuming that our Business Combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, following the Public Offering and the Private Placement, the funds available to us outside of the Trust Account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies 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. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
Our search for a Business Combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has adversely affected the economies and financial markets worldwide. We may be unable to complete a Business Combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, if the target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner, or if COVID-19 causes a prolonged economic downturn. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a Business Combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a Business Combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a Business Combination may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our Business Combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our Business Combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our Business Combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
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We are not registering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of 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 (the “Warrant Agreement”) with our transfer agent, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 days after the closing of our Business Combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of our 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 issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our Business Combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A Common Stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of those states in which the warrants were offered by us in the Public Offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our Public Warrants may be unable to exercise such Public Warrants but holders of our Private Warrants may be able to exercise such Private Warrants.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our Business Combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A Common Stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the Public Offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Private Units, the private shares, the Private Warrants, the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Warrants or upon conversion of the Founder Shares and the securities issuable pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement held, or to be held, by them and holders of units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the shares of Class A Common Stock and warrants included in such units may demand that we register such units, warrants or the Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A Common Stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our Business Combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A Common Stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
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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 Business Combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We will seek to complete a Business Combination with an operating company in any sector in the United States (which may include a company based in the United States which has operations or opportunities outside the United States), except that we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our 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 Business Combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a Business Combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value 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.
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our Public Units are listed on Nasdaq, and the shares of our Class A Common Stock and Public Warrants underlying such units are separately listed on Nasdaq under the trading symbols “LCAP” and “LCAPW,” respectively. Although after giving effect to our Public Offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in Nasdaq’s listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our Business Combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our Business Combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our Business Combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. Further, recent Nasdaq rules changes that went into effect in August 2019 may make it more difficult to maintain our listing after our Business Combination. Under these new rules, restricted securities, including those subject to a contractual lock-up, will not count toward the $5.0 million stockholder equity minimum. Additionally, we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500) of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
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If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A Common Stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A Common Stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our Public Units, Class A Common Stock and Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our Public Units, Class A Common Stock and Public Warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our Business Combination.
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 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 Business Combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete 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.
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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 “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. Investments in the Company’s securities 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: (i) the completion of our Business Combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of our public shares to seek redemption in connection with our Business Combination or our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity; or (iii) absent a Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date, 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 or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our Trust Account 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 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 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 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 Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date 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 18th month from the IPO Closing Date in the event we do not complete our Business Combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
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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 Business Combination within 18 months from the IPO Closing Date is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of Class A Common Stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
There are circumstances in which the exercise of the Public Warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. First, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our Business Combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Second, if a registration statement covering the Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our Business Combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available; if that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. Third, if we call the Public Warrants for redemption, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A Common Stock 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 difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (as defined in the next sentence) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average last reported sale price of the 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.
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 65% of the then outstanding warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under the 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 65% of the then outstanding 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 65% of the then outstanding warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the Public Warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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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 last reported sales price of our Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of those states in which the warrants were offered by us in our Public Offering. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the Private Warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our initial stockholders (including Nomura) currently own an aggregate of 4,745,000 Founder Shares. The Founder Shares are convertible into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Furthermore, we have entered into the Forward Purchase Agreement with Nomura, which provides for the purchase by Nomura of our public shares for an aggregate purchase price of up to $100.0 million through, other than as described below, open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions with one or more third parties. In lieu of purchasing public shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions, up to $85.0 million of such aggregate purchase price may instead be in the form of an investment in our equity securities on terms to be mutually agreed between Nomura and us, to occur concurrently with the closing of our Business Combination. In addition, if our Sponsor makes any working capital loans, up to $1 million of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the Private Units. To the extent we issue shares of Class A Common Stock to effectuate a Business Combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A Common Stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive Business Combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A Common Stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A Common Stock issued to complete the Business Combination. Therefore, our warrants and Founder Shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a Business Combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The Private Warrants included in the Private Units are identical to the Public Warrants sold as part of the Public Units in our Public Offering, except that so long as they are held by the initial purchasers of the Private Units or their permitted transferees: (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders for cash or on a cashless basis, as described in this Amendment.
Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, and because our warrants are accounted for as liabilities, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one 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-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole 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 they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
In light of the SEC Statement and the guidance in ASC 815-40, our management evaluated the terms of our Private Warrants and Public Warrants and concluded that the warrants include provisions that, based on the SEC Statement, preclude the warrants from being classified as components of equity. As described in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” we are now recording our warrants as liabilities on our balance sheet measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, with changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A Common Stock and/or our financial results. In addition, potential targets may seek a SPAC that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate a Business Combination.
Additionally, in connection with our evaluation of the warrants in connection with the SEC Statement, our management reassessed the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures and concluded that, due solely to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Restatement, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2020. And with respect to our internal control over financial reporting, while there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, we plan to enhance our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time and may be time consuming and costly, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. 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 materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
Following the issuance of the SEC Statement, on May 10, 2021, after consultation with our independent registered public accounting firm, our management and our audit committee concluded that, in light of the SEC Statement, the Restatement was warranted. See “—Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, and because our warrants are accounted for as liabilities, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.” As part of such process, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
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.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Following the issuance of the SEC Statement, after consultation with our independent registered public accounting firm, our management and our audit committee concluded that the Restatement was warranted. See “—Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, and because our warrants are accounted for as liabilities, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.” In connection with the Restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
As a result of such material weakness, the Restatement, the change in accounting for the warrants, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the Restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a Business Combination.
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A provision of our Warrant Agreement may make it more difficult for use to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if we issue additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our Business Combination at a newly issued price of less than $9.20 per share of common stock, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the newly issued price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate a Business Combination with a target business.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of our Public Offering was more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to the Public Offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of our Public Offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of our Public Offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A Common Stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
| • | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| • | prior offerings of those companies; |
| • | our prospects for acquiring an operating business; |
| • | a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| • | our capital structure; |
| • | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| • | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of our Public Offering; and |
| • | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price was more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous Business Combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on an initial business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential 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 Business Combination within the prescribed time frame.
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We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the worldwide market value of our 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 Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (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.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our 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 fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our 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.
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Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A Common Stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include the ability of our Board to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar 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, 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 other similar actions 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, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent 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 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, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. However, there is no assurance that a court would enforce the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If a court were to find such provision 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. 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.
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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 a blank check 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.
Risks Relating to Lionheart Capital, our Sponsor and our management team
Past performance by members of our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Past performance by members of our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business Combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our Business Combination. You should not rely on the historical record of members of our management team’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
We may seek Business Combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
Although we intend to focus on identifying companies that apply innovative digital technologies and technology-enhanced services and solutions to the identification, design, development, construction, operation, financing, management and disposition of real estate properties, commonly referred to as “PropTech,” we will consider a Business Combination outside of our management’s area 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 or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in this sector after having expanded a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular Business Combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in our Public Offering 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 Amendment regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our 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.
Our ability to successfully effect our Business Combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our officers and directors, some of whom may join us following our Business Combination. The loss of officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our Business Combination is dependent upon the efforts of our officers and directors. The role of our officers and directors in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our officers and directors may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our 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 employ after our Business Combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. In addition, the officers and directors of a Business Combination candidate may resign upon completion of our Business Combination. The departure of a Business Combination target’s officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of a Business Combination candidate’s officers and directors upon the completion of our Business Combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of a Business Combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the Business Combination candidate following our Business Combination, it is possible that members of the management of a Business Combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of officers and directors could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a Business Combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a Business Combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Amendment to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our Business Combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the Trust Account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the Trust Account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
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| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| • | other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may attempt to complete our 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 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 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.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our Business Combination.
We may structure a 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 common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. 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 stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a Business Combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our Business Combination upon consummation of our Business Combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions. As a result, we may be able to complete our 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 Business Combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A Common Stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, all shares of Class A Common Stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate Business Combination.
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We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our 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 have not selected any specific Business Combination target but intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our Public Offering, the sale of the Private Units as well as proceeds we may receive from the Forward Purchase Agreement. As a result, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed Business Combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our Business Combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular Business Combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, the amount of additional financing we may be required to obtain could increase as a result of future growth capital needs for any particular transaction, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our Business Combination and/or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our Business Combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing outside of the Forward Purchase Agreement 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 Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our Trust Account, and our warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor entitled “If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share,” under certain circumstances our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon the liquidation of the Trust Account.
Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders (including Nomura) own shares representing 17.21% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (including the private shares and excluding the securities issuable pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A Common Stock. In addition, our Board, whose members were elected by certain of our initial stockholders, will be elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our 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 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 Business Combination.
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Our warrants and Founder Shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A Common Stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 11,500,000 shares of our Class A Common Stock as part of the Public Units offered in our Public Offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our Public Offering, we issued 650,000 units in the Private Placement.
Our executive offices are located at 4218 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33137 and our telephone number is (305) 573-3900. Our executive offices are provided to us by our Sponsor. Commencing on August 18, 2020, we have agreed to pay our Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this Amendment.
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
None.
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ITEM 5. Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
| (a) | Market Information |
Our Public Units began trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “LCAPU” on August 14, 2020. On October 9, 2020, we announced that holders of our units could elect to separately trade the Class A Common Stock and Public Warrants included in the units, or continue to trade the units without separating them. On October 8, 2020, the Class A Common Stock and Public Warrants began trading on Nasdaq under the symbols “LCAP” and “LCAPW,” respectively. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase of one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares of Class A Common Stock and will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our Business Combination or 12 months from the IPO Closing Date. Our warrants expire five years after the completion of our Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in “Item 1. Business.”
| (b) | Holders |
As of March 26, 2021, there were 10 holders of record of our units, two holders of record of our separately traded shares of Class A Common Stock and one holder of record of our separately traded Public Warrants.
| (c) | Dividends |
We have not paid any cash dividends on our Class A Common Stock or Class B Common Stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our Business Combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our Business Combination will be within the discretion of our Board at such time. In addition, our Board is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our Business Combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
| (d) | Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans |
None.
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| (e) | Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings |
Unregistered Sales
On January 10 2020, our Sponsor purchased 5,000,000 Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per share. Subsequently, on February 6, 2020, we effected a stock dividend of 0.15 shares for each Founder Share outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 5,750,000 Founder Shares. In July 2020, our Sponsor sold 82,500 Founder Shares to Nomura at their original purchase price. Our Public Offering was consummated on August 18, 2020.
Prior to the IPO Closing Date, we completed our Private Placement of an aggregate of 650,000 Private Units to our Sponsor and Nomura at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit, generating total proceeds, before expenses, of $6,500,000. The Private Units have terms and provisions that are identical to those of our Public Units sold as part of the units in our Public Offering, except that our Private Units may be physical (cash) or net share (cashless) settled and are not redeemable so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees. If our Private Units are held by holders other than our Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Units will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Units.
The sales of the above securities by the Company were exempt from registration in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering.
Use of Proceeds
On August 12, 2020, our registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-240130) was declared effective by the SEC for the Public Offering pursuant to which we sold an aggregate of 20,000,000 Units at an offering price to the public of $10.00 per Unit, including 3,000,000 Units in the Over-Allotment, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000.
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After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions, which amount will be payable upon the consummation of our Business Combination, if consummated) and the offering expenses, the total net proceeds from our Public Offering and the sale of the Private Units were $231,451,513, of which $230,000,000 (or $10.00 per Public Unit sold in the Public Offering) was placed in the Trust Account in the United States maintained by the Trustee.
Through December 31, 2020, we incurred approximately $478,937 for costs and expenses related to the Public Offering. At the closing of the Public Offering, we paid a total of $4,600,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions. In addition, the underwriter agreed to defer $8,050,000 in underwriting commissions, which amount will be payable upon the consummation of our Business Combination. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our Public Offering as described in our final prospectus dated August 14, 2020 which was filed with the SEC.
Our Sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, that we will have only 18 months from the IPO Closing Date to complete our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination within such 18-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 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 our Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
As of December 31, 2020, after giving effect to our Public Offering and our operations subsequent thereto, approximately $230,011,254 was held in the Trust Account, and we had approximately $1,017,137 of unrestricted cash available to us for our activities in connection with identifying and conducting due diligence of a suitable Business Combination, and for general corporate matters.
ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data
Not applicable.
ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Amendment. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Amendment.
Overview
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on December 23, 2019 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar Business Combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with a Business Combination (pursuant to the forward purchase agreement with Nomura and pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements, 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.
Restatement and Revision of Previously Issued Financial Statements
As per part of Amendment No.1, this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) was amended and restated to give effect to the the prior restatement (the "Initial Restatement"), which primarily related to consideration of the factors in determining whether to classify contracts that may be settled in an entity’s own stock as equity of the entity or as an asset or liability in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. We previously restated our historical financial results to reclassify our Public Warrants and Private Warrants as derivative liabilities pursuant to ASC 815-40 rather than as a component of equity as we had previously treated the warrants. The impact of the Initial Restatement is reflected in the MD&A below. Other than as disclosed in the Explanatory Note and with respect to the impact of the Initial Restatement and the additional restatement discussed below, no other information in this MD&A has been amended and this MD&A does not reflect any events occurring after the Original 10-K. The impact of the Initial Restatement is more fully described in Note 2 to our financial statements included in “Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules” and “Item 9A. Controls and Procedures” in this Amendment.
As per part of Amendment No.2, this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations has been amended and restated to give effect to the restatement and revision of our Original Financial Statements. We are restating our historical financial results to reclassify our temporary equity and permanent equity. The impact of the restatement is reflected in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations below. Other than as disclosed in the Explanatory Note and with respect to the impact of this additional restatement, no other information in this Item 7 has been amended and this Item 7 does not reflect any events occurring after the Original Filing. The impact of the restatement is more fully described in Note 2 to our financial statements included in Item 15 of Part IV of this Amendment and Item 9A: Controls and Procedures, both contained herein.
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Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from December 23, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2020 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and, subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We expect to generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held after the Initial Public Offering. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
As a result of the Restatement described in Note 2 of the Notes to the Financial Statements included herein, we classify the warrants issued in connection with our Public Offering as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the warrant instrument to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $2,061,769, which consists of operating costs of $1,472,168 and transaction costs relating to the Public Offering of $837,355. These costs are offset by interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $11,254, and by a change in fair value of warrant liability of $236,500.
For the period from December 23, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, we had net loss of $1,000, which consisted of operating costs.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Until the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, our only source of liquidity was an initial purchase of common stock by the Sponsor and loans from our Sponsor.
On August 18, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 20,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 650,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to our stockholders, generating gross proceeds of $6,500,000.
On August 24, 2020, in connection with the underwriters’ election to fully exercise of their option to purchase additional Units, we consummated the sale of an additional 3,000,000 Units, generating total gross proceeds of $30,000,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the full exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters’ and the sale of the Private Placement Units, a total of $230,000,000 was placed in the Trust Account and we had $1,421,063 of cash held outside of the Trust Account, after payment of costs related to the Initial Public Offering, and available for working capital purposes. We incurred $13,128,937 in transaction costs, including $4,600,000 of underwriting fees, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $478,937 of other offering costs.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $434,376, which consisted of our net loss of $2,061,769, interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $11,254, a non-cash charge in the fair value of warrant liabilities of $236,500, transaction costs of $837,355, and changes in operating assets and liabilities, which provided $1,037,792 of cash from operating activities.
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $230,011,254. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account to complete our Business Combination. We may withdraw interest to pay franchise and income taxes. During the period year ended December 31, 2020, we did not withdraw any interest earned on the Trust Account. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash of $1,017,137 outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, on February 21, 2021, the Sponsor, Lionheart Equities, LLC, committed up to $750,000 in loans to the Company for continuing operations to consummate a business combination. The loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured, and to be repaid upon the consummation of a business combination. In the event that a business combination does not occur, then all loaned amounts under this commitment will be forgiven except to the extent that the Company has funds available to it outside the trust account.
In addition, the Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor, or our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the Private Placement Units. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The loans would be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest.
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We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our 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 Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, on February 21, 2021, the Sponsor committed up to $750,000 in loans to the Company for continuing operations to consummate a business combination. The loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured, and to be repaid upon the consummation of a business combination. In the event that a business combination does not occur, then all loaned amounts under this commitment will be forgiven except to the extent that the Company has funds available to it outside the trust account.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020.
Contractual obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay the Sponsor a monthly fee of $15,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support to the Company. We began incurring these fees on August 14, 2020 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Warrant Liability
We account for the Public Warrants and Private Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40 under which the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, we classify our warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The Private Warrants and the Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our common stock subject to possible conversion in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our condensed consolidated balance sheets.
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Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per common stock is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common stocks outstanding for the period. We apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stocks is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
The calculation of diluted income (loss) per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering, and (ii) the private placement since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. The warrants are exercisable to purchase 11,825,000 Class A common stocks in the aggregate. As of December 30, 2020, we did not have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stocks and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted net loss per common stock is the same as basic net loss per common stock for the periods presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering, the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, including amounts in the Trust Account, have been invested in U.S. government treasury bills, notes or bonds with a maturity of 180 days or less or in certain money market funds that invest solely in US treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
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ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
LIONHEART ACQUISITION CORPORATION II
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To
the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from December 23, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, 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, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from December 23, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Restatement of Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the accompanying financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and the year then ended have been restated.
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 audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
Houston, Texas
March 31, 2021, except for the effects of Amendment #1 related to the reclassification of warrants discussed in Notes 2 and 11, as to which the date is May 19, 2021, and except for the effects of Amendment #2 related to the reclassification of Class A shares to temporary equity discussed in Note 2 as to which the date is December 6, 2021.
F-2
LIONHEART ACQUISITION CORPORATION II
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| (As Restated) | ||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current Assets | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | 1,017,137 | $ | — | ||||
| Prepaid expenses | 124,766 | — | ||||||
| Total Current Assets | 1,141,903 | — | ||||||
| Deferred offering costs | — | 26,171 | ||||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account | 230,011,254 | — | ||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 231,153,157 | $ | 26,171 | ||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | ||||||||
| Current Liabilities | ||||||||
| Accrued expenses | $ | 1,163,558 | $ | 1,000 | ||||
| Accrued offering costs | 5,450 | 26,171 | ||||||
| Total Current Liabilities | 1,169,008 | 27,171 | ||||||
| Warrant liability | 13,365,500 | — | ||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | 8,050,000 | — | ||||||
| Total Liabilities | 22,584,508 | 27,171 | ||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies (Note 7) | ||||||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, 23,000,000 and no shares at redemption value as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively | 230,000,000 | — | ||||||
| Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | ||||||||
| Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | — | — | ||||||
| Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 650,000 and no shares issued and outstanding (excluding 23,000,000 and no shares subject to possible redemption) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively | 65 | — | ||||||
| Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 and no shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 | 575 | — | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | — | — | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (21,431,991 | ) | (1,000 | ) | ||||
| Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | (21,431,351 | ) | (1,000 | ) | ||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | $ | 231,153,157 | $ | 26,171 | ||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
LIONHEART ACQUISITION CORPORATION II
| Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from December 23, 2019 (Inception) Through December 31, | |||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| (As Restated) | ||||||||
| Operating costs | $ | 1,472,168 | $ | 1,000 | ||||
| Loss from operations | (1,472,168 | ) | (1,000 | ) | ||||
| Other income (expenses): | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | 236,500 | $ | — | |||||
| Transaction costs | (837,355 | ) | ||||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | 11,254 | |||||||
| Other income (expenses), net | (589,601 | ) | (1,000 | ) | ||||
| Net loss | $ | (2,061,769 | ) | $ | (1,000 | ) | ||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock | 8,674,180 | — | ||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A common stock | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | 0.00 | |||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B common stock | 5,127,732 | — | ||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B common stock | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | (0.00 | ) | ||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
LIONHEART ACQUISITION CORPORATION II
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Stockholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 23, 2019 (inception) | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | (1,000 | ) | (1,000 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2019 | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | (1,000 | ) | $ | (1,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | — | — | 5,750,000 | 575 | 24,425 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of 650,000 Private Placement Units | 650,000 | 65 | — | — | 6,123,809 | — | 6,123,874 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion to common stock subject to redemption amount | — | — | — | — | (6,148,234 | ) | (19,369,222 | ) | (25,517,456 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | (2,061,769 | ) | (2,061,769 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2020 (As Restated) | 650,000 | $ | 65 | 5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | — | $ | (21,431,991 | ) | $ | (21,431,351 | ) | ||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
LIONHEART ACQUISITION CORPORATION II
Year Ended December 31, | For
the December 31, | |||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| (As Restated) | ||||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (2,061,769 | ) | $ | (1,000 | ) | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
Change in fair value of warrants | (236,500 | ) | — | |||||
| Transaction costs | 837,355 | — | ||||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | (11,254 | ) | — | |||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses | (124,766 | ) | — | |||||
| Accrued expenses | 1,162,558 | 1,000 | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (434,376 | ) | — | |||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||
| Investment of cash into Trust Account | (230,000,000 | ) | — | |||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (230,000,000 | ) | — | |||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | 25,000 | — | ||||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | 225,400,000 | — | ||||||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Units | 6,500,000 | — | ||||||
| Proceeds from promissory notes – related party | 140,671 | — | ||||||
| Repayment of promissory notes – related party | (140,671 | ) | — | |||||
| Payment of offering costs | (473,487 | ) | — | |||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 231,451,513 | — | ||||||
| Net Change in Cash | 1,017,137 | — | ||||||
| Cash – Beginning | — | — | ||||||
| Cash – Ending | $ | 1,017,137 | $ | — | ||||
| Non-cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
| Initial classification of common stock subject to redemption | $ | 230,000,000 | $ | — | ||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | 8,050,000 | $ | — | ||||
| Offering costs included in accrued offering costs | 5,450 | 26,171 | ||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II (formerly known as Lionheart Acquisition Corp.) (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on December 23, 2019. The Company was 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 (the “Business Combination”).
Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus its search on businesses that apply innovative digital technologies and technology-enhanced services and solutions to the identification, design, development, construction, operation, financing, management and disposition of real estate properties, commonly referred to as “PropTech.” The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from December 23, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and, subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on August 12, 2020. On August 18, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 20,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000, which is described in Note 4.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 650,000 units (the “Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to Lionheart Equities, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company (the “Sponsor”), and Nomura Securities International, Inc. (“Nomura”), an underwriter in the Initial Public Offering, generating gross proceeds of $6,500,000, which is described in Note 5.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on August 18, 2020, an amount of $200,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) located in the United States and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account, as described below.
On August 20, 2020, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to exercise their over-allotment option in full, resulting in an additional 3,000,000 Units issued on August 24, 2020 for $30,000,000. A total of $30,000,000 was deposited into the Trust Account, bringing the aggregate proceeds held in the Trust Account to $230,000,000.
Transaction costs amounted to $13,128,937 consisting of $4,600,000 of underwriting fees, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $478,937 of other offering costs.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete a Business Combination with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
F-7
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to public stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 7). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
The Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors and Nomura have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 6), Private Placement Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to any Founder’s Shares, Private Placement Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of the ability of holders of the Public Shares to seek redemption in connection with a Business Combination or the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
F-8
The Company will have until February 18, 2022 to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company is unable to complete a 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 subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The Sponsor and Nomura have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Private Placement Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial stockholders or any of their respective affiliates acquire Public Shares after the Initial Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to 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 discussed entering into a transaction 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 Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At December 31, 2020, the Company had cash outside the trust of $1,017,137 and working capital of $50,240. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. On February 21, 2021, the Sponsor committed up to $750,000 in loans to the Company for continuing operations to consummate a business combination. The loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured, and to be repaid upon the consummation of a business combination. In the event that a business combination does not occur, then all loaned amounts under this commitment will be forgiven except to the extent that the Company has funds available to it outside the trust account. In addition, the Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor, or our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required (see Note 6 Related Party Loans). The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Risks and Uncertainties
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic which continues to spread throughout the United States and the World. As of the date the financial statements were issued, there was considerable uncertainty around the expected duration of this pandemic. The Company has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that COVID-19 could have a negative effect on identifying a target company for a Business Combination, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
F-9
NOTE 2 — RESTATEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Amendment #1
The Company previously accounted for its outstanding Public Warrants (as defined in Note 4) and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) issued in connection with its Initial Public Offering as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities. The warrant agreement governing the Warrants includes a provision that provides for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant. In addition, the warrant agreement includes a provision that in the event of a tender offer or exchange offer made to and accepted by holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a single class of stock, all holders of the Warrants would be entitled to receive cash for their Warrants (the “tender offer provision”).
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC 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 (the “Warrant Agreement”). Additionally, the Company revised the Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity to present temporary equity separate from permanent equity, which allows for better alignment to the presentation of the Company’s Balance Sheets.
In further consideration of the SEC Statement, the Company’s management further evaluated the Warrants under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. ASC Section 815-40-15 addresses equity versus liability treatment and classification of equity-linked financial instruments, including warrants, and states that a warrant may be classified as a component of equity only if, among other things, the warrant is indexed to the issuer’s common stock. Under ASC Section 815-40-15, a warrant is not indexed to the issuer’s common stock if the terms of the warrant require an adjustment to the exercise price upon a specified event and that event is not an input to the fair value of the warrant. Based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the Company’s Private Placement Warrants are not indexed to the Company’s common stock in the manner contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-15 because the holder of the instrument is not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on equity shares. In addition, based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the tender offer provision fails the “classified in stockholders’ equity” criteria as contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-25.
As a result of the above, the Company should have classified the Warrants as derivative liabilities in its previously issued financial statements. Under this accounting treatment, the Company is required to measure the fair value of the Warrants at the end of each reporting period as well as re-evaluate the treatment of the warrants (including on August 18, 2020, September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2020) and recognize changes in the fair value from the prior period in the Company’s operating results for the current period.
The Company’s accounting for the Warrants as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities did not have any effect on the Company’s previously reported investments held in trust, operating expenses, cash flows or cash.
| As | As Restated | |||||||||||
| Previously | Per Amendment | |||||||||||
| Reported | Adjustments | #1 | ||||||||||
| Balance sheet as of August 18, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Warrant liability | $ | - | $ | 13,602,000 | $ | 13,602,000 | ||||||
| Total Liabilities | 7,176,121 | 13,602,000 | 20,778,121 | |||||||||
| Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption | 190,045,060 | (13,602,000 | ) | 176,443,060 | ||||||||
| Class A Common Stock | 165 | 136 | 301 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 5,000,263 | 837,220 | 5,837,483 | |||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit | (1,000 | ) | (837,356 | ) | (838,356 | ) | ||||||
| 5,000,003 | - | 5,000,003 | ||||||||||
| Number of Class A common stock subject to redemption | 19,004,506 | (1,360,200 | ) | 17,644,306 | ||||||||
| Balance sheet as of September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Warrant liability | $ | - | $ | 13,135,500 | $ | 13,135,500 | ||||||
| Total Liabilities | 8,126,283 | 13,135,500 | 21,261,783 | |||||||||
| Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption | 218,312,810 | (13,135,500 | ) | 205,177,310 | ||||||||
| Class A Common Stock | 182 | 131 | 313 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 5,082,496 | 370,725 | 5,453,221 | |||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit | (83,243 | ) | (370,856 | ) | (454,099 | ) | ||||||
| 5,000,010 | - | 5,000,010 | ||||||||||
| Number of Class A common stock subject to redemption | 21,831,281 | (1,313,550 | ) | 20,517,731 | ||||||||
| Balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Warrant liability | $ | - | $ | 13,365,500 | $ | 13,365,500 | ||||||
| Total Liabilities | 9,219,008 | 13,365,500 | 22,584,508 | |||||||||
| Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption | 216,934,140 | (13,365,500 | ) | 203,568,640 | ||||||||
| Class A Common Stock | 196 | 133 | 329 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 6,461,152 | 600,722 | 7,061,874 | |||||||||
F-10
| Accumulated Deficit | (1,461,914 | ) | (600,855 | ) | (2,062,769 | ) | ||||||
| 5,000,009 | - | 5,000,009 | ||||||||||
| Number of Class A common stock subject to redemption | 21,693,414 | (1,336,550 | ) | 20,356,864 | ||||||||
| Statement of Operations for the Three months ended September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | - | 466,499 | 466,499 | |||||||||
| Transaction costs | - | (837,355 | ) | (837,355 | ) | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (82,243 | ) | $ | (370,856 | ) | $ | (453,099 | ) | |||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, common stock subject to possible redemption | - | 18,952,768 | 18,952,768 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net earnings per share, common stock subject to possible redemption | 0.00 | - | 0.00 | |||||||||
| Weighted average non-redeemable common shares outstanding, basic and diluted | 5,952,197 | (2,577,316 | ) | 3,374,881 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per non-redeemable common share | $ | (0.02 | ) | 0.02 | 0.00 | |||||||
| Statement of Operations for the Nine months ended September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | - | 466,499 | 466,499 | |||||||||
| Transaction costs | - | (837,355 | ) | (837,355 | ) | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (82,243 | ) | $ | (370,856 | ) | $ | (453,099 | ) | |||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, common stock subject to possible redemption | 15,112,852 | 3,839,915 | 18,952,768 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net earnings per share, common stock subject to possible redemption | 0.00 | - | 0.00 | |||||||||
| Weighted average non-redeemable common shares outstanding, basic and diluted | 3,895,358 | (470,933 | ) | 3,424,425 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per non-redeemable common share | (0.02 | ) | 0.02 | 0.00 | ||||||||
| Statement of Operations for the Year ended December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | - | 236,500 | 236,500 | |||||||||
| Transaction costs | - | (837,355 | ) | (837,355 | ) | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (1,460,914 | ) | $ | (600,855 | ) | $ | (2,061,769 | ) | |||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, common stock subject to possible redemption | 16,131,141 | 4,192,832 | 20,323,974 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net earnings per share, common stock subject to possible redemption | 0.00 | - | 0.00 | |||||||||
| Weighted average non-redeemable common shares outstanding, basic and diluted | 4,542,198 | (2,223,472 | ) | 2,318,726 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per non-redeemable common share | $ | (0.32 | ) | (0.57 | ) | (0.89 | ) | |||||
| Cash Flow Statement for the Nine months ended September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (82,243 | ) | $ | (370,856 | ) | $ | (453,099 | ) | |||
| Allocation of initial public offering costs | - | 837,356 | 837,356 | |||||||||
| Initial classification of warrant liability | - | 13,602,000 | 13,602,000 | |||||||||
| Initial classification of common stock subject to possible redemption | 218,395,060 | (13,602,000 | ) | 204,793,060 | ||||||||
| Change in value of common stock subject to possible redemption | (82,250 | ) | 466,500 | 384,250 | ||||||||
| Cash Flow Statement for the Year ended December 31, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (1,460,914 | ) | $ | (600,856 | ) | $ | (2,061,770 | ) | |||
| Allocation of initial public offering costs | - | 837,356 | 837,356 | |||||||||
| Initial classification of warrant liability | - | 13,602,000 | 13,602,000 | |||||||||
| Initial classification of common stock subject to possible redemption | 218,395,060 | (13,602,000 | ) | 204,793,060 | ||||||||
| Change in value of common stock subject to possible redemption | (1,460,920 | ) | 236,500 | (1,224,420 | ) |
F-11
Amendment #2
In connection with the preparation of the Company’s financial statements as of September 30, 2021, management identified errors made in its historical financial statements where, at the closing of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, the Company improperly valued its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption. The Company previously determined the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption to be equal to the redemption value of $10.00 per share of Class A common stock while also taking into consideration a redemption cannot result in net tangible assets being less than $5,000,001. Management determined that the Class A common stock issued during the Initial Public Offering can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered outside the Company’s control. Therefore, management concluded that the redemption value should include all shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, resulting in the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption being equal to their redemption value. As a result, management has noted a reclassification error related to temporary equity and permanent equity. This resulted in an adjustment to the initial carrying value of the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption with the offset recorded to additional paid-in capital (to the extent available), accumulated deficit and Class A common stock.
In connection with the change in presentation for the Class A common stock subject to redemption, the Company also restated its income (loss) per common stock calculated to allocate net income (loss) evenly to Class A and Class B common stock. This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of common stock pro rata in the income (loss) of the Company. There is no impact to the reported amounts for total assets, total liabilities, cash flows, or net income (loss).
The impact of the restatement on the Company’s financial statements is reflected in the following table.
| As Reported | As Restated | |||||||||||
| Per Amendment #1 | Adjustment | Per Amendment #2 | ||||||||||
| Balance Sheet as of August 18, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 176,443,060 | $ | 23,556,940 | $ | 200,000,000 | ||||||
| Class A common stock | $ | 301 | $ | (236 | ) | $ | 65 | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | $ | 5,837,483 | $ | (5,837,483 | ) | $ | — | |||||
| Accumulated deficit | $ | (838,356 | ) | $ | (17,719,221 | ) | $ | (18,557,577 | ) | |||
| Total Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | $ | 5,000,003 | $ | (23,556,940 | ) | $ | (18,556,937 | ) | ||||
| Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 205,177,310 | $ | 24,822,690 | $ | 230,000,000 | ||||||
| Class A common stock | $ | 313 | $ | (248 | ) | $ | 65 | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | $ | 5,453,221 | $ | (5,453,221 | ) | $ | — | |||||
| Accumulated deficit | $ | (454,099 | ) | $ | (19,369,221 | ) | $ | (19,823,320 | ) | |||
| Total Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | $ | 5,000,010 | $ | (24,822,690 | ) | $ | (19,822,680 | ) | ||||
| Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 203,568,640 | $ | 26,431,360 | $ | 230,000,000 | ||||||
| Class A common stock | $ | 329 | $ | (264 | ) | $ | 65 | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | $ | 7,061,874 | $ | (7,061,874 | ) | $ | — | |||||
| Accumulated deficit | $ | (2,062,769 | ) | $ | (19,369,222 | ) | $ | (21,431,991 | ) | |||
| Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | $ | 5,000,009 | $ | (26,431,360 | ) | $ | (21,431,351 | ) | ||||
| Statement of Operations for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A Common Stock | 18,952,768 | (8,094,616 | ) | 10,858,152 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net (loss) per share, Class A | $ | — | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | ||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B Common Stock | 3,374,881 | (1,926,749 | ) | 5,301,630 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net (loss) per share, Class B Common Stock | $ | — | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | ||||
| Statement of Operations for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A Common Stock | 18,952,768 | (15,306,965 | ) | 3,645,803 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net (loss) per share, Class A | $ | — | $ | (0.05 | ) | $ | (0.05 | ) | ||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B Common Stock | 3,424,425 | 1,494,371 | 4,918,796 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net (loss) per share, Class B Common Stock | $ | — | $ | (0.05 | ) | $ | (0.05 | ) | ||||
| Statement of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A Common Stock | 20,323,974 | (11,649,794 | ) | 8,674,180 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net (loss) per share, Class A | $ | — | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | (0.15 | ) | ||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B Common Stock | 2,318,726 | 2,809,006 | 5,127,732 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net (loss) per share, Class B Common Stock | $ | (0.89 | ) | $ | 0.74 | $ | (0.15 | ) | ||||
| Statement of Cash Flows for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Initial classification of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 204,793,060 | $ | 25,206,940 | $ | 230,000,000 | ||||||
| Change in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 384,250 | $ | (384,250 | ) | $ | — | |||||
| Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Initial classification of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 204,793,060 | $ | 25,206,940 | $ | 230,000,000 | ||||||
| Change in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | (1,224,420 | ) | $ | 1,224,420 | $ | — | |||||
| Statement of Changes in Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) for the Period Ended September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Sale of 23,000,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts | $ | 204,482,544 | $ | (204,482,544 | ) | $ | — | |||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | (205,177,310 | ) | $ | 205,177,310 | $ | — | |||||
| Accretion to common stock subject to redemption amount | $ | — | $ | (25,517,456 | ) | $ | (25,517,456 | ) | ||||
| Total Stockholders' Equity | 5,000,010 | (24,822,690 | ) | (19,822,680 | ) | |||||||
| Statement of Changes in Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) for the Year Ended December 30, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Change in value of common stock subject to redemption | $ | 1,608,670 | $ | (1,608,670 | ) | $ | — | |||||
| Sale of 23,000,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts | $ | 204,482,544 | $ | (204,482,544 | ) | $ | — | |||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | (205,177,310 | ) | $ | 205,177,310 | $ | — | |||||
| Accretion to common stock subject to redemption amount | $ | — | $ | (25,517,456 | ) | $ | (25,517,456 | ) | ||||
| Total Stockholders' Equity | $ | 5,000,009 | $ | (26,431,360 | ) | $ | (21,431,351 | ) |
F-12
NOTE 3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements is presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s 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 the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2020, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury Securities.
F-13
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption (Restated – See Note 2 – Amendment #2)
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature 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) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2020, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
At December 31, 2020, the Class A common stock reflected in the condensed consolidated balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds | $ | 230,000,000 | ||
| Less: | ||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | $ | (13,225,000 | ) | |
| Class A common stock issuance costs | $ | (12,292,456 | ) | |
| Plus: | ||||
| Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | $ | 25,517,456 | ||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 230,000,000 |
Warrant Liability
The Company accounts for the Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40-15-7D and 7F under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, the Company classifies the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjusts the Warrants to fair value at the end of each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The Private Warrants and the Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was enacted in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Under ASC 740, the effects of changes in tax rates and laws are recognized in the period which the new legislation is enacted. The CARES Act made various tax law changes including among other things (i) increasing the limitation under Section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “IRC”) for 2019 and 2020 to permit additional expensing of interest (ii) enacting a technical correction so that qualified improvement property can be immediately expensed under IRC Section 168(k), (iii) making modifications to the federal net operating loss rules including permitting federal net operating losses incurred in 2018, 2019, and 2020 to be carried back to the five preceding taxable years in order to generate a refund of previously paid income taxes and (iv) enhancing the recoverability of alternative minimum tax credits.
Net Loss Per Common Share (Restated – See Note 2 – Amendment #1)
Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Public Offering and Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 11,825,000 shares in the calculation of diluted loss per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive.
F-14
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for common shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income (loss) per share. Net income per common share, basic and diluted, for Common stock subject to possible redemption is calculated by dividing the proportionate share of income or loss on marketable securities held by the Trust Account, net of applicable franchise and income taxes, by the weighted average number of Common stock subject to possible redemption outstanding since original issuance.
Net loss per share, basic and diluted, for non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net loss, adjusted for income or loss on marketable securities attributable to Common stock subject to possible redemption, by the weighted average number of non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the period.
Non-redeemable common stock includes Founder Shares and non-redeemable shares of common stock as these shares do not have any redemption features. Non-redeemable common stock participates in the income or loss on marketable securities based on non-redeemable common stock shares’ proportionate interest.
| Year ended December 31, 2020 | For the Period from December 23, 2019 (Inception) through December 31, 2019 | |||||||
|
(As Restated) | |||||||
| Common stock subject to possible redemption | ||||||||
| Numerator: Earnings allocable to Common stock subject to possible redemption | ||||||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Less: Income taxes and franchise fees | $ | (11,254 | ) | $ | — | |||
| Net loss allocable to shares subject to possible redemption | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Denominator: Weighted Average Common stock subject to possible redemption | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | 21,833,901 | — | ||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share | $ | 0.00 | $ | — | ||||
| Non-Redeemable Common Stock | ||||||||
| Numerator: Net Loss minus Net Earnings | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (2,061,769 | ) | $ | (1,000 | ) | ||
| Net loss allocable to Common stock subject to possible redemption | — | — | ||||||
| Non-Redeemable Net Loss | $ | (2,061,769 | ) | $ | (1,000 | ) | ||
| Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Common Stock | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | $ | 2,318,726 | — | |||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share | $ | (0.89 | ) | $ | (0.00 | ) | ||
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share (Restated – See Note 2 – Amendment #2)
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per common stock is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common stocks outstanding for the period. The Company applies the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stocks is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
The calculation of diluted income (loss) per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering, and (ii) the private placement since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. The warrants are exercisable to purchase 11,825,000 Class A common stocks in the aggregate. As of December 31, 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stocks and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted net loss per common stock is the same as basic net loss per common stock for the periods presented.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per common stock (in dollars, except per share amounts):
| For the Year Ended | ||||||||
| December 31, 2020 | ||||||||
| Class A | Class B | |||||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per common stock | ||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||
| Allocation of net income (loss), as adjusted | $ | (1,295,774 | ) | $ | (765,995 | ) | ||
| Denominator: | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average stock outstanding | 8,674,180 | 5,127,732 | ||||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per common stock | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | (0.15 | ) | ||
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account.
F-15
Fair value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature.
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. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
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”. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards update, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 4. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 23,000,000 Units, inclusive of 3,000,000 Units sold to the underwriters on August 24, 2020 upon the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their option to purchase additional Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 9).
NOTE 5. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor and Nomura purchased an aggregate of 650,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $6,500,000. Each Private Placement Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock (“Private Placement Share”) and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Private Placement Warrant”). Each whole Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 9). A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Units were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. The Private Placement Units are identical to the Public Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except as described in Note 9. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Units will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and underlying securities will be worthless.
NOTE 6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On January 10, 2020, the Sponsor purchased 5,000,000 shares (the “Founder’s Shares”) of the Company’s Class B common stock for an aggregate price of $25,000. Subsequently, on February 6, 2020, the Company effected a stock dividend of 0.15 share for each Founder’s Share outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 5,750,000 Founder’s Shares. All share and per-share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the stock dividend.
The Founder’s Shares included an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the initial stockholders (including Nomura) would own, on an as-converted basis, 22.03% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (including the Private Placement Shares and assuming the initial stockholders do not purchase any Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering). As a result of the underwriters’ election to exercise their over-allotment option in full on August 24, 2020, the 750,000 Founder’s Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
F-16
The initial stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder’s Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) six months after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 30 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On January 10, 2020, the Company issued the Promissory Note to Lionheart Equities, LLC, the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate amount of $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Promissory Note of $140,671 was repaid on August 24, 2020.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company entered into an agreement whereby, commencing on the August 14, 2020, the Company will pay the Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of the Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company incurred and paid $66,774 in fees for these services.
Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units identical to the Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per unit.
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on August 13, 2020, the holders of the Founder’s Shares, Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares, Private Placement Warrants, securities issuable pursuant to the forward purchase agreement (discussed below), the units that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, the shares of Class A common stock and the warrants issued as part of such units (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants included as part of the units that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder’s Shares) will be entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder’s Shares, only after conversion to the Company’s Class A common stock). The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Forward Purchase Agreement
Nomura entered into a forward purchase agreement with the Company, which provides for the purchase by Nomura of the Company’s Public Shares for an aggregate purchase price of up to $100.0 million through, other than as described below, open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions with one or more third parties. In lieu of purchasing Public Shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions, up to $85.0 million of such aggregate purchase price may instead be in the form of an investment in the Company’s equity securities on terms to be mutually agreed between Nomura and the Company, to occur concurrently with the closing of a Business Combination. In consideration of the forward purchase commitment, the Company will pay to Nomura (i) an amount equal to 2% of the aggregate purchase price of the purchases or investment requested by the Company pursuant to the forward purchase agreement (the “commitment fee”) plus (ii) an amount equal to the internal charges and carrying costs incurred by Nomura in connection with the forward purchase commitment (the “commitment carrying costs”) on a monthly basis during the period from and including the date the Company executes a definitive agreement for a Business Combination through the earlier of (x) the consummation of a Business Combination and (y) the date the Company notifies Nomura in writing that the Company does not require Nomura to provide the forward purchase commitment. Up to $1.0 million of aggregate commitment carrying costs, to the extent timely paid pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, may be credited against the commitment fee. If the Company requests that Nomura purchase or invest the full $100.0 million forward purchase commitment pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, a maximum of $1.0 million of the commitment carrying costs will not be credited toward the commitment fee. The decision to make such an investment in other equity securities will not reduce the aggregate purchase price. However, Nomura will be excused from its purchase obligation in connection with a specific business combination unless, within five business days following written notice delivered by the Company of its intention to enter into such Business Combination, Nomura notifies the Company that it has decided to proceed with the purchase in whole or in part. Nomura may decide not to proceed with the purchase for any reason, including, without limitation, if it has determined that such purchase would constitute a conflict of interest. Nomura will also be restricted from making purchases if they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
Nomura has also indicated its intent, if so requested by the Company, to use its commercially reasonable efforts to underwrite, arrange and/or syndicate up to $400 million of additional financing for the Company in the form of equity or debt (or a combination thereof) in connection with a Business Combination, subject to market conditions and on terms and conditions satisfactory in all respects to Nomura in its sole judgment and determination.
Right of First Refusal
The Company has agreed that, if Nomura offers to purchase any securities under the forward purchase agreement, it will have a “right of first refusal” to act as a bookrunner on any capital markets transaction issued in order to complete a Business Combination. In addition, so long as the investor owns 5% or more of the outstanding common stock of the post-business combination company on a fully-diluted basis, the Sponsor has agreed to use its best efforts and influence on the successor company to offer the investor a bookrunner role on any capital markets transaction. Any such bookrunner role will be pursuant to a separate agreement containing terms and conditions customary for the investor and mutually agreed upon by the Company or its successor company, as applicable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the right of first refusal will not have a duration of more than three years from the date of commencement of sales of the Initial Public Offering.
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Advisory Agreement
On October 16, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement with a service provider, pursuant to which the service provider will provide the Company with financial advisory services in connection with a potential acquisition (the “Acquisition”) and serve as the placement agent for the Company in connection with the sale of the Company’s equity or equity-linked securities (the “Securities”). The Company agreed to pay the service provider a cash fee of $7,350,000 as it relates to the financial advisory services, payable at the closing of such Acquisition and a cash fee equal to (i) 50% of 4.5% of the gross proceeds of the total Securities sold in the Acquisition , if there are only two advisors and (ii) 33.33% of 6% of the of the gross proceeds of the total Securities sold in the Acquisition, if there are only three advisors, however, shall not be less than 2% of the gross proceeds of the total Securities sold in the Acquisition. As of December 31, 2020, no amounts were incurred under this agreement.
NOTE 8. PERMANENT EQUITY AND TEMPORARY EQUITY (Restated – See Note 2 – Amendment #2)
Preferred Stock — On January 30, 2020, the Company amended Certificate of Incorporation such that the Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s Board of Directors. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding. The Company had no authorized, issued or outstanding shares of preferred stock.
Class A Common Stock — On January 30, 2020, the Company amended its Certificate of Incorporation such that the Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were 650,000 and no shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding, excluding 23,000,000 and no shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, respectively.
Class B Common Stock — On January 30, 2020, the Company amended its Certificate of Incorporation such that the Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were 5,750,000 and no shares of common stock issued and outstanding, respectively.
Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, except as required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination).
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NOTE 9. WARRANT LIABILITY
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 days, after the closing of a 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 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use its reasonable best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:
| • | 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; and |
| • | if, and only if, the reported last reported sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to each warrant holder. |
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption for cash, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
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In addition, if the Company issues additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of an initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of 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’s Shares or private placement securities held by them, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers of the Private Placement Units or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers of the Private Placement Units or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 10 — INCOME TAX
The Company’s net deferred tax assets (liability) at December 31, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Deferred tax assets (liability) | ||||||||
| Net operating loss carryforward | $ | 306,991 | $ | 210 | ||||
| Total deferred tax assets | 306,991 | 210 | ||||||
| Valuation Allowance | (306,991 | ) | (210 | ) | ||||
| Deferred tax assets (liability) | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
The income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from December 23, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019 consists of the following:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Federal | ||||||||
| Current | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Deferred | (306,781 | ) | (210 | ) | ||||
| State and Local | ||||||||
| Current | — | — | ||||||
| Deferred | — | — | ||||||
| Change in valuation allowance | 306,781 | 210 | ||||||
| Income tax provision | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had $1,461,863 and $1,000 of U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryovers available to offset future taxable income, respectively.
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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 year ended December 31, 2020, the change in the valuation allowance was $306,781. For the period from December 23, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, the change in the valuation allowance was $210.
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:
December 31, 2020 | December 31, 2019 | |||||||
| Statutory federal income tax rate | 21.0 | % | 21.0 | % | ||||
| State taxes, net of federal tax benefit | — | — | ||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | -6.1 | % | -- | |||||
| Valuation allowance | (14.9 | ) | (21.0 | ) | ||||
| Income tax provision | 0.0 | % | 0.0 | % | ||||
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities. The Company’s tax returns since inception remain open to examination by the taxing authorities.
NOTE 11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The Company follows the guidance in ASC 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually.
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
| Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. | |
| Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. | |
| Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
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The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 and 2019, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Description | Level | December 31, 2020 | December 31, 2019 | |||||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account | 1 | $ | 230,011,254 | $ | — | |||||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Public Warrants | 1 | 12,995,000 | ||||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Private Placement Warrants | 3 | 370,500 | ||||||||||
The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities on our balance sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the statement of operations.
The Public and Private Warrants were initially valued using a binomial Monte Carlo simulation Model, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. The Monte Carlo model’s primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the Private Warrants is the expected volatility of the common stock. The expected volatility as of the IPO date was derived from observable public warrant pricing on comparable ‘blank-check’ companies without an identified target. The expected volatility as of subsequent valuation dates was implied from the Company’s own public warrant pricing. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the warrants from the Units, the close price of the public warrant price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
The key inputs into the Monte Carlo simulation model for the Private Placement Warrants and Public Warrants were as follows at initial measurement, September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2020:
| Input | August 13, 2020 | September 30, 2020 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||||
| Risk-free interest rate | 0.42 | % | 0.38 | % | 0.51 | % | ||||||
| Trading days per year | 252 | 252 | 252 | |||||||||
| Expected volatility | 20.6 | % | 20.4 | % | 15.8 | % | ||||||
| Exercise price | $ | 11.50 | $ | 11.50 | $ | 11.50 | ||||||
| Stock Price | $ | 9.43 | $ | 9.41 | $ | 10.08 | ||||||
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities:
| Private
Placement | Public | Warrant
Liabilities | ||||||||||
| Fair value as of December 23, 2019 (inception) | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||
| Initial measurement on August 18, 2020 and over-allotment on August 20, 2020 | 377,000 | 13,225,000 | 13,602,000 | |||||||||
| Change in valuation inputs or other assumptions | (6,500 | ) | (230,000 | ) | (236,500 | ) | ||||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2020 | $ | 370,500 | $ | 12,995,000 | $ | 13,365,500 | ||||||
For the period ending December 31, 2020, a total of $13,255,000 was transferred out of Level 3 to Level 1.
NOTE 12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company 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, other than described below and in Note 2, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On February 21, 2021, the Sponsor committed up to $750,000 in loans to the Company for continuing operations to consummate a business combination. The loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured, and to be repaid upon the consummation of a business combination. In the event that a business combination does not occur, then all loaned amounts under this commitment will be forgiven except to the extent that the Company has funds available to it outside the trust account.
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ITEM 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosures
None.
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 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.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were not effective, due to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Form 10-Q present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Amendment does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of the Company’s registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
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Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Other than as noted below, during the most recently completed fiscal quarter, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, as the circumstances that led to the restatement of our financial statements described in this Amendment had not yet been identified. Management has implemented remediation steps to address the material weaknesses and to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
None.
ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
| Name | Age | Title | ||
| Ophir Sternberg | 50 | Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman | ||
| Trevor Barran | 45 | Chief Operating Officer and Director | ||
| Paul Rapisarda | 67 | Chief Financial Officer and Secretary | ||
| Steven Berrard | 66 | Director | ||
| Aman Kapadia | 44 | Director | ||
| Roger Meltzer | 70 | Director |
Ophir Sternberg, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer since inception, has over 28 years of experience acquiring, developing, repositioning and investing in all segments of the real estate industry, including office, industrial, retail, hospitality, ultra-luxury residential condominiums and land acquisitions. Mr. Sternberg is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Miami-based Lionheart Capital LLC, founded in 2010.
Mr. Sternberg began his career assembling, acquiring and developing properties in emerging neighborhoods in New York City, which established his reputation for identifying assets with unrealized potential and combining innovative partnerships with efficient financing structures to realize above average returns. Mr. Sternberg came to the United States in 1993 after completing three years of military service within an elite combat unit for the Israeli Defense Forces.
Under Mr. Sternberg’s leadership, Lionheart Capital executed numerous prominent real estate transactions and repositions, including The Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach, which resulted in a total sell-out value in excess of $550 million, as well as purchase of the development’s site, the former Miami Heart Institute. Additionally, Mr. Sternberg led the $120 million sale of The Seagull Hotel, making it the highest grossing hotel sale of 2020 in Miami Beach. Mr. Sternberg and Lionheart Capital are currently in development on a number of other projects, including retail properties in Miami’s fashion and culture epicenter, The Design District. In addition to The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach, Lionheart Capital also developed The Ritz-Carlton Residences Singer Island, Palm Beach, cementing a reputation for developing high-end luxury branded properties.
In 2017, Mr. Sternberg founded Out of the Box Ventures, LLC, a Lionheart Capital subsidiary, to acquire and reposition distressed retail properties throughout the United States. With over 30 properties in 17 states, Out of the Box Ventures currently controls over 6 million square feet of big box stores, shopping centers and enclosed regional mall properties with plans to improve and expand upon these acquisitions.
Mr. Sternberg and Lionheart Capital are dedicated to working with best-in-class operators and partners such as Marriot International. Lionheart Capital has been able to execute numerous, marquee transactions due largely in part to Mr. Sternberg’s extensive industry relationships particularly with key institutional investors.
In March 2020, Mr. Sternberg became Chairman of Nasdaq-listed OPES, a SPAC, which on June 30, 2020, announced a definitive agreement to merge with BurgerFi International LLC. The OPES-BurgerFi merger closed on December 16, 2020 to form BurgerFi International Inc., or BurgerFi, a fast-causal “better burger” concept that consists of approximately 125 restaurants nationally and internationally. Mr. Sternberg is the Chairman of the post-combination Nasdaq-listed company, BurgerFi (NASDAQ: BFI). The OPES team, led by Mr. Sternberg, evaluated over 50 potential targets and negotiated business combination terms with multiple candidates in a span of a few months and acquired BurgerFi at what it believed was an attractive multiple relative to its peers.
Mr. Sternberg is also the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV, each a SPAC that may seek to acquire a broad range of businesses upon the completion of their respective public offerings. Mr. Sternberg is qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive experience in acquiring, developing, repositioning and investing in all segments of the real estate industry.
Trevor Barran, our Chief Operating Officer and director, has also served as Chief Operating Officer at Out of the Box Ventures, a subsidiary of Lionheart Capital, since its inception in 2017. Mr. Barran brings over 20 years of experience developing and executing investment and operational strategies across the financial services, healthcare, technology, and real estate industries, including the last ten years acquiring and developing real estate properties. From 2013 until 2019, Mr. Barran served as Chief Executive Officer of Lionheart Nica S.A., Real Estate. Mr. Barran began his career in 1998 at the Mitchell Madison Group, Inc., a management consulting firm focused on improving financial and operational performance for large companies through strategic sourcing, performance improvement and big data, which was subsequently sold to USWeb/CKS Corp. for approximately $300 million in 1999 and eventually grew to over 8,500 employees with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. Subsequently, in 1999, Mr. Barran joined ScreamingMedia (NASDAQ:SCRM), later known as Pinnacor, a global technology platform focused on the aggregation and distribution of digital content over the Internet. Mr. Barran helped prepare ScreamingMedia for its $60 million initial public offering in 2000. ScreamingMedia, which underwent a series of acquisitions, is now a part of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). Other career milestones for Mr. Barran include founding and operating SACSA, s.a. (2016-2019), a resort construction company where he served as managing partner; founding and operating BioIntegral Surgical (2008-2010), a cardiovascular medical devices company where he served as Chief Executive Officer ; and co-founding a systematic global macro high-frequency trading fund, EagleStone Advisors (2010-2011). At EagleStone, Mr. Barran was instrumental in putting forward a day trading exchanged-traded fund (ETF) strategy. Additionally, in 2003, Mr. Barran participated in post-graduate work in computer science and artificial intelligence with Professor David Ackley in a joint program between the University of New Mexico and Santa Fe Research Institute. Mr. Barran earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 1998.
Paul Rapisarda, our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, also serves as Chief Financial Officer at Lionheart Capital and Out of the Box Ventures, a position he has held since 2019. Mr. Rapisarda is an experienced public company C-suite executive and investment banking professional with more than 25 years working in and for a variety of public and private companies. Prior to joining Lionheart Capital in June 2019 he served as Chief Financial Officer at Etrion Corp. (TSX:ETX), a dual-listed (Canada/Sweden) solar energy development company from October 2015 to December 2017. Etrion Corp. is part of The Lundin Group, a portfolio of 13 public companies in the energy and mining sectors with a combined market capitalization in excess of $16 billion, started or sponsored by the Lundin family. Mr. Rapisarda was responsible for managing all finance functions, including financial reporting, treasury & cash management, corporate finance, regulatory/SEC compliance matters and investor relations. In addition, Mr. Rapisarda established Garrison Capital Advisors LLC, a financial advisory and consulting services company in 2014. From 2008 to 2014, he worked for another dual-listed company (Canada/United States), Atlantic Power Corporation (NYSE:AT), most recently serving as Executive Vice President-Commercial Development. The company was a portfolio company controlled by Arclight Capital Partners, a private equity firm with $10.4 billion of assets under management and a focus on the energy sector. He was a key member of the executive team that successfully engineered the $1.8 billion merger with Capital Power Income L.P. and had primary responsibility for the investment of over $1.2 billion in capital from 2008-2012. Prior to Atlantic Power, Mr. Rapisarda worked for over 20 years in investment banking and private equity for several firms, including Compass Advisers LLP, Schroders, Merrill Lynch and BT Securities. He has also acted as a board member at several emerging growth companies, primarily in the energy, technology and infrastructure sectors. Mr. Rapisarda has a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Rapisarda currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer at, and is expected to serve as a director of, Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV Corp, both special purpose acquisition companies, upon the completion of their respective public offerings.
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Steven Berrard, our director, is a co-founder of e-commerce company RumbleOn Inc. and has served as its Chief Financial Officer since 2017 and has been a member of its Board of Directors since 2016. Mr. Berrard is the Managing Partner of New River Capital Partners, a private equity fund he co-founded in 1997. Mr. Berrard was the co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of AutoNation from 1996 to 1999. Prior to joining AutoNation, Mr. Berrard served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the world’s largest video store operator at the time. Mr. Berrard served as Chairman of Board of Jamba, Inc. from 2005 to 2007 and as its Chief Executive Officer from 2005 to 2006. Mr. Berrard served as President of Huizenga Holdings, Inc., a real estate management and development company, and served in various positions with subsidiaries of Huizenga Holdings, Inc. from 1981 to 1987. Mr. Berrard currently serves on the Board of Directors of Pivotal Fitness, Inc., a chain of fitness centers operating in Charleston, SC, a position he has held since 2014. He has previously served on the Boards of Directors of Swisher Hygiene Inc., from 2004 to 2014, Walter Investment Management Corp., from 2010 to 2017, Jamba, Inc., from 2005 to 2009, Viacom, Inc., from 1987 to 1996, Birmingham Steel, from 1999 to 2002, HealthSouth, from 2004 to 2006 and Boca Resorts, Inc., from 1996 to 2004. Mr. Berrard earned his B.S. in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University. Mr. Berrard joined the board of directors of BurgerFi in December 2020, and is also expected to serve as a director of Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV Corp, both special purpose acquisition companies, upon the completion of their respective public offerings.
Aman Kapadia, our director, has been the Managing Partner of Akaris Global Partners, an investment firm based in New York City, since September 2018. He brings 16 years of experience in public markets investing across capital structure, geographies, and industries. Prior to founding Akaris Global, from 2007 to 2018, Mr. Kapadia served as Partner and Managing Director at Fir Tree Partners, an investment firm formed in 1994 to apply the best practices of a private equity approach to opportunistic value investing. From 2016 until his departure in 2018, Mr. Kapadia was one of three individuals managing the firm with co-portfolio manager responsibilities. Previously, Mr. Kapadia was an analyst at Rockbay Capital Management, Severn River Capital Management, Sagamore Hill and McKinsey & Co. Mr. Kapadia received a J.D./M.B.A. from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, and an A.B. in Public and International Affairs, magna cum laude, from Princeton University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Roger Meltzer, our director, is a distinguished global leader, having produced substantial innovations for global firms, including one of the largest and most well-known firms in the world while demonstrating agility, compassion, and consistency, who has successfully navigated firms and local offices through challenges such as major worldwide financial headwinds, transnational cyberattacks and global pandemics, who has clearly established moral and business imperatives and has pioneered industry precedents for institutionalized equality, diversity and inclusivity and nurtured a global iconic pro bono effort, and who is known for leading and nurturing entrepreneurial, high performing, and team centric cultures. Mr. Meltzer has practiced law at DLA Piper LLP since 2007 and has held various roles: Global Co-Chairman, from 2015—2021, and currently as Chairman Emeritus; Americas Co-Chairman, since 2013; Member, Office of the Chair, since 2011; Member, Global Board, since 2008; Co-Chairman, U.S. Executive Committee, since 2013; Member, U.S. Executive Committee, since 2007; and Global Co-Chairman, Corporate Finance Practice, 2007 through 2015. Prior to joining DLA Piper LLP, Mr. Meltzer practiced law at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP from 1980 through 2007 where he was a member of the Executive Committee from 1987 through 2007, Co-Administrative Partner and Hiring Partner from 1987 through 1999, and Partner from 1984 through 2007. Mr. Meltzer currently serves on the Advisory Board of Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession (May 2015—Present); Board of Trustees, New York University Law School (September 2011—Present); and the Corporate Advisory Board, John Hopkins, Carey Business School (January 2009—December2012). He has previously served on the board of directors of: The Legal Aid Society (November 2013 to January 2020), Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (December 2000 to February 2020) and The Coinmach Service Corporation (December 2009 to June 2013). Mr. Meltzer has also received several awards and honors and has been actively involved in philanthropic activity throughout his career. Mr. Meltzer received Juris Doctor degree in law from New York University School of Law and an A.B. from Harvard College. In February 2021, Mr. Meltzer joined the board of directors and the audit committee of Haymaker Acquisition Corp. III (NASDAQ: HYAC), a special purpose acquisition corporation, and Ubicquia LLC, a privately-held smart lighting solutions provider. Mr. Meltzer is also expected to serve as a director nominee of Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV Corp, both special purpose acquisition companies, upon the completion of their respective public offerings.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We have five members of our Board. Members of our Board are elected in each year, but we may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our Business Combination. Our officers are appointed by our Board and serve at the discretion of our Board, rather than for specific terms of office. Our Board is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by our Board.
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Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our Board be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of a company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of our Board, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our Board has determined that Steven Berrard, Aman Kapadia and Roger Meltzer are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled “executive sessions” at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We have agreed to pay our Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our Business Combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. In addition, we may pay our Sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our Business Combination. These individuals will also 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 and will determine which fees and expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed.
After the completion of our Business Combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed 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 officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to our 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 Business Combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our 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 Business Combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential Business Combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of our Board of Directors
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-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
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Audit Committee
We established an audit committee of the Board. Steven Berrard, Aman Kapadia and Roger Meltzer serve as members of our audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our Board has determined that Steven Berrard qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| • | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| • | pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| • | reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| • | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors; |
| • | 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 auditors describing (i) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| • | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| • | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
We established a compensation committee of our Board. Steven Berrard, Aman Kapadia and Roger Meltzer serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Steven Berrard, Aman Kapadia and Roger Meltzer are independent.
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We 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 approving on an annual basis the compensation of all of our other officers; |
| • | reviewing on an annual basis 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; |
| • | if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
It is likely that prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, our compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such Business Combination.
Our compensation committee’s charter also provides that our compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of a listed company’s independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. Our 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. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
Our 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 the Board are advised to 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 director nominees. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our 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.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our Board.
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Code of Ethics
We adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees, and we have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to this Amendment. You will be able to review our Code of Ethics by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of our Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Conflicts of Interest
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our Business Combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Ophir Sternberg, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Paul Rapisarda, our Chief Financial Officer, each hold the same positions at Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV Corp, special purposes acquisition companies affiliated with our Sponsor. Steven Berrard and Roger Meltzer, two of our directors, are expected to serve as directors for each of Lionheart III Corp and Lionheart IV Corp upon the completion of their respective public offerings.
Investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
| • | In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| • | Our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares, private shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our Business Combination. Additionally, our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and private shares held by them if we fail to consummate our Business Combination within 18 months after the IPO Closing Date. If we do not complete our Business Combination within such 18-month period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Units held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the Private Warrants will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the Founder Shares will not be transferable, assignable by our Sponsor until the earlier of: (A) six months after the completion of our Business Combination or (B) subsequent to our Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 30 days after our Business Combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private shares and the Private Warrants and the Class A Common Stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by the initial purchasers of the Private Units or their permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our Business Combination. Since our Sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants following our Public Offering, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our Business Combination. Permitted transferees of the Founder Shares would be subject to the same restrictions. |
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| • | 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 Business Combination. |
| • | Our Sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a Business Combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended Business Combination. Up to $1 million of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the Private Units. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
| • | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
| • | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
| • | it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of 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.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
| Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
| Ophir Sternberg | BurgerFi International Inc. | Restaurant | Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | |||
| Lionheart Capital LLC | Real estate investment firm | Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| Lionheart Management LLC | Real estate holding company | Manager | ||||
| Out of the Box Holdings LLC | Retail space redevelopment company | Manager | ||||
| Lionheart III Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| Lionheart IV Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| Paul Rapisarda | Lionheart Capital LLC | Real estate investment firm | Chief Financial Officer | |||
| Lionheart Management LLC | Real estate holding company | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| Lionheart III Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| Lionheart IV Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| Out of the Box Holdings LLC | Retail space redevelopment company | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| Feeney Utility Services Group. | Utility infrastructure services company | Board Member | ||||
| Garrison Capital Advisors LLC | Financial consulting and advisory services company | Sole Member | ||||
| Trevor Barran | Out of the Box Holdings LLC | Retail space redevelopment company | Chief Operating Officer | |||
| Roger Meltzer | Haymaker Acquisition Corp. III | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Director | |||
| Lionheart III Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Director Nominee | ||||
| Lionheart IV Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Director Nominee | ||||
| Ubicquia LLC | Smart lighting solutions provider | Director | ||||
| Steven Berrard | BurgerFi International Inc. | Restaurant | Director | |||
| RumbleOn Inc. | E-commerce company | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| New River Capital Partners | Private equity fund | Managing Partner | ||||
| Lionheart III Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Director Nominee | ||||
| Lionheart IV Corp | Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation | Director Nominee | ||||
| Aman Kapadia | Akaris Global Partners | Investment firm | Managing Partner |
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Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers and directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has 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, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity.
We are not prohibited from pursuing a Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors. However, in the event we seek to complete our Business Combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, that such a Business Combination is fair to us from a financial point of view.
In the event that we submit our Business Combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our Sponsor, officers, directors and Nomura have agreed to vote any Founder Shares and private shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the Public Offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our 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.
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We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also 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 have purchased 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.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
ITEM 11. Executive Compensation
None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on August 18, 2020, we have agreed to pay monthly recurring expenses of $15,000 to our Sponsor for office space, administrative and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of a Business Combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. In addition, we may pay our Sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigation and completing our Business Combination. The individuals will also 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, executive officers, directors and our or their affiliates and will determine which fees and expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed.
After the completion of our Business Combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed Business Combination. 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 officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to our 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 a Business Combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after a 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 team to remain with us after the consummation of a Business Combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential Business Combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
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ITEM 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder
Matters
We have no compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance.
The following table sets forth information available to us as of March 26, 2021 with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock held by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock; |
| • | each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially own shares of our Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock; and |
| • | all executive 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 shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the Private Warrants, as they are not exercisable within 60 days of March 26, 2021.
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Percentage of Shares of Outstanding Common Stock |
||||||
| Lionheart Equities, LLC(2) | 4,922,500 | 16.74 | % | |||||
| Ophir Sternberg(2) | 4,922,500 | 16.74 | % | |||||
| Trevor Barran(3) | 20,000 | * | % | |||||
| Paul Rapisarda(4) | 40,000 | * | % | |||||
| Steven Berrard | — | — | % | |||||
| Aman Kapadia(5) | 720,000 | 2.45 | % | |||||
| Roger Meltzer | — | — | % | |||||
| Mark Walsh(6) | — | — | % | |||||
| All directors and executive officers as a group (6 individuals) | 5,702,500 | 19.40 | % | |||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | This table is based on 23,650,000 shares of Class A Common Stock and 5,750,000 shares of Class B Common Stock outstanding as of March 26, 2021. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC. Except as described in the footnotes below and subject to applicable community property laws and similar laws, we believe that each person listed above has sole voting and investment power with respect to such shares. Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of the entities, directors and executives in this table is 4218 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33137. | |
| (2) | Based solely upon information contained in a Schedule 13G filed on February 16, 2021, represents (i) 4,662,500 shares of Class B Common Stock and (ii) 260,000 shares of Class A Common Stock owned directly by Lionheart Equities, LLC, who shares voting and dispositive power over such shares with Mr. Sternberg. | |
| (3) | Based solely upon information contained in a Form 4 filed on August 20, 2020, represents (i) 5,000 shares of Class A Common Stock and (ii) 15,000 shares of Class B Common Stock owned directly by Mr. Barran. | |
| (4) | Based solely upon information contained in a Form 4 filed on August 20, 2020, represents (i) 10,000 shares of Class A Common Stock and (ii) 30,000 shares of Class B Common Stock owned directly by Mr. Rapisarda. | |
| (5) | Based solely upon information contained in a Form 4 filed on August 20, 2020, represents (i) 180,000 shares of Class A Common Stock purchased by vehicles and accounts managed by Akaris Global Partners LP (“Akaris”) and (ii) 540,000 shares of Class B Common Stock transferred to Akaris from the Sponsor following the consummation of the Public Offering, over which Mr. Kapadia has shared voting and dispositive power. The business address of Akaris is 330 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10017. | |
| (6) | Mr. Walsh resigned from the Board effective March 26, 2021. |
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Holders of our Founder Shares will beneficially own 20% of the then-issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and will have the right to appoint all of our directors prior to our Business Combination by reason of their ownership of Founder Shares. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our Board prior to our Business Combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors, amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our Business Combination.
The holders of the Founder Shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed Business Combination and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed Business Combination.
Our Sponsor and our executive officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
ITEM 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Founder Shares
On January 10, 2020, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,000,000 Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per share. Subsequently, on February 6, 2020, we effected a stock dividend of 0.15 share for each Founder Share outstanding, resulting in our Sponsor holding an aggregate of 5,750,000 Founder Shares. In July 2020, our Sponsor sold 82,500 Founder Shares to Nomura for a purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share. The Founder Shares are identical to the shares of Class A Common Stock included in the Public Units sold in the Public Offering, except that the Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock at the time of the Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
The initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any Founder Shares until 180 days after the consummation of our Business Combination, (the “Founder Shares Lock-Up Period”).
Private Placement Warrants
On the IPO Closing Date, our Sponsor and Nomura purchased an aggregate of 650,000 Private Units at a price of $10.00 per unit, or $6,500,000. Each Private Unit consists of one share of Class A Common Stock and one-half of one warrant, which entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. The Private Warrants may not be redeemed by us so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees. If any Private Warrants are transferred to holders other than our Sponsor or its permitted transferees, such Private Warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants included in the Public Units sold in the Public Offering. Our Sponsor and its permitted transferees have the option to exercise the Private Warrants on a physical (cash) or net share (cashless) basis.
The initial stockholders have agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any Private Warrants and the Class A Common Stock underlying such Private Warrants until 30 days after the consummation of our Business Combination (such period, together with the Founder Shares Lock-Up Period, the “Lock-Up Periods”).
If we do not complete a Business Combination within 18 months after the IPO Closing Date, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of our Class A Common Stock, subject to the requirements of applicable law, and the Private Warrants will expire worthless.
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Registration Rights
Holders of the Founder Shares, Private Units, Private Warrants and warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, have registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”). The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands that we register under the Securities Act the warrants and the shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the warrants and the Founder Shares. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed by us subsequent to our completion of a Business Combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable Lock-Up Period. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Related Party Notes
In January 2020, we had borrowed $140,671 by the issuance of the Promissory Note from our Sponsor to cover expenses related to the Public Offering. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the completion of the Public Offering. The Promissory Note was repaid in full upon the completion of the Public Offering.
We may pay our Sponsor, or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigation and completing our Business Combination. These individuals will also 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 and will determine which fees and expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on payments that may be made to our Sponsor, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with our 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. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our 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 the Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. 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 the Trust Account.
After our Business Combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our Business Combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
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Administrative Services Agreement
We have agreed to pay our Sponsor, a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our Business Combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. In addition, we may also agree to pay a finder’s fee to one or more independent directors to the extent such director(s) render services in connection with locating the target business with which a successful Business Combination is consummated.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our Board be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the Company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the Company’s Board, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our Board has determined that Messrs. Berrard, Kapadia and Meltzer are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled “executive sessions” at which only independent directors are present.
ITEM 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm since December 23, 2019 (inception) to December 31, 2020 include:
| For the Period from | |||||
| December 23, 2019 (inception) | |||||
| December 31, 2020 | |||||
| Audit Fees(1) | $ | 72,615 | |||
| Audit-Related Fees(2) | — | ||||
| Tax Fees(3) | — | ||||
| All Other Fees(4) | — | ||||
| Total | $ | 72,615 | |||
| (1) | Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. | |
| (2) | 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. | |
| (3) |
Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. | |
| (4) | All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. |
Policy on Board Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of the Independent Auditors
Our audit committee is responsible for appointing, setting compensation and overseeing the work of the independent auditors. In recognition of this responsibility, our audit committee shall review and, in its sole discretion, pre-approve all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors as provided under the audit committee charter.
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ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Amendment: |
| (1) | Financial Statements: The financial statements listed in “Index to the Financial Statements” at “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” are filed as part of this Amendment. |
| (2) | Financial Statement Schedules: None. |
| (3) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Amendment. |
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* Filed herewith.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| LIOHEART ACQUISITION CORPORATION II | ||
| Date: December 6, 2021 | By: | /s/ Ophir Sternberg |
| Ophir Sternberg | ||
| Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Ophir Sternberg | Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | December 6, 2021 | ||
| Ophir Sternberg | ||||
| /s/ Trevor Barran | Chief Operating Officer and Director |
December 6, 2021 | ||
| Trevor Barran | ||||
| /s/ Paul Rapisarda | Chief Financial Officer and Secretary (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
December 6, 2021 | ||
| Paul Rapisarda | ||||
| /s/ James Anderson | Director | December 6, 2021 | ||
| James Anderson | ||||
| /s/ Thomas Byrne | Director | December 6, 2021 | ||
| Thomas Byrne | ||||
| /s/ Roger Meltzer | Director | December 6, 2021 | ||
| Roger Meltzer |
| /s/ Thomas Hawkins | Director | December 6, 2021 | ||
| Thomas Hawkins |
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EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATION
I, Ophir Sternberg, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II for the year ended December 31, 2020; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have: |
| (a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| (b) | [Paragraph intentionally omitted in accordance with SEC Release Nos. 34-47986 and 34-54942]; |
| (c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| (d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Date: December 6, 2021 | |
| /s/ Ophir Sternberg | |
| Ophir Sternberg | |
| Chief Executive Officer | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
EXHIBIT 31.2
CERTIFICATION
I, Paul Rapisarda, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II for the year ended December 31, 2020; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have: |
| (a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| (b) | [Paragraph intentionally omitted in accordance with SEC Release Nos. 34-47986 and 34-54942]; |
| (c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| (d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Date: December 6, 2021 | |
| /s/ Paul Rapisarda | |
| Paul Rapisarda | |
| Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial Officer) |
EXHIBIT 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
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Ophir Sternberg, as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, hereby certify pursuant to Title 18, Chapter 63, Section 1350 of the United States Code, as adopted by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to the best of my knowledge:
| (1) | the Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
| (2) | the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. |
| Date: December 6, 2021 | /s/ Ophir Sternberg | |
| Name: | Ophir Sternberg | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
The foregoing certification is being furnished solely to accompany the Report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and shall not be deemed filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and will not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of the general incorporation language in such filing, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates it by reference.
A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has been provided to the Company and will be retained by the Company and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.
EXHIBIT 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
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Paul Rapisarda, as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, hereby certify pursuant to Title 18, Chapter 63, Section 1350 of the United States Code, as adopted by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to the best of my knowledge:
| (1) | the Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
| (2) | the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. |
| Date: December 6, 2021 | /s/ Paul Rapisarda | |
| Name: | Paul Rapisarda | |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial Officer) | ||
The foregoing certification is being furnished solely to accompany the Report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and shall not be deemed filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and will not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of the general incorporation language in such filing, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates it by reference.
A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has been provided to the Company and will be retained by the Company and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.