Form 424B4 Esm Acquisition Corp

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-253359

PROSPECTUS

$300,000,000

ESM Acquisition Corporation

30,000,000 Units

ESM Acquisition Corporation is a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location (subject to certain limitations described in this prospectus), we intend to focus our search for companies, projects or technologies which benefit from the global transition towards a low carbon economy.

This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering, subject to the further conditions described elsewhere in this prospectus, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our “public shares,” subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.

Our sponsor, ESM Sponsor, LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (which we refer to as our “sponsor” throughout this prospectus), has committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,666,667 warrants (or 6,266,667 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($8,500,000 in the aggregate or $9,400,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the “private placement warrants.” Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.

Our initial shareholders currently hold 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares (which we refer to as “founder shares” as further described herein), up to 1,125,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent (if any) to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the

consummation of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities (as described herein), are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of all Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of the Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of the Class B ordinary shares and holders of the Class A ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.

Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We have been approved to list our units on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol “ESM.U">ESM.U” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) containing our audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “ESM” and “ESM WS,” respectively.

We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 37 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.

 

		Price to Public			Underwriting Discounts and Commissions(1)			Proceeds Before Expenses to Us
Per Unit		$	10.00			$	0.55			$	9.45
Total		$	300,000,000			$	16,500,000			$	283,500,000

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $10,500,000 (or up to $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon completion of the initial business combination. Does not include certain fees and expenses of the underwriters in connection with this offering we have agreed to pay. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters.

Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $300.0 million or $345.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated

memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about March 12, 2021.

Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

No invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.

Sole Book-Running Manager

Credit Suisse

The date of this prospectus is March 9, 2021.

We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

SUMMARY			1
THE OFFERING			12
RISK FACTORS			37
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			81
USE OF PROCEEDS			82
DIVIDEND POLICY			87
DILUTION			88
CAPITALIZATION			90
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS			91
PROPOSED BUSINESS			97
MANAGEMENT			129
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS			143
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS			146
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES			149
INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS			172
UNDERWRITING			183
LEGAL MATTERS			190
EXPERTS			190
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION			190

Until April 3, 2021, all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.

Trademarks

This prospectus contains references to trademarks and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ^® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

 

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SUMMARY

This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.

Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:

 

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“we,” “us,” “our” or our “company” are to ESM Acquisition Corporation, a Cayman Islands exempted company;

 

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“Affiliated Joint Acquisition” are to an acquisition opportunity pursued jointly with one or more entities affiliated with EMG or VBR and/or one or more investors in funds managed by EMG;

 

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“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be in effect upon completion of this offering;

 

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“Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;

 

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“Credit Suisse” are to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, the representative of the underwriters in this offering;

 

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“directors” are to our current directors and our director nominees named in this prospectus;

 

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“EMG” are to The Energy & Minerals Group;

 

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“founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and our Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon conversion thereof as provided therein;

 

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“initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering;

 

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“letter agreement” refer to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part;

 

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“management” or our “management team” are to our directors and officers;

 

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“officers” are to one or more of our officers;

 

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“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares;

 

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“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;

 

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“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor, directors and officers to the extent our sponsor, directors or officers purchase public shares, provided their status as a “public shareholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;

 

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“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);

 

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“specified future issuance” are to an issuance of a class of equity or equity-linked securities to specified purchasers, which may include affiliates of EMG and/or one or more investors in funds or separate accounts managed by EMG, that we may determine to make in connection with financing our initial business combination, to the extent permitted under applicable regulatory and contractual requirements related to those funds and accounts;

 

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“sponsor” are to ESM Sponsor, LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership, and an affiliate of our founder;

 

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“VBR” are to Vision Blue Resources, Ltd.; and

 

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“warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market).

 

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All references in this prospectus to shares of the Company being forfeited shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. All references to the conversion of our Class B ordinary shares shall take effect as a redemption of such Class B ordinary shares and issuance of the corresponding Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this prospectus shall take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our sponsor of 1,125,000 founder shares.

General

We are a blank check company newly incorporated in the Cayman Islands for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.

While we may pursue a target in any industry, section or geography, we intend to seek a target that is positioned to benefit from the global transition towards a low carbon economy, including but not limited to the shift away from fossil fuels, the light-weighting and electrification of vehicles and the reduction of carbon emissions from key industrial processes.

In particular, we believe that our leadership team’s expertise and experience in the mining and natural resources sectors provides us with a competitive advantage in potentially finding an attractive target that explores for, mines, processes and/or refines commodities that are critical in order to achieve de-carbonization. Among other commodities, this may include cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, manganese, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, vanadium, rare earth elements, and/or other directly related raw materials.

Our Leadership Team

Our leadership team has extensive experience and expertise that we believe is relevant to our business strategy. This experience includes a significant track record of successfully identifying, investing in and operating businesses across a broad range of industries, including the mining and natural resources sectors.

Sir Michael (“Mick”) Davis. Sir Mick Davis, our Chief Executive Officer, has over 40 years of experience in the industrial, mining and natural resources sectors. During this time, Sir Mick Davis has been involved in raising approximately $35 billion in capital globally and has successfully completed over $120 billion worth of corporate transactions.

Sir Mick Davis’ experience includes his involvement as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director in the listing of Billiton plc on the London Stock Exchange in 1997, which grew to be a multi-national mining company with an approximately $10 billion market capitalization by 2001 when it merged with BHP Limited. As of December 31, 2020, the successor entity, BHP Group (TICKERS: BHP-LON and BHP-ASX) was the world’s largest mining company, with a market capitalization of approximately $152 billion.

Sir Mick Davis also served for 12 years as Chief Executive Officer of Xstrata plc (“Xstrata”), an Anglo-Swiss multi-national mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and primarily listed on the London Stock Exchange. While at Xstrata, Sir Mick Davis led a business strategy centered on the thesis that industrialization in Asia, particularly in China, would result in structural increases in demand and price for key industrial commodities. As part of that strategy, he oversaw approximately $35 billion of acquisitions, growing Xstrata from that of a smaller and more regionalized company with assets in 7 countries and a market capitalization of approximately $500 million in 2001, to that of a global, diversified mining company with assets in 20 countries and an approximate market capitalization of $54 billion in 2013. In May 2013, Sir Mick Davis oversaw the successful merger of Xstrata with Glencore plc, at a 15% premium to its share price at announcement valuing Xstrata at approximately $62 billion.

 

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Sir Mick Davis has also served as Chairman of Macsteel Group since 2016 and has served as a director on the board of Coronado Global Resources Inc. (“Coronado”) since 2020. Coronado is an ASX-listed mining company focused on the production of metallurgical coal and with a market capitalization of approximately $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2020. He also serves on the boards of Dangote Cement plc and certain private companies with interests in technology, financial technology and cybersecurity.

Sir Mick Davis graduated from Rhodes University in South Africa in 1980 with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) majoring in Economics and Accounting, and is a Chartered Accountant with the Institutes of Accounting in England and Wales and South Africa.

John Raymond. Mr. Raymond, our Chairman, is a Co-Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of The Energy & Minerals Group (“EMG”), a leading diversified natural resources-focused private equity firm. Since its formation in 2006, EMG has raised approximately $11 billion of capital across its five primary funds with an additional approximately $5 billion raised via co-investments, for a total of approximately $16 billion in capital raised, and currently manages 24 portfolio businesses. As of September 30, 2020, EMG had more than $10 billion remaining in Regulatory Assets Under Management, as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended. Total distributions to limited partners between fund inception and September 30, 2020 has been approximately $10 billion.

EMG’s founding thesis was to pursue a strategy aimed at delivering long-term value for investors through the acquisition and/or development of low-cost, long-lived and large-scale assets that produce high quality products vital to the global economy. EMG’s focus has been to optimize and further develop and expand such assets with a focus on rigorous cost control and operational efficiency measures.

Mr. Raymond has led EMG in connection with multiple noteworthy and successful investments, including:

 

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Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP (“Tallgrass”)—EMG invested $488 million in Tallgrass in 2012. After its successful IPO in 2015, Tallgrass was acquired in 2019 by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners and other investors for $3.3 billion.

 

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Medallion Gathering & Processing, LLC (“Medallion”)—in a series of investments from 2011 to 2016, EMG acquired a 51% interest in Medallion for $159 million. In 2017, Medallion was sold to an affiliate of Global Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”) for $1.825 billion plus additional cash consideration linked to GIP’s realized profits at exit.

 

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MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources, LLC (“MarkWest Liberty”)—in a series of investments from 2009 to 2011, EMG acquired a 49% interest in MarkWest Liberty for $404 million. In 2011, MarkWest Energy Partners, LP acquired MarkWest Liberty for $1 billion in cash and about $700 million in stock.

 

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INR Energy, LLC (“INR Energy”)—in 2007, EMG acquired a 49% interest in INR Energy for $92 million. In 2010, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., one of the largest producers of iron ore in North America, acquired the West Virginia coal operations of INR Energy, resulting in EMG’s net proceeds of $316 million.

 

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Coronado Global Resources, Inc. (“Coronado Resources”)—EMG has invested $1.1 billion in Coronado Resources. In October 2018, Coronado executed a $550 million equity raise in one of Australia’s biggest coal IPOs. As of February 2021, EMG owns 55%+ of Coronado Resources at a market capitalization of $1.4 billion ($770 million net to EMG).

 

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Prior to founding EMG in 2006, Mr. Raymond served in a number of senior executive management roles within the energy sector over a period of 14 years. These roles include his time as Chief Executive Officer of Plains Resources, Inc. (“Plains Resources”), a publicly traded company, from 2002 to 2004. Following the management-led buyout of Plains Resources in 2004, Mr. Raymond served as Chief Executive Officer of the successor entity, Vulcan Energy Corporation, from 2004 to 2005.

In addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of EMG, Mr. Raymond serves on the boards of 25 companies, including public and private portfolio companies of EMG, as well as several companies not owned by or affiliated with EMG.

Mr. Raymond graduated from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in 1992 with a B.S.M. with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

John G. Calvert. Mr. Calvert, our Vice Chairman, is a Co-Founder and the President of EMG. In his role as President, Mr. Calvert is, along with Mr. Raymond, responsible for directing EMG’s strategic and investment decisions, as well as managing EMG’s investment portfolio on a day-to-day basis.

Mr. Calvert has 28 years of experience in the natural resources sector. Prior to founding EMG with Mr. Raymond in 2006, Mr. Calvert had a successful 13 year career as an investment banker responsible for initiating, structuring and executing transactions in the mining and natural resources industries. In particular, from 2005 to 2006, Mr. Calvert served as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Securities in the Large-Cap investment banking coverage group based in New York, where he provided strategic counsel and transaction execution advice to Deutsche Bank’s global mining and metals clients. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2005, Mr. Calvert was a Managing Director and Global Head of Mining Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he had global coverage responsibility for the mining sector.

In addition to his role as President of EMG, Mr. Calvert currently serves as a director on the boards of nine portfolio companies of EMG.

Mr. Calvert attended the University of Sydney, Australia where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree (First Class Honors) in 1989.

Jeffrey A. Ball. Mr. Ball, our Chief Financial Officer, is a Managing Director of EMG, which he joined in October 2007. At EMG, Mr. Ball is one of the senior executives responsible for implementing the firm’s strategic and investment activities and managing its investment portfolio.

Mr. Ball has over 24 years of experience in the financial and energy sectors, including 14 years in private equity. Prior to joining EMG in October 2007, Mr. Ball had a successful career in the investment banking industry, having been involved in over $40 billion of capital markets and financial advisory transactions. This includes Mr. Ball’s time as a senior coverage officer in the Investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse from 2000 to 2007 and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from 1996 to 2000, where he was responsible for advising companies in the energy and mining sectors.

Mr. Ball currently serves as a director on the boards of 12 companies, including Ascent Resources, LLC, Eagle LNG Partners LLC, Nunavut Iron Ore, Inc., Ferus Natural Gas Fuels Inc. and Ferus, Inc.

Mr. Ball graduated with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1996 with a B.S. in Economics with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

Michael Gamson. Mr. Gamson has more than 30 years of experience in the energy and commodity trading business. He served as Senior Partner/Shareholder and Vice Chairman of the Trading Committee at Vitol Inc. from 1996 to 2010. During that time, Vitol grew into the largest energy trading company in the world, and was ranked the 4^th largest privately held company in the world in 2008 by Forbes.

 

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Prior to joining Vitol Inc., Mr. Gamson was a partner at Hess Corporation and helped the

of their physical and paper trading platform. Mr. Gamson also managed the clean products trading business at Phillip Brothers Inc. from 1986 to 1990.

Mr. Gamson currently sits on the Board of Trustees of Yeshiva University and serves as a Trustee of The Washington Institute for Near East Studies. Mr. Gamson also serves as a Trustee of Yes Prep, a public charter school in Houston Texas educating over 15,000 at risk youth.

Mr. Gamson graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and received an Honorary Doctorate from Yeshiva University in 2014.

Joseph Norville. Mr. Norville is a former Partner at KPMG. He has more than 35 years of experience in tax planning, reporting and structuring of transactions for public and privately held clients. Mr. Norville served as the Dallas/Denver Business Unit Partner in Charge for Tax for more than ten years and six years as KPMG’s West Region Managing Partner for Tax. In this role, he was responsible for approximately 50% of the U.S. business operations for KPMG’s tax practice.

Mr. Norville has participated in over 100 audit committee meetings, helping the audit committees of many public companies understand tax risks and emerging tax laws. He has also addressed tax issues for numerous clients pursuing initial public offerings.

Mr. Norville is a past Chairman of the Board for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and of the Childcare Group of Dallas. He has also served on the Board of the Texas 4H Foundation, Family Gateway and the Advisory Board for Baylor’s Accounting Program.

Mr. Norville graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1981 with a B.S. in Accounting and graduated from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business with a Masters of Tax. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas.

Brett A. Olsher. Mr. Olsher is the Founder and Managing Partner of OLEX., a global consulting and impact investment firm focusing on the natural resources and industrial sectors, with a specific commitment to sustainability.

Mr. Olsher had an 18 year career as an investment banker. He was a Partner at Goldman Sachs, serving as chairman of the Global Natural Resources Group at Goldman Sachs until 2019. In this role, Mr. Olsher advised on approximately $410 billion of mergers and acquisitions transactions as well as approximately $124 billion of financings. Notable transactions that Mr. Olsher advised on include the merger of BHP and Billiton and Xstrata’s acquisition of Falconbridge.

Before his career in investment banking, Mr. Olsher spent 10 years as President of Olsher Metals Corporation, a global commodities trading, processing and logistics firm. From 1983 to 1986, he was a member of the professional staff at Price Waterhouse, where he qualified as a CPA.

Mr. Olsher is currently a Senior Advisor to Trafigura and a Member of the Board of Directors of CRU International. He earned a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Politics from Columbia University’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.

John Carr. Mr. Carr has over 30 years of experience in the natural resources sector focused in the trading of commodities, He headed Arcadia Petroleum’s crude oil futures and forwards business and the Atlantic Basin crude oil marketing team until 1999. Mr. Carr also built and led commodities trading teams for Salomon Brothers’ energy trading subsidiary Phibro Energy.

 

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In 1999, Mr. Carr founded Gulf Petroleum International Limited (GPIL), a broking and consulting business based in Dublin, Ireland. In 2014, GPIL founded its investment and consulting vehicle, Clonsilla Capital Limited, to invest in Real Estate Assets in the Irish Market. Through Clonsilla Capital Limited, Mr. Carr also

two technology companies.

Mr. Carr is currently on the Board of Advantek Corp LLC, a data solution company, and the Advisory Board of Amherst Capital, a real estate investment specialist.

Mr. Carr graduated from St Pauls College in Dublin, Ireland.

With respect to the foregoing experiences of our leadership team, past performance by our leadership team, EMG and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our leadership team or their affiliates or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. None of the members of our leadership team have any experience working with any blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies. For more information on the experience and background of our leadership team, see the section entitled “Our Leadership Team.”

Market Opportunity

The growing impact of climate change has created an ever-increasing sense of urgency among governments, corporations and communities to reduce global carbon emissions, which are reflected in the 2016 Paris Agreement. We believe that government regulation and global consensus around the need to reduce CO₂ emissions will necessitate wide-ranging changes in the generation, storage and use of energy, which has the potential to result in structural changes to many segments of the global economy.

We believe demand for the key raw materials and commodities that will enable this shift to a low carbon economy is set to increase dramatically. As an example, the World Bank expects that new energy technologies will result in meaningful demand growth over the next three decades for key base metals, including aluminum (+9%), copper (+7%) and nickel (+99%). In addition, the World Bank has estimated global demand for certain key inputs in electric vehicle (“EV”) batteries will increase dramatically over the next three decades, including graphite (+494%), lithium (+488%) and cobalt (+460%).^*

We believe a rapid increase in expected demand for these key raw materials and commodities can create highly attractive economic opportunities because the supply of many of these products tends to be inelastic and mining majors have broadly curtailed capital investment since 2012. In particular, the mining and other processes required to turn these raw materials and commodities into usable form can be highly capital intensive and involve long lead-times for permitting and development. For example, new mining projects can take 10 or more years from identification of a resource to commission. As such, we believe many of these key raw materials and commodities are well-positioned to benefit from the favorable price dynamics that often accompany structural supply-deficit scenarios.

We see a particularly attractive set of opportunities with regards to many key raw materials and commodities that benefit directly from the shift away from fossil fuels. Some examples include:

 

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Copper, which is a key input in solar thermal technologies and is expected to play a key role in reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions in a number of industrial processes.

 

*	Figures shown are the expected demand from energy technologies by 2050 as a percentage of 2018 production.

 

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Vanadium, which is the basis of the vanadium redox large-scale storage battery.

 

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Aluminum, cobalt, lithium, manganese and nickel, which are used in the cathode and graphite which is the core component of the anode of EV batteries.

 

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Platinum group metals (platinum, palladium and rhodium), which are key inputs into certain hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

 

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Rare earth metals, which are of critical importance to the production of magnets in wind turbines.

 

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Gallium, germanium, indium and tellurium, which are key components in solar panels.

We also see an attractive set of opportunities with regards to key raw materials and commodities that can help companies reduce their carbon emissions footprint in producing goods. Some examples include:

 

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Vehicle lightweighting, which may increase demand for aluminum, particularly “green” aluminum made using renewable energy, as well as demand for high grade steel, which is produced, in part, with specialty metals such as vanadium.

 

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“Carbon friendly” steel production, which may rely increasingly on higher grade inputs, such as high-grade iron ore, as well as the use of “green” hydrogen technologies in place of coke (which is derived from metallurgical coal).

Business Strategy

Our strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a target that can benefit from the significant strategic, operational and transactional experience of our leadership team. In particular, we believe that our leadership team is well positioned to identify attractive business combination opportunities in industries related to advancing a low carbon economy and which provide an opportunity for transformational growth. We seek to add value to society and to the communities in which our businesses operate while minimizing negative environmental and social impact. We strive to achieve standards that are consistent with international best practices in the resources sector, while at the same time developing practices which are intended to maximize positive contributions for all of our stakeholders, including investors, employees, customers and impacted communities.

Together, Sir Mick Davis and EMG have a strong support team and an extensive network of relationships with management teams of public and private companies, private equity firms and venture capital sponsors, other public investors, investment bankers and lenders across multiple sectors, including but not limited to the mining and natural resources sectors. We believe that our extensive network of relationships will enable us to examine a broad range of acquisition opportunities and, thereby increase the likelihood of finding a target that will lead to shareholder value creation.

Upon completion of this offering, our leadership team will communicate with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potentially interesting leads.

Business Combination Criteria

We intend to employ a proactive acquisition strategy focused on high quality businesses at attractive valuations, with potential for operational improvement. We will aim to drive value for shareholders by acquiring businesses whose products have compelling supply and demand dynamics, with a particular focus on exposure to global de-carbonization trends, and where we can deliver operational improvements to increase efficiency.

 

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We have identified the following criteria that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to seek to acquire businesses that we believe:

 

•

will offer an attractive, risk-adjusted return on investment for our shareholders;

 

•

exhibit value that has not been fully understood by the marketplace;

 

•

operate in industries in which our leadership team have technical, strategic and operational expertise to impart significant value;

 

•

are positioned to take advantage of paradigm shifts created by the global transition towards a low carbon economy;

 

•

are positioned to experience growth in cash flow post-acquisition;

 

•

are prepared to be public companies and will benefit from having a public currency in order to enhance their ability to pursue accretive acquisitions, high-return capital projects, and/or strengthen their balance sheet: and

 

•

are business-friendly jurisdictions with clear regulatory and fiscal regimes.

While these criteria will be used in evaluating business combination opportunities, we may decide to enter into a business combination with a target business or businesses that do not meet these proposed criteria. These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines, as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant.

If we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender-offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.

Our Acquisition Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. Our search for a business combination, 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 the recent COVID-19 outbreak. See “Risk Factors — 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.”

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Each of our sponsor, directors and officers will, directly or indirectly, own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, such officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

 

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We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. As a result, 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 need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.

Initial Business Combination

The rules of the NYSE require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target business or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.

 

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We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

Other Corporate Information

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non- affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of the prior fiscal year’s second quarter and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in nonconvertible 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 the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (1) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (2) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

 

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We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on January 13, 2021. Our executive offices are located at 2229 San Felipe, Suite 1300, Houston, TX 77019 and our telephone number is (713) 579-5000. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be esmcorporation.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.

 

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THE OFFERING

In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors” of this prospectus.

 

Securities offered

30,000,000 units (or 34,500,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of:

 

•

one Class A ordinary share; and

 

•

one-third of one redeemable warrant.

 

NYSE symbols

Units: “ESM.U">ESM.U”

 

Class A ordinary shares: “ESM”

 

Warrants: “ESM WS”

 

Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants

The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.

 

Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.

 

Separate trading of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K

In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes our audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the

 

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Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

Units:
Number issued and outstanding before this offering			0
Number issued and outstanding after this offering			30,000,000	(1)
Ordinary shares:
Number issued and outstanding before this offering			8,625,000	(2)(3)
Number issued and outstanding after this offering			37,500,000	(1)(3)(4)
Warrants:
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering			5,666,667	(1)
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the sale of private placement warrants			15,666,667	(1)

 

(1)	Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and, if applicable, the forfeiture by our sponsor of 1,125,000 founder shares.

(2)	Consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 1,125,000 ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent (if any) to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

(3)	Founder shares are currently classified as Class B ordinary shares, which shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”

(4)	Includes 30,000,000 public shares and 7,500,000 founder shares.

 

Exercisability

Each whole warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.

 

We structured each unit to contain one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of our initial business combination as compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, which we believe will make us a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses.

 

Exercise price

$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein.

 

In addition, if (x) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our

 

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sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

 

Exercise period

The warrants will become exercisable on the later of:

 

•

30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; and

 

•

12 months from the closing of this offering;

 

provided, in each case, that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement, including as a result of a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”).

 

We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed

 

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(and if such registration statement is not effective by that date, holders of the warrants will be permitted to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis”); provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

 

The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account.

 

Redemption of warrants for cash when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement 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 last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”).

 

We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

 

Except as described below, none of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.

 

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Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:

 

•

in whole and not in part;

 

•

at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive the number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants”;

 

•

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”); and

 

•

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

 

The “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).

 

No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information.

 

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Founder shares

In January 2021, our sponsor subscribed for an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On February 12, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of John Carr, Michael Gamson, Joseph Norville and Brett A. Olsher at their original per-share purchase price.

 

Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of these founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Up to 1,125,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent (if any) to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

 

The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that:

 

•

prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason;

 

•

the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, as described in more detail below;

 

•

pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive: (1) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (an “Extension Period”) (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we submit our initial

 

17

business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,875,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved;

 

•

the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and

 

•

the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.

 

Transfer restrictions on founder shares

Pursuant to a letter agreement with us, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, amalgamation, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders, directors and officers with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.

 

Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights

We have 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations,

recapitalizations and other similar transactions, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A

 

18

ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.

 

Appointment of directors; Voting Rights

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by at least 90% of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.

 

Private placement warrants

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 5,666,667 private placement warrants (or 6,266,667 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($8,500,000 in the aggregate or $9,400,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering.

 

Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Private placement warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the

 

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requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us (except as described above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. Our sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis.

 

Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants

The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”

 

Proceeds to be held in trust account

The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $308.5 million in proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $354.4 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $300.0 million ($10.00 per unit), or $345.0 million ($10.00 per unit) if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full (including $10,500,000, or up to $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, in deferred underwriting commissions), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2.5 million will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries.

 

Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of

 

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our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

 

Anticipated expenses and funding sources

Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described above. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $300,000 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year). Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:

 

•

the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,400,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $1,100,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and

 

•

any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their respective affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us; and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination.

 

Conditions to completing our initial business combination

There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. The NYSE rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.

 

If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business

 

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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 shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test; provided that in the event that our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.

 

Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such purchases or other transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such purchases or other transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transactions with.

 

We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the

 

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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. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making any purchases if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.

 

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 shareholder 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 initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

 

Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.

 

The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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Manner of conducting redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder 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 shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

 

If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

•

conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and

 

•

file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

 

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

 

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders

 

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tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

 

If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will:

 

•

conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and

 

•

file proxy materials with the SEC.

 

We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NYSE listing or Exchange Act registration.

 

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. These voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, directors and officers, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners;

 

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(2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event we cannot meet any such net tangible asset test or the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

 

Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights

We may require our public shareholders 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 scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.

 

Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote

Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a

 

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public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.

 

Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charters which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, 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 ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our initial shareholders, officers and directors have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a

 

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per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination

On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee or released to us to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

 

Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will initially have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 24-month period or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our

 

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obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame.

 

Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial shareholders, directors or officers acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares.

 

Our initial shareholders, officers and directors have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.

 

Limited payments to insiders

There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:

 

•

repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;

 

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•

payment to affiliates of our sponsor of a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services;

 

•

payment of customary fees for financial advisory services;

 

•

reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and

 

•

repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender.

 

These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.

 

Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates.

 

Audit committee

We have established and will maintain an audit committee comprised entirely of independent directors to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.”

 

Conflicts of interest

Each of EMG and VBR manages several investments or investment vehicles and an acquisition opportunity that may be suitable for us may also fit the investment objectives of a different EMG fund or affiliates of VBR. If these funds or affiliates of VBR decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within EMG, VBR or their portfolio companies may be suitable for both us and for a current or future EMG fund or affiliates of VBR and may be directed to such investment vehicle rather than to us.

 

Our directors may owe competing duties to other enterprises, and opportunities presented to them they may not present to us as a result of such conflicts. 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

 

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directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

 

Certain of our officers and directors have or will have fiduciary and contractual duties to EMG or VBR and to certain companies in which either of them has invested or will invest. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination.

 

Our management team, in their capacities as members, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. We expect that if an opportunity is presented to one of our officers or directors in his or her capacity as an officer or director of one of those other entities, such opportunity would be presented to such other entity and not to us or to both such entity and to us pursuant to an Affiliated Joint Acquisition further discussed below. Such other entities would include investment funds of EMG or affiliates of VBR.

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”

 

In addition, we may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Such entities may include investment funds of EMG or affiliates of VBR. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.

 

If any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for another entity to which they owe fiduciary duties, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under

 

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Cayman Islands law. See “Risk Factors — Certain of our directors and officers 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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”

 

We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.

 

We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with EMG, VBR and/or one or more investors in funds managed by EMG. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this prospectus. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares) would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares), unless the holders of a majority of the then-issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof.

 

They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares. For a further discussion of conflicts, please refer to “Risk Factors” and “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”

 

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Indemnity

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.

Risks

We are a newly incorporated company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues to date. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule  419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 37 of this prospectus.

 

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SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.

 

		January 15, 2021
		Actual			As Adjusted (1)
Balance Sheet Data:
Working capital (deficiency)		$	(16,689	)		$	290,916,635
Total assets		$	49,959			$	301,416,635
Total liabilities		$	33,324			$	10,500,000
Value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible conversion		$	—			$	285,916,630
Shareholder’s equity		$	16,635			$	5,000,005

 

(1)

The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the sale of the units we are offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, including the application of the related gross proceeds and the payment of the estimated remaining costs from such sale and the repayment of the accrued and other liabilities required to be repaid.

The “as adjusted” total assets amount includes the $300,000,000 to be held in the trust account, including the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $10,500,000, plus $1,400,000 in cash to be held outside the trust account, plus $5,000,005 of actual shareholder’s equity at January 15, 2021. If our initial business combination is not consummated, the funds held in the trust account, less amounts we are permitted to withdraw as described in this prospectus, will be distributed solely to our public shareholders.

 

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Risk Factors Summary

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus before making a decision to purchase 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. These risks are more fully described in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following this risk factors summary. These risks include, among others, the following:

 

•

We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

 

•

Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

 

•

Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

 

•

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek shareholder approval of such business combination.

 

•

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 other events and the status of debt and equity markets.

 

•

If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

 

•

You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.

 

•

The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

 

•

The NYSE 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.

 

•

You will not be entitled to protections, such as under Rule 419, normally afforded to investors of other blank check companies.

 

•

If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

 

•

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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

 

•

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 shareholders.

 

•

The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

 

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•

We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Our public shareholders will not have the right to elect or remove directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

•

We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares 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 and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.

 

•

Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic area or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.

 

•

Past performance by our management team, EMG and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.

 

•

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

 

•

We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

 

•

We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.

 

•

Certain of our directors and officers 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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

 

•

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

 

•

Our initial shareholders will control the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

 

•

Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution upon the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.

 

•

We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.

 

•

Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination

We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

We are a newly incorporated company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

As of January 15, 2021, we had no cash or cash equivalents and a working capital deficiency of $16,689. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern for one year from the issuance of this registration statement.

Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such a vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange rules or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the rules of the NYSE currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting, but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or allow shareholders 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 shareholder approval and such holders have agreed to vote in favor of our proposed business

 

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combination. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Shareholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination” for additional information.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,875,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares at the time of any such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if such persons agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NYSE rules. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such purchases or other transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such purchases or other transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transactions with. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of our initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial

 

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business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

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 shareholder approval of such business combination.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Additionally, since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder 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 shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as M&A advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing M&A advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

 

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Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

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 shareholders do not agree.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

Our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 11,250,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,875,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive an ordinary resolution, being the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.

The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with

 

40

a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target). Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, 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 initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular

 

41

as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the 24-month period or any Extension Period. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

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 other events and the status of debt and equity markets.

Since it was first reported to have emerged in December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has spread across the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected, and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) could adversely affect economies, and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally, and the business of any potential target business with which we may consummate a business combination could be, or may already have been, materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or limit the ability to conduct due diligence, or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for and ability to consummate 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 and perceptions to COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) 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 transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases), including, as a result of increased market volatility and decreased market liquidity, third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.

As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.

 

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In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.

In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders 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 shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.

 

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In addition, we expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.

If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.

We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. We may need additional funds to finance our operations through any Extension Period. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.

 

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If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we may depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,400,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements.

In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,100,000, 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 $1,100,000, 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. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their respective affiliates is under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us in such circumstances. Any such loans may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.

We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.

Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we have not completed our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target

 

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business. None of our directors, officers or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.

In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.

In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein, including as a result of terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of infectious diseases. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. It may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this ‘‘Risk Factors’’ section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’

 

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rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

 

•

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

 

•

restrictions on the issuance of securities;

each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

 

•

registration as an investment company with the SEC;

 

•

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

•

reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing

 

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of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, which may be less than $10.00 per share in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, or if at all.

We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical target and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

 

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Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.

If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting (including how relevant governments respond to such factors), including any of the following:

 

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costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;

 

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rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

 

•

complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

 

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laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;

 

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exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;

 

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tariffs and trade barriers;

 

•

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

 

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export limits of raw materials and related in-country value-added processing requirements;

 

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local or regional economic policies and market conditions;

 

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unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;

 

•

challenges in managing and staffing international operations;

 

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changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 outbreak;

 

•

longer payment cycles;

 

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•

tax consequences, such as tax law changes, including termination or reduction of tax and other incentives that the applicable government provides to domestic companies, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

 

•

currency fluctuations and exchange controls, including devaluations and other exchange rate movements;

 

•

rates of inflation, price instability and interest rate fluctuations;

 

•

liquidity of domestic capital and lending markets;

 

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challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

 

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cultural and language differences;

 

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underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;

 

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corruption;

 

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protection of intellectual property;

 

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employment regulations;

 

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environmental regulations;

 

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regulations concerning indigenous people/traditional landowners;

 

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changes of governmental royalty regimes;

 

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energy shortages;

 

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crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, wars and other forms of social instability;

 

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regime changes and political upheaval;

 

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deterioration of political relations with the United States;

 

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obligatory military service by personnel; and

 

•

government appropriation of assets.

Outbreaks of civil and political unrest and acts of terrorism have occurred in countries in Europe, Africa, South America, and the Middle East, including countries close to or where we may seek an acquisition. Continued or escalated civil and political unrest and acts of terrorism in the countries in which we may operate could result in our curtailing operations or delays in project completions. In the event that countries in which we may operate experience civil or political unrest or acts of terrorism, especially in events where such unrest leads to an unseating of the established government, our operations could be materially impaired. Our potential international operations may also be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by laws, policies, and regulations of the United States affecting foreign trade and taxation, including U.S. trade sanctions. Realization of any of the factors listed above could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Relating to our Trust Account

If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails

 

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to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer or proxy materials documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”

You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.

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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), 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 shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.

Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities

 

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will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per public share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our directors or officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, 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 shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months of the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such time frame before redemption from our trust account.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust

 

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account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to windup, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the initial 24 months before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior thereto.

We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.

We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders 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 shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’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.

The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

The net proceeds of this offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants will be held in the trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess

 

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of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or 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 shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our liquidation estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any liquidation claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.

Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors

 

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may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders 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. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of up to approximately $18,300 and to imprisonment for up to five years in the Cayman Islands.

Risks Relating to our Securities and Trust Account

Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution upon the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 94.4% (or $9.44 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.56 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.

Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.

We will be issuing warrants to purchase 10,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 11,500,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 5,666,667 (or 6,266,667 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Our initial shareholders currently hold 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares (up to 1,125,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent, if any, to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares 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.

 

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The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is 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 this 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 this 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 this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:

 

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the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;

 

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prior offerings of those companies;

 

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our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;

 

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our capital structure;

 

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an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;

 

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general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and

 

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other factors as were deemed relevant.

Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.

There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.

There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases). Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

Because each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.

Each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the

 

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warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant to purchase one 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 a third 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 business combination 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.

You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.

Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the U.S. securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet of the company demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”

The NYSE 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.

We have been approved to list our units on the NYSE on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet the minimum initial listing requirements set forth in the rules of the NYSE, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public shareholders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, in order for our Class A ordinary shares to be listed upon the consummation of our initial business combination, at such time, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our global market capitalization would be required to be at least $150,000,000, the aggregate market value of publicly-held shares would be required to be at least $40,000,000 and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot holders. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

If the NYSE delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

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a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

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reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

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a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

 

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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

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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 we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered 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 special purpose acquisition 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 the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

Certain agreements related to this offering may be amended without shareholder approval.

Certain agreements, including the underwriting agreement relating to this offering, the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors, and the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders, may be amended without shareholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.

Our initial shareholders will control the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.

In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not

 

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support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our directors or officers, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Our public shareholders will not have the right to elect or remove directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.

In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

In order to effectuate an initial 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 memorandum and articles of association requires at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law. A resolution is deemed to be a special resolution as a matter of Cayman Islands law where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law) (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision or (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 65% of the then issued and

 

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outstanding public warrants; provided that any amendment that solely affects the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement solely with respect to the private placement warrants will also require at least 65% of the then issued and outstanding private placement warrants. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments, including the warrant agreement, or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.

Certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, 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 memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by holders of a certain percentage of the company’s shares. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shares. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions, including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, 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 ordinary shares (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting). Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. In certain circumstances, our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our shareholders 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, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

 

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We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares 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 and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.

We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). 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 above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange and therefore they do not satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold than they would have upon a cash exercise.

In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall 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 Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.

 

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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 public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision or (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants; provided that any amendment that solely affects the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement solely with respect to the private placement warrants will also require at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement 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 public 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 public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.

Unlike some blank check companies, if

 

(i)	we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share,

 

(ii)	the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and

 

(iii)

the Market Value is below $9.20 per share,

then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions

 

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and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.

Our warrant agreement will provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.

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 the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”). Please see “Description of Securities —Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.” If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.

 

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In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. Please see “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00.” The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.

We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 undesignated preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 454,333,333 and 42,500,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding.

We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares, and may issue preference shares, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares to redeem the warrants as described in “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares:

 

•

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;

 

•

may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;

 

•

could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our then current directors and officers;

 

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•

may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

•

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants; and

 

•

may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.

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 shareholders’ investment in us.

Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

 

•

default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;

 

•

acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

 

•

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;

 

•

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;

 

•

our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;

 

•

using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and/or interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;

 

•

limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;

 

•

increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and

 

•

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.

In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within fifteen business days of the closing of an initial business combination.

 

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The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, at or after the time of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders 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 ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees, our private placement warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.

Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic area or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.

Although we intend to focus our search for companies, projects or technologies which benefit from the global transition towards a low carbon economy, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company of any size (subject to our satisfaction of the 80% of net assets test) and in any industry, sector or geographic area. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or development stage entity. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.

 

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If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders”) of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend upon the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. Holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our ordinary shares and warrants. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

Our initial business combination may involve a jurisdiction that could impose taxes on shareholders or warrant holders.

We may, subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or reincorporate in another jurisdiction. Such transactions may result in tax liability for our shareholders or warrant holders in the jurisdictions in which the shareholders, warrant holders or their members (in the case of tax transparent entities) are tax residents, or in the jurisdiction in which the target company is located or in which we reincorporate and may result in our shareholders or warrant holders holding securities with respect to which such a jurisdiction imposes taxes not otherwise disclosed herein. Such taxes may include withholding tax with respect to distributions by the target, or by us, and source-country capital gain taxes, typically enforced through withholding, such as U.S. federal income tax imposed on non-U.S. investors in respect of gain recognized on their sale, exchange or other disposition of certain interests in a “United States real property holding corporation” and Canadian taxes imposed on non-Canadian investors in respect of gain recognized on their sale, exchange or other disposition of “taxable Canadian property.” In the event of a reincorporation pursuant to our initial business combination, such tax liability may attach prior to the consummation of redemptions of any of our public shares properly submitted to us for redemption in connection with such business combination. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes.

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the Class A ordinary shares and the one-third of a warrant included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or courts. In addition, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we are issuing in this offering is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our Class A ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s (as defined in section titled “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Consideration—U.S. Holders”) holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A ordinary shares

 

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is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when acquiring, owning or disposing of our securities.

We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor 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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.

 

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It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.

Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.

Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.

We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.

Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.

 

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Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include two-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

Risks Related to our Sponsor and Management Team and Their Respective Affiliates

Past performance by our management team, EMG, VBR and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.

Information regarding performance by our management team, EMG, VBR and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our sponsor, directors or management team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of sponsor, directors or our management team, EMG, VBR or their respective affiliates or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.

We may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of EMG, VBR and/or one or more investors in funds managed by EMG. This may result in conflicts of interest as well as dilutive issuances of our securities.

We may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity affiliated with EMG, VBR and/or one or more investors in funds managed by EMG. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such parties. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so.

In addition, any specified future issuance in connection with an Affiliated Joint Acquisition would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, which, unless waived, would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio of our Class B ordinary shares such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance. They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.

Our directors and officers will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

 

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Our directors and officers are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other responsibilities. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our directors and officers may be engaged in several 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 also serve as officers and/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 initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”

Certain of our directors and officers 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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and directors and officers are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies prior to us completing our initial business combination. In particular, certain of our officers and certain of our directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to EMG, VBR and to certain companies in which they have invested, including companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination.

As described in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.

In addition, our sponsor, officers, directors and their respective affiliates may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination.

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 “Management — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

 

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We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or their respective 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. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have interests in a diverse set of industries including natural resources, mining, minerals, energy and infrastructure. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.

The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. See the section titled “Description of Securities—Certain Differences in Corporate Law” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.

We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities, including those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, directors and officers are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

In January 2021, our sponsor subscribed for an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On February 12, 2021, our sponsor transferred

 

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25,000 founder shares to each of John Carr, Michael Gamson, Joseph Norville and Brett A. Olsher at their original per-share purchase price. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.

In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,666,667 (or 6,266,667 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, for a purchase price of $8,500,000 in the aggregate or $9,400,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, or $1.50 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.

The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered with us, (3) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (3) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (4) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.

If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.

The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month deadline following the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or geographic areas which may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.

We will consider a business combination in industries or geographic areas, which may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise, if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and in particular, John T. Raymond, Chairman of our board of directors, John G. Calvert, Vice Chairman of our board of directors, Sir Michael Davis, our Chief Executive Officer and Director and Jeffrey A. Ball, our Chief Financial Officer. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, certain of our directors and officers have time and attention requirements for investment funds of which affiliates of our sponsor are the investment managers. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel and in particular, John Raymond. Chairman of our board of directors, John Calvert, Vice Chairman of our board of directors and Sir Michael Davis, our Chief Executive Officer. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.

In addition, the directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the

 

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management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of our initial business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

Risks Relating to Target Industry

We may face risks related to businesses in the metals, mining, and natural resources industries.

Business combinations with businesses in the metals, mining, and natural resources industries 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:

 

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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;

 

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fluctuations in customer demand;

 

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the cyclical nature of the underlying markets may cause fluctuations in the market price of the goods or commodities being sold;

 

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competition and consolidation of the specific sector of the industry within which the target business operates;

 

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volatility in costs for strategic raw material and energy commodities or disruption in the supply of these commodities could adversely affect our financial results;

 

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supplier stability, factory or operational transitions and capacity constraints;

 

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inability to obtain necessary insurance coverage for the target business’ operations;

 

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inability to obtain the necessary bonding coverage for the target business’ operations;

 

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additional expenses and delays due to technical problems, labor problems (including union disruptions) or other interruptions at our manufacturing or operational facilities after our initial business combination;

 

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•

work-related accidents that may expose us to liability claims;

 

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our manufacturing processes and products not complying with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, or if we manufacture products containing design or manufacturing defects, the demand for our products declining and potential liability claims;

 

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litigation and other proceedings, including that 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;

 

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warranty claims related to our products, and resulting reputational damage and incurrence of significant costs;

 

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our products and manufacturing processes being subject to technological change;

 

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disruption or failure of networks, systems or technology as a result of computer viruses, “cyber-attacks,” misappropriation of data or other malfeasance, as well as outages, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidental releases of information or similar events; and

 

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the failure of our customers to pay the amounts owed to us in a timely manner.

Our expectations regarding changes in the sustainability industry may not materialize to the extent we expect, or at all.

We expect favorable changes and growth in the sustainability industry based on certain macroeconomic and social trends as well as certain assumptions. These macroeconomic and social trends and assumptions relate to, among other things, population growth, increased government spending in the sustainability industry, increased regulatory requirements at the federal, state and local level and increased focus on ESG practices and business models. No assurance can be given that these trends and assumptions, or that our expectations surrounding the sustainability industry, will be accurate. Further, unanticipated events and circumstances may occur and change the outlook surrounding the sustainability industry in material ways. Accordingly, our expectations of growth in the sustainability industry may occur to a different extent or at a different time, or may not occur at all. If our expectations surrounding certain favorable changes in the sustainability industry do not occur to the degree that we expect, or at all, our ability to find a suitable initial business combination target and consummate an initial business combination may be hindered or delayed.

Risks Relating to our Operations

We may be able to complete only one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.

The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will provide us with $301,400,000 (or $346,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (which includes $10,500,000, or up to $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account, and excludes estimated offering expenses of $1,100,000).

We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack

 

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of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry.

Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or

 

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dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will complete such business combination only if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new ordinary shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.

 

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We may have limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to subsequently take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write down or write off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.

 

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Following our initial business combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

After our initial business combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.

The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.

Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.

In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.

We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.

We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.

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

 

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security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some of the statements contained in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “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. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:

 

•

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

•

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

•

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses;

 

•

our expectations and forecasts around the performance and trends of markets and industries;

 

•

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

•

our directors and officers allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

 

•

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

 

•

our pool of prospective target businesses and the energy and mining industries;

 

•

our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases);

 

•

the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;

 

•

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

 

•

the lack of a market for our securities;

 

•

the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;

 

•

the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties;

 

•

our financial performance following this offering,

 

•

our financial performance following this offering; and

 

•

the other risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.

The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We are offering 30,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.

 

		Without Over- Allotment Option			Over-Allotment Option Exercised
Gross proceeds
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1)		$	300,000,000			$	345,000,000
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement			8,500,000				9,400,000
Total gross proceeds		$	308,500,000			$	354,400,000
Estimated offering expenses(2)
Underwriting commissions (excluding deferred portion)(3)		$	6,000,000			$	6,900,000
Legal fees and expenses			300,000				300,000
Accounting fees and expenses			40,000				40,000
Printing and engraving expenses			35,000				35,000
SEC expenses			37,639				37,639
FINRA expenses			52,250				52,250
Road show			10,000				10,000
Directors and officers insurance premiums(4)			500,000				500,000
NYSE listing and filing fees			85,000				85,000
Miscellaneous expenses(5)			40,111				40,111
Total estimated offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions)		$	1,100,000			$	1,100,000
Proceeds after estimated offering expenses		$	301,400,000			$	346,400,000
Held in trust account(3)		$	300,000,000			$	345,000,000
% of public offering size			100	%			100	%
Not held in trust account(2)		$	1,400,000			$	1,400,000

The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,400,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account⁽⁶⁾.

 

		Amount			% of Total
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination(7)			750,000				54	%
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations			150,000				11	%
Payment for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services			240,000				17	%
NYSE continued listing fees			85,000				6	%
Other miscellaneous expenses			175,000				12	%
Total			1,400,000				100	%

 

(1)	Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.

(2)

A portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $300,000 as described in this prospectus. As of January 15, 2021, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,100,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. These expenses are estimates only. In the event

 

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that offering expenses are less than as set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account.

(3)

The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $10,500,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or up to $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts used to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.

(4)	This amount represents the approximate amount of annualized director and officer liability insurance premiums we anticipate paying following the completion of this offering and until we complete a business combination.

(5)	Includes organizational and administrative expenses and may include amounts related to above-listed expenses in the event actual amounts exceed estimates.

(6)

These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an acquisition target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. Based on current interest rates, we would expect to earn approximately $300,000 in interest on the funds held in the trust account over the 12 months following the closing of this offering; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. This estimate assumes an interest rate of 0.10% per annum based upon current yields of securities in which the trust account may be invested. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, 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 our trust account.

(7)	Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.

The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $300,000,000 (or $345,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $10,500,000 (or up to $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is

 

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exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will, upon the consummation of this offering, be placed in a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $300,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any. The funds held in the trust account will not otherwise be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes.

The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination and to pay the deferred underwriting commissions. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their respective affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us.

We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will pay affiliates of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of January 15, 2021, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of January 31, 2022 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,100,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.

In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and

 

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officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, 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 our trust account.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which shareholders to seek to acquire shares. The price per share paid in any such purchase or other transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. However, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such purchases or other transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such purchases or other transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information 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.

We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination, and may instead search for an alternate business combination.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.

Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business

 

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combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial shareholders, directors or officers acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

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DILUTION

The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares.

At January 15, 2021, our net tangible book value was a deficiency of $16,689, or approximately $(0.00) per Class B ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 30,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at January 15, 2021 would have been $5,000,005 or $0.56 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the 28,591,663 Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) of $0.56 per share to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $9.44 per share or 94.4% to our public shareholders not exercising their redemption rights. The dilution to new investors if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $9.51 per share or 95.1%.

The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:

 

		Without Over-allotment								With Over-allotment
Public offering price						$	10.00							$	10.00
Net tangible book deficit before this offering			(0.00	)							(0.00	)
Increase attributable to public shareholders			0.56								0.49
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants							0.56								0.49
Dilution to public shareholders						$	9.44							$	9.51
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders							94.4	%							95.1	%

For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $285,916,630 because holders of up to approximately 95.3% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per-share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.

The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:

 

		Shares Purchased								Total Consideration								Average Price Per Share
		Number			Percentage			Amount			Percentage
Initial Shareholders(1)(2)			7,500,000				20.00	%		$	25,000				0.01	%		$	0.003
Public Shareholders			30,000,000				80.00	%		$	300,000,000				99.99	%		$	10.00
			37,500,000				100.00	%		$	300,025,000				100.00	%

 

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(1)	Assumes the full forfeiture of 1,125,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent, if any, to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

(2)	Assumes conversion of Class B ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis.

The dilution to public shareholders would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon such conversion.

The pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering is calculated as follows:

 

		Without Over-allotment			With Over-allotment
Numerator:
Net tangible book deficit before this offering		$	(16,689	)		$	(16,689	)
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants (1)			301,400,000				346,400,000
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering			33,324				33,324
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions			(10,500,000	)			(12,075,000	)
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption (2)			(285,916,630	)			(329,341,630	)
		$	5,000,005			$	5,000,005
Denominator:
Ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering			8,625,000				8,625,000
Ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised			(1,125,000	)			—
Ordinary shares included in the units offered			30,000,000				34,500,000
Less: Ordinary shares subject to redemption			(28,591,663	)			(32,934,163	)
			8,908,337				10,190,837

 

(1)	Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $1,100,000 and underwriting commissions of $6,000,000 or $6,900,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.”

(2)

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities.”

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization at January 15, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our 30,000,000 units in this offering for $300,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the sale of 5,666,667 private placement warrants for $8,500,000 (or $1.50 per warrant) and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:

 

		January 15, 2021
		Actual			As Adjusted(2)
Promissory note(1)		$	—			$	—
Deferred underwriting commissions							10,500,000
Class A ordinary shares, subject to redemption; 0 shares actual and 28,591,663 shares as adjusted (3)							285,916,630
Shareholder’s equity:
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); none issued or outstanding (actual and as adjusted)							—
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); no shares issued and outstanding (actual); 1,408,337 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 28,591,663 shares subject to redemption) (as adjusted)							141
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); 8,625,000 issued and outstanding (actual) 7,500,000 issued and outstanding (as adjusted)(3)			863				750
Additional paid-in capital			24,137				5,007,479
Accumulated deficit			(8,365	)			(8,365	)
Total shareholder’s equity			16,635				5,000,005
Total capitalization		$	16,635			$	301,416,635

 

(1)	Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of January 15, 2021, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor.

(2)

Assumes the full forfeiture of 1,125,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent, if any, to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The proceeds of the sale of such shares will not be deposited into the trust account, the shares will not be eligible for redemption from the trust account nor will they be eligible to vote upon the initial business combination.

(3)

Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein whereby redemptions cannot cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.

The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares in a business combination:

 

•

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;

 

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may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;

 

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could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers;

 

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may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

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may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants; and

 

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may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.

Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:

 

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default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;

 

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acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

 

•

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;

 

•

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;

 

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our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;

 

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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 ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;

 

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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; and

 

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limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

 

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Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor and up to $300,000 in loans from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. As of January 15, 2021, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor. We estimate that the net proceeds from (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $1,100,000 and underwriting commissions of $6,000,000 ($6,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $10,500,000, or up to $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), and (2) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $8,500,000 (or $9,400,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $301,400,000 (or $346,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $300,000,000 or $345,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, including $10,500,000 (or up to $12,075,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions will be deposited into the trust account. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. The remaining $1,400,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,100,000 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. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,100,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the trust account will be income and franchise taxes, if any. To the extent that our ordinary shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us $1,400,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, sites or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.

 

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In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, 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 our trust account.

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $750,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $85,000 for NYSE continued listing fees; $240,000 for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services; and $175,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves net of estimated interest income.

These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at January 15, 2021 we had no cash, prepaid expenses of $16,635, a working capital deficit of $16,689 and deferred offering costs of $33,324. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

Controls and Procedures

We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the

 

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Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.

Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our registered independent accounting firm tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:

 

•

staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;

 

•

reconciliation of accounts;

 

•

proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;

 

•

evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;

 

•

documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and

 

•

documentation of accounting policies and procedures.

Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.

Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our registered independent accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

Related Party Transactions

In January 2021, our sponsor purchased 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On February 12, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of John Carr, Michael Gamson, Joseph Norville and Brett A. Olsher at their original per-share purchase price. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash

 

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contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Up to 1,125,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent, if any, to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay affiliates of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of January 15, 2021, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of January 31, 2022 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,100,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, 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 our trust account.

Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,666,667 (or 6,266,667 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($8,500,000 in the aggregate or $9,400,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities —Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

 

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Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with our initial shareholders on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See “Principal Shareholders — Registration Rights.”

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results

As of January 15, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.

JOBS Act

On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (3) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (4) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

 

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PROPOSED BUSINESS

General

We are a blank check company newly incorporated in the Cayman Islands for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.

While we may pursue a target in any industry, section or geography, we intend to seek a target that is positioned to benefit from the global transition towards a low carbon economy, including but not limited to the shift away from fossil fuels, the light-weighting and electrification of vehicles and the reduction of carbon emissions from key industrial processes.

In particular, we believe that our leadership team’s expertise and experience in the mining and natural resources sectors provides us with a competitive advantage in potentially finding an attractive target that explores for, mines, processes and/or refines commodities that are critical in order to achieve de-carbonization. Among other commodities, this may include cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, manganese, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, vanadium, rare earth elements, and/or other directly related raw materials.

Our Leadership Team

Our leadership team has extensive experience and expertise that we believe is relevant to our business strategy. This experience includes a significant track record of successfully identifying, investing in and operating businesses across a broad range of industries, including the mining and natural resources sectors.

Sir Michael (“Mick”) Davis. Sir Mick Davis, our Chief Executive Officer, has over 40 years of experience in the industrial, mining and natural resources sectors. During this time, Sir Mick Davis has been involved in raising approximately $35 billion in capital globally and has successfully completed over $120 billion worth of corporate transactions.

Sir Mick Davis’ experience includes his involvement as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director in the listing of Billiton plc on the London Stock Exchange in 1997, which grew to be a multi-national mining company with an approximately $10 billion market capitalization by 2001 when it merged with BHP Limited. As of December 31, 2020, the successor entity, BHP Group (TICKERS: BHP-LON and BHP-ASX) was the world’s largest mining company, with a market capitalization of approximately $152 billion.

Sir Mick Davis also served for 12 years as Chief Executive Officer of Xstrata plc (“Xstrata”), an Anglo-Swiss multi-national mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and primarily listed on the London Stock Exchange. While at Xstrata, Sir Mick Davis led a business strategy centered on the thesis that industrialization in Asia, particularly in China, would result in structural increases in demand and price for key industrial commodities. As part of that strategy, he oversaw approximately $35 billion of acquisitions, growing Xstrata from that of a smaller and more regionalized company with assets in 7 countries and a market capitalization of approximately $500 million in 2001, to that of a global, diversified mining company with assets in 20 countries and an approximate market capitalization of $54 billion in 2013. In May 2013, Sir Mick Davis oversaw the successful merger of Xstrata with Glencore plc, at a 15% premium to its share price at announcement valuing Xstrata at approximately $62 billion.

Sir Mick Davis has also served as Chairman of Macsteel Group since 2016 and has served as a director on the board of Coronado Global Resources Inc. (“Coronado”) since 2020. Coronado is an ASX-listed mining company focused on the production of metallurgical coal and with a market capitalization of approximately $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2020. He also serves on the boards of Dangote Cement plc and certain private companies with interests in technology, financial technology and cybersecurity.

 

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Sir Mick Davis graduated from Rhodes University in South Africa in 1980 with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) majoring in Economics and Accounting, and is a Chartered Accountant with the Institutes of Accounting in England and Wales and South Africa.

John Raymond. Mr. Raymond, our Chairman, is a Co-Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of The Energy & Minerals Group (“EMG”), a leading diversified natural resources-focused private equity firm. Since its formation in 2006, EMG has raised approximately $11 billion of capital across its five primary funds with an additional approximately $5 billion raised via co-investments, for a total of approximately $16 billion in capital raised, and currently manages 24 portfolio businesses. As of September 30, 2020, EMG had more than $10 billion remaining in Regulatory Assets Under Management, as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended. Total distributions to limited partners between fund inception and September 30, 2020 has been approximately $10 billion.

EMG’s founding thesis was to pursue a strategy aimed at delivering long-term value for investors through the acquisition and/or development of low-cost, long-lived and large-scale assets that produce high quality products vital to the global economy. EMG’s focus has been to optimize and further develop and expand such assets with a focus on rigorous cost control and operational efficiency measures.

Mr. Raymond has led EMG in connection with multiple noteworthy and successful investments, including:

 

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Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP (“Tallgrass”)—EMG invested $488 million in Tallgrass in 2012. After its successful IPO in 2015, Tallgrass was acquired in 2019 by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners and other investors for $3.3 billion.

 

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Medallion Gathering & Processing, LLC (“Medallion”)—in a series of investments from 2011 to 2016, EMG acquired a 51% interest in Medallion for $159 million. In 2017, Medallion was sold to an affiliate of Global Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”) for $1.825 billion plus additional cash consideration linked to GIP’s realized profits at exit.

 

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MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources, LLC (“MarkWest Liberty”)—in a series of investments from 2009 to 2011, EMG acquired a 49% interest in MarkWest Liberty for $404 million. In 2011, MarkWest Energy Partners, LP acquired MarkWest Liberty for $1 billion in cash and about $700 million in stock.

 

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INR Energy, LLC (“INR Energy”)—in 2007, EMG acquired a 49% interest in INR Energy for $92 million. In 2010, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., one of the largest producers of iron ore in North America, acquired the West Virginia coal operations of INR Energy, resulting in EMG’s net proceeds of $316 million.

 

•

Coronado Global Resources, Inc. (“Coronado Resources”)—EMG has invested $1.1 billion in Coronado Resources. In October 2018, Coronado executed a $550 million equity raise in one of Australia’s biggest coal IPOs. As of February 2021, EMG owns 55%+ of Coronado Resources at a market capitalization of $1.4 billion ($770 million net to EMG).

Prior to founding EMG in 2006, Mr. Raymond served in a number of senior executive management roles within the energy sector over a period of 14 years. These roles include his time as Chief Executive Officer of Plains Resources, Inc. (“Plains Resources”), a publicly traded company, from 2002 to 2004. Following the management-led buyout of Plains Resources in 2004, Mr. Raymond served as Chief Executive Officer of the successor entity, Vulcan Energy Corporation, from 2004 to 2005.

 

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In addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of EMG, Mr. Raymond serves on the boards of 25 companies, including public and private portfolio companies of EMG, as well as several companies not owned by or affiliated with EMG.

Mr. Raymond graduated from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in 1992 with a B.S.M. with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

John G. Calvert. Mr. Calvert, our Vice Chairman, is a Co-Founder and the President of EMG. In his role as President, Mr. Calvert is, along with Mr. Raymond, responsible for directing EMG’s strategic and investment decisions, as well as managing EMG’s investment portfolio on a day-to-day basis.

Mr. Calvert has 28 years of experience in the natural resources sector. Prior to founding EMG with Mr. Raymond in 2006, Mr. Calvert had a successful 13 year career as an investment banker responsible for initiating, structuring and executing transactions in the mining and natural resources industries. In particular, from 2005 to 2006, Mr. Calvert served as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Securities in the Large-Cap investment banking coverage group based in New York, where he provided strategic counsel and transaction execution advice to Deutsche Bank’s global mining and metals clients. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2005, Mr. Calvert was a Managing Director and Global Head of Mining Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he had global coverage responsibility for the mining sector.

In addition to his role as President of EMG, Mr. Calvert currently serves as a director on the boards of nine portfolio companies of EMG.

Mr. Calvert attended the University of Sydney, Australia where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree (First Class Honors) in 1989.

Jeffrey A. Ball. Mr. Ball, our Chief Financial Officer, is a Managing Director of EMG, which he joined in October 2007. At EMG, Mr. Ball is one of the senior executives responsible for implementing the firm’s strategic and investment activities and managing its investment portfolio.

Mr. Ball has over 24 years of experience in the financial and energy sectors, including 14 years in private equity. Prior to joining EMG in October 2007, Mr. Ball had a successful career in the investment banking industry, having been involved in over $40 billion of capital markets and financial advisory transactions. This includes Mr. Ball’s time as a senior coverage officer in the Investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse from 2000 to 2007 and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from 1996 to 2000, where he was responsible for advising companies in the energy and mining sectors.

Mr. Ball currently serves as a director on the boards of 12 companies, including Ascent Resources, LLC, Eagle LNG Partners LLC, Nunavut Iron Ore, Inc., Ferus Natural Gas Fuels Inc. and Ferus, Inc.

Mr. Ball graduated with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1996 with a B.S. in Economics with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

Michael Gamson. Mr. Gamson has more than 30 years of experience in the energy and commodity trading business. He served as Senior Partner/Shareholder and Vice Chairman of the Trading Committee at Vitol Inc. from 1996 to 2010. During that time, Vitol grew into the largest energy trading company in the world, and was ranked the 4^th largest privately held company in the world in 2008 by Forbes.

Prior to joining Vitol Inc., Mr. Gamson was a partner at Hess Corporation and helped the start-up of their physical and paper trading platform. Mr. Gamson also managed the clean products trading business at Phillip Brothers Inc. from 1986 to 1990.

Mr. Gamson currently sits on the Board of Trustees of Yeshiva University and serves as a Trustee of The Washington Institute for Near East Studies. Mr. Gamson also serves as a Trustee of Yes Prep, a public charter school in Houston Texas educating over 15,000 at risk youth.

 

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Mr. Gamson graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and received an Honorary Doctorate from Yeshiva University in 2014.

Joseph Norville. Mr. Norville is a former Partner at KPMG. He has more than 35 years of experience in tax planning, reporting and structuring of transactions for public and privately held clients. Mr. Norville served as the Dallas/Denver Business Unit Partner in Charge for Tax for more than ten years and six years as KPMG’s West Region Managing Partner for Tax. In this role, he was responsible for approximately 50% of the U.S. business operations for KPMG’s tax practice.

Mr. Norville has participated in over 100 audit committee meetings, helping the audit committees of many public companies understand tax risks and emerging tax laws. He has also addressed tax issues for numerous clients pursuing initial public offerings.

Mr. Norville is a past Chairman of the Board for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and of the Childcare Group of Dallas. He has also served on the Board of the Texas 4H Foundation, Family Gateway and the Advisory Board for Baylor’s Accounting Program.

Mr. Norville graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1981 with a B.S. in Accounting and graduated from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business with a Masters of Tax. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas.

Brett A. Olsher. Mr. Olsher is the Founder and Managing Partner of OLEX., a global consulting and impact investment firm focusing on the natural resources and industrial sectors, with a specific commitment to sustainability.

Mr. Olsher had an 18 year career as an investment banker. He was a Partner at Goldman Sachs, serving as chairman of the Global Natural Resources Group at Goldman Sachs until 2019. In this role, Mr. Olsher advised on approximately $410 billion of mergers and acquisitions transactions as well as approximately $124 billion of financings. Notable transactions that Mr. Olsher advised on include the merger of BHP and Billiton and Xstrata’s acquisition of Falconbridge.

Before his career in investment banking, Mr. Olsher spent 10 years as President of Olsher Metals Corporation, a global commodities trading, processing and logistics firm. From 1983 to 1986, he was a member of the professional staff at Price Waterhouse, where he qualified as a CPA.

Mr. Olsher is currently a Senior Advisor to Trafigura and a Member of the Board of Directors of CRU International. He earned a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Politics from Columbia University’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.

John Carr. Mr. Carr has over 30 years of experience in the natural resources sector focused in the trading of commodities, He headed Arcadia Petroleum’s crude oil futures and forwards business and the Atlantic Basin crude oil marketing team until 1999. Mr. Carr also built and led commodities trading teams for Salomon Brothers’ energy trading subsidiary Phibro Energy.

In 1999, Mr. Carr founded Gulf Petroleum International Limited (GPIL), a broking and consulting business based in Dublin, Ireland. In 2014, GPIL founded its investment and consulting vehicle, Clonsilla Capital Limited, to invest in Real Estate Assets in the Irish Market. Through Clonsilla Capital Limited, Mr. Carr also co-founded two technology companies.

Mr. Carr is currently on the Board of Advantek Corp LLC, a data solution company, and the Advisory Board of Amherst Capital, a real estate investment specialist.

 

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Mr. Carr graduated from St Pauls College in Dublin, Ireland.

With respect to the foregoing experiences of our leadership team, past performance by our leadership team, EMG and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our leadership team or their affiliates or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. None of the members of our leadership team have any experience working with any blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies. For more information on the experience and background of our leadership team, see the section entitled “Our Leadership Team.”

Market Opportunity

The growing impact of climate change has created an ever-increasing sense of urgency among governments, corporations and communities to reduce global carbon emissions, which are reflected in the 2016 Paris Agreement. We believe that government regulation and global consensus around the need to reduce CO₂ emissions will necessitate wide-ranging changes in the generation, storage and use of energy, which has the potential to result in structural changes to many segments of the global economy.

We believe demand for the key raw materials and commodities that will enable this shift to a low carbon economy is set to increase dramatically. As an example, the World Bank expects that new energy technologies will result in meaningful demand growth over the next three decades for key base metals, including aluminum (+9%), copper (+7%) and nickel (+99%). In addition, the World Bank has estimated global demand for certain key inputs in electric vehicle (“EV”) batteries will increase dramatically over the next three decades, including graphite (+494%), lithium (+488%) and cobalt (+460%).^*

We believe a rapid increase in expected demand for these key raw materials and commodities can create highly attractive economic opportunities because the supply of many of these products tends to be inelastic and mining majors have broadly curtailed capital investment since 2012. In particular, the mining and other processes required to turn these raw materials and commodities into usable form can be highly capital intensive and involve long lead-times for permitting and development. For example, new mining projects can take 10 or more years from identification of a resource to commission. As such, we believe many of these key raw materials and commodities are well-positioned to benefit from the favorable price dynamics that often accompany structural supply-deficit scenarios.

We see a particularly attractive set of opportunities with regards to many key raw materials and commodities that benefit directly from the shift away from fossil fuels. Some examples include:

 

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Copper, which is a key input in solar thermal technologies and is expected to play a key role in reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions in a number of industrial processes.

 

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Vanadium, which is the basis of the vanadium redox large-scale storage battery.

 

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Aluminum, cobalt, lithium, manganese and nickel, which are used in the cathode and graphite which is the core component of the anode of EV batteries.

 

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Platinum group metals (platinum, palladium and rhodium), which are key inputs into certain hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

 

*	Figures shown are the expected demand from energy technologies by 2050 as a percentage of 2018 production.

 

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Rare earth metals, which are of critical importance to the production of magnets in wind turbines.

 

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Gallium, germanium, indium and tellurium, which are key components in solar panels.

We also see an attractive set of opportunities with regards to key raw materials and commodities that can help companies reduce their carbon emissions footprint in producing goods. Some examples include:

 

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Vehicle lightweighting, which may increase demand for aluminum, particularly “green” aluminum made using renewable energy, as well as demand for high grade steel, which is produced, in part, with specialty metals such as vanadium.

 

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“Carbon friendly” steel production, which may rely increasingly on higher grade inputs, such as high-grade iron ore, as well as the use of “green” hydrogen technologies in place of coke (which is derived from metallurgical coal).

Business Strategy

Our strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a target that can benefit from the significant strategic, operational and transactional experience of our leadership team. In particular, we believe that our leadership team is well positioned to identify attractive business combination opportunities in industries related to advancing a low carbon economy and which provide an opportunity for transformational growth. We seek to add value to society and to the communities in which our businesses operate while minimizing negative environmental and social impact. We strive to achieve standards that are consistent with international best practices in the resources sector, while at the same time developing practices which are intended to maximize positive contributions for all of our stakeholders, including investors, employees, customers and impacted communities.

Together, Sir Mick Davis and EMG have a strong support team and an extensive network of relationships with management teams of public and private companies, private equity firms and venture capital sponsors, other public investors, investment bankers and lenders across multiple sectors, including but not limited to the mining and natural resources sectors. We believe that our extensive network of relationships will enable us to examine a broad range of acquisition opportunities and, thereby increase the likelihood of finding a target that will lead to shareholder value creation.

Upon completion of this offering, our leadership team will communicate with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potentially interesting leads.

Business Combination Criteria

We intend to employ a proactive acquisition strategy focused on high quality businesses at attractive valuations, with potential for operational improvement. We will aim to drive value for shareholders by acquiring businesses whose products have compelling supply and demand dynamics, with a particular focus on exposure to global de-carbonization trends, and where we can deliver operational improvements to increase efficiency.

We have identified the following criteria that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to seek to acquire businesses that we believe:

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will offer an attractive, risk-adjusted return on investment for our shareholders;

 

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exhibit value that has not been fully understood by the marketplace;

 

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operate in industries in which our leadership team have technical, strategic and operational expertise to impart significant value;

 

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are positioned to take advantage of paradigm shifts created by the global transition towards a low carbon economy;

 

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are positioned to experience growth in cash flow post-acquisition;

 

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are prepared to be public companies and will benefit from having a public currency in order to enhance their ability to pursue accretive acquisitions, high-return capital projects, and/or strengthen their balance sheet; and

 

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are business-friendly jurisdictions with clear regulatory and fiscal regimes.

While these criteria will be used in evaluating business combination opportunities, we may decide to enter into a business combination with a target business or businesses that do not meet these proposed criteria. These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines, as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant.

If we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender-offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.

Our Acquisition Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. Our search for a business combination, 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 the recent COVID-19 outbreak. See “Risk Factors — 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.”

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Each of our sponsor, directors and officers will, directly or indirectly, own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, such officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. As a result, 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 need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded

 

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from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.

Initial Business Combination

The rules of the NYSE require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target business or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.

We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

Business Combination Targets

We believe our management team’s significant operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate

 

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relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring, financing and selling businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.

We believe this network provides our management team with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities which are proprietary or where a limited group of investors are invited to participate in the sale process. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team will provide us with important sources of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has 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 directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.

Our executive offices are located at 2229 San Felipe, Suite 1300, Houston, TX 77019 and our telephone number is +1-713-579-5000.

Mail addressed to the Company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by the Company to be dealt with. None of the Company or its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused with regards to mail reaching the forwarding address.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer target businesses an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their equity securities, shares or shares of stock in the target business for our shares or for a combination of our shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by

 

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augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

Financial Position

With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $290,900,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $334,325,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of up to $12,075,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case, after estimated offering expenses of $1,100,000 (and prior to any post-IPO working capital expenses), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemptions of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account.

 

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In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.

Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination

The NYSE rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.

We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with EMG, VBR and/or one or more investors in funds managed by EMG. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this prospectus. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares) would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares), unless the holders of a majority of the then-issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at

 

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the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.

To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information, which will be made available to us.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.

Lack of Business Diversification

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business.

By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry.

Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or

 

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dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

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 initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial

 

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business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

Following our initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination

We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

Under the rules of the NYSE, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

 

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we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of Class A ordinary shares then issued and outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding;

 

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any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by NYSE 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 ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

 

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the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.

The Companies Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.

Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities

In the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of securities such persons may purchase. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such purchases or other transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such purchases or other transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of

 

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our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. We will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.

In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.

The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such transactions may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their respective affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination. Such persons would select the shareholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

Any purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their respective affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are 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, directors, officers and/or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of ordinary shares if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.

 

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Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At the completion of our initial business combination, we will be required to purchase any ordinary shares properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder 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 shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

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conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and

 

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file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that

 

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would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

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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

 

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file proxy materials with the SEC.

We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NYSE listing or Exchange Act registration.

In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

 

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Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval

Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights

We may require our public shareholders 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 scheduled 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 DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

The foregoing is different from the procedures used by some blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, some blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote

 

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against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares 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 shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the 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 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 two business days prior to the scheduled date of the general meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we elect to allow additional withdrawal rights). Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.

If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a different business combination until 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will initially have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 24-month period or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame.

Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial shareholders, directors or officers acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame.

 

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Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $1,400,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders 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 shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), 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 shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser

 

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amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this 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, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our directors or officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.00 per share.

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,400,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, 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, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,100,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the 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. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,100,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

If we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders 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 shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A

 

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ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.

Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain a provision which provides that, if we seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:

 

•

prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which public shareholders may seek to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to tender their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein;

 

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in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions;

 

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if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company;

 

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if our initial business combination is not consummated within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account; and

 

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prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination.

These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the ordinary shares voted by our shareholders at a duly held general meeting.

 

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Additionally, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and that holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.

Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination and If We Fail to Complete Our Initial Business Combination

The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.

 

		Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination		Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates		Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination
Calculation of redemption price		Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such		If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will be restricted except 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. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions.		If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares.

 

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		Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination		Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates		Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination
		redemptions, and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination.
Impact to remaining shareholders		The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account).		If the permitted purchases described above are made, there will be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us.		The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions.

Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419

The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.

 

		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
Escrow of offering proceeds		The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. $300,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.		Approximately $255,150,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering less allowable underwriting commissions, expenses and company deductions under Rule 419, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account.
Investment of net proceeds		$300,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days		Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or

 

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		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
		or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act.		obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States.
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds		Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (1) any taxes paid or payable and (2) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation.		Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination.
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business		The NYSE rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust).		The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds.
Trading of securities issued		The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect		No trading of the units or the underlying ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account.

 

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		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
		the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
Exercise of the warrants		The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering.		The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account.
Election to remain an investor		We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest, which interest shall be net of taxes payable, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing		A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued.

 

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		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
		additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Business combination deadline		If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.		If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors.
Release of funds		Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account		The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or

 

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		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
		will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law.		the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time.
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote		If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering), without our prior consent. Our public shareholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions.		Most blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination.
Tendering share certificates in connection with a		We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or		In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against

 

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		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
tender offer or redemption rights		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 scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights.		a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership.

Competition

We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash to redeem our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

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Conflicts of Interest

Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to EMG, VBR and to certain companies in which either of them has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination.

Our management team, in their capacities as members, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. We expect that if an opportunity is presented to one of our officers or directors in his or her capacity as an officer or director of one of those other entities, such opportunity would be presented to such other entity and not to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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 it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”

Each of our directors and officers presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. See “Risk Factors — Certain of our directors and officers 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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”

We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.

Each of EMG and VBR manages several investments or investment vehicles. VBR and funds managed by EMG or their respective affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these funds decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within EMG or VBR may be suitable for both us and for a current or future EMG fund or affiliates of VBR and may be directed to such investment vehicle rather than to us, subject to applicable fiduciary duties. Neither EMG nor VBR nor members of our management team who are also employed by EMG or VBR have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware solely in their capacities as officers or managing directors of EMG or VBR. EMG, VBR and/or

 

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our management, in their capacities as officers or managing directors of EMG, VBR or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future EMG or VBR investment vehicles, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to applicable fiduciary duties.

We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with EMG, VBR and/or one or more investors in funds managed by EMG. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares) would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares), unless the holders of a majority of the then-issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof.

They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.

Indemnity

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.

Facilities

We currently maintain our executive offices at 2229 San Felipe, Suite 1300, Houston, TX 77019. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we will pay our sponsor for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

 

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Employees

We currently have 2 officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

We will register our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public auditors.

We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, U.S. GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. 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 the requirements outlined above, 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 comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares,

 

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debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

Legal Proceedings

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.

 

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MANAGEMENT

Directors, Director Nominees and Officers

 

Name		Age			Title
John T. Raymond			50			Chairman of the board of directors
John G. Calvert			56			Vice Chairman of the board of directors
Sir Michael Davis			62			Chief Executive Officer and Director
Jeffrey A. Ball			46			Chief Financial Officer
John Carr			64			Director Nominee
Michael Gamson			63			Director Nominee
Joseph Norville			61			Director Nominee
Brett A. Olsher			60			Director Nominee

Our directors, director nominees and officers are as follows:

John T. Raymond has been our Chairman of the board of directors since January 2021. Mr. Raymond is a Co-Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of EMG, a leading diversified natural resources-focused private equity firm. Prior to founding EMG in 2006, Mr. Raymond served in a number of senior executive management roles within the energy sector over a period of 14 years. These include his time as Chief Executive Officer of Plains Resources, Inc. (“Plains Resources”), a publicly traded company, from 2002 to 2004. Following the management-led buyout of Plains Resources in 2004, Mr. Raymond served as Chief Executive Officer of the successor entity, Vulcan Energy Corporation, from 2004 to 2005. In addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of EMG, Mr. Raymond serves on the boards of 25 companies, including public and private portfolio companies of EMG, as well as several companies not owned by or affiliated with EMG. Mr. Raymond graduated from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in 1992 with a B.S.M. with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting. We believe that Mr. Raymond is well-qualified to serve as on our board of directors because of his depth of experience in both executive positions and serving on numerous boards.

John G. Calvert has been our Vice Chairman of the board of directors since January 2021. Mr. Calvert is a Co-Founder of EMG which he joined in 2006. Mr. Calvert serves as the President and a Managing Partner of the Fund Manager of EMG and also serves on its Investment Committee. Mr. Calvert is responsible for directing strategic and investment activities of EMG and managing its investment portfolio and day-to-day activities with John T. Raymond. Prior to founding EMG, Mr. Calvert was a senior investment banker responsible for initiating, structuring and executing transactions in the natural resources industry. From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Calvert served as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Securities in the Large-Cap investment banking coverage group based in New York, where he provided strategic counsel and transaction execution advice to Deutsche Bank’s global mining and metals clients. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2005, Mr. Calvert was a Managing Director and Global Head of Mining Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he had global coverage responsibility for the mining sector. From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Calvert worked in the Natural Resources Group of Morgan Stanley & Co., where he focused on transaction execution in mergers, acquisitions and financings for the mining sector. From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Calvert practiced law at Blake Dawson Waldron in Australia as an Associate in its Corporate & Securities Group, where he provided legal advice on corporate transactions in the media and mining sectors. Mr. Calvert currently serves as a director of Coronado Group LLC, EMG Baffin Holdings Lux S.à r.l., EMG Iron Ore HC Lux S.à r.l., EMG Iron Ore Phase 3 Holdings Lux S.à r.l, EMG Iron Ore Phase 3 (Q4 19) Holdings Lux S.à r.l, Nunavut Iron Ore, Inc., EMG Ferus II Lux S.à r.l., NGPMR Lux II S.à r.l. and EMG Chronos Lux S.à r.l. Mr. Calvert attended the University of Sydney, Australia where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree (First Class Honors) in 1989. We believe Mr. Calvert is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors given his deep significant professional experience in varied roles within the natural resources industry.

 

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Sir Michael Davis has been our Chief Executive Officer since January 2021. Mr. Davis currently serves as Chairman of Vision Blue Resources, Ltd. Mr. Davis is also Chairman of MacSteel, a global trading and shipping company and a director and advisor to other companies in technology and financial services sector. Mr. Davis was Co-Founder of X2 Resources, from 2013 to 2017. He stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Xstrata plc in 2013, one of the world’s largest global diversified mining and metals companies which he grew in a

period from a market value of $500 million to $60 billion, employing more than 90,000 people and operating in over 22 countries. Previously, Mr. Davis was an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Billiton plc and Chairman of Billiton Coal. Prior to joining Billiton, Mr. Davis was an Executive Director of South African state-owned Eskom, one of the world’s largest electricity utilities. Mr. Davis has extensive capital markets and corporate transactions experience. During his career, he has raised almost $40 billion from global capital markets and successfully completed over $120 billion of corporate transactions. Some of his successes are the creation of the Ingwe Coal Corporation in South Africa; the listing of Billiton on the London Stock Exchange; the merger of BHP and Billiton into the largest diversified mining company in the world; the initial public offering of Xstrata plc on the London Stock Exchange in 2002 and Xstrata’s subsequent acquisitions of MIM Holdings and Falconbridge Ltd., amongst others and most recently the successful merger of Xstrata and Glencore. Mr. Davis was also the Treasurer of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom from February 2016 to July 2019 and its Chief Executive from July 2017 to July 2019. Mr. Davis is a Chartered Accountant by profession and an alumnus of Theodor Herzl School in Port Elizabeth. He holds an honours degree in Commerce from Rhodes University, South Africa. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from Bar Ilan University. In the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honour’s List, Mr. Davis was made a Knight’s Bachelor. Mr. Davis is well qualified to serve as our Chief Executive Officer because of his extensive management history of leading mining companies.

Jeffrey A. Ball has been our Chief Financial Officer since January 2021. Mr. Ball is a Managing Director of EMG, which he joined in October 2007. Mr. Ball is responsible for implementing the EMG’s strategic and investment activities and managing the investment portfolio. Prior to joining EMG in October 2007, Mr. Ball served as a Director in the Investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse from 2000 to September 2007. While at Credit Suisse, Mr. Ball served as a senior officer responsible for advising the energy and mining Master Limited Partnership sectors. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Ball worked in the Investment Banking Group at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation. Mr. Ball currently serves as a director of Eagle LNG Partners, LLC, Ferus Natural Gas Fuels, GP, LLC, Ferus Natural Gas Fuels Inc., Ferus Inc., Ferus GP, LLC, Nunavut Iron Ore, Inc. and Ascent Resources, LLC and as a board observer for MarkWest Utica EMG, LLC. Mr. Ball graduated with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a Bachelor of Science in Economics with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting. Mr. Ball is well qualified to serve as our chief financial officer because of his extensive management history and experience in developing and executing on investment strategies.

John Carr will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Mr. Carr has over 30 years of experience in the natural resources sector focused in the trading of commodities, He headed Arcadia Petroleum’s crude oil futures and forwards business and the Atlantic Basin crude oil marketing team until 1999. Mr. Carr also built and led commodities trading teams for Salomon Brothers’ energy trading subsidiary Phibro Energy. In 1999, Mr. Carr founded Gulf Petroleum International Limited (GPIL), a broking and consulting business based in Dublin, Ireland. In 2014, GPIL founded its investment and consulting vehicle, Clonsilla Capital Limited, to invest in Real Estate Assets in the Irish Market. Through Clonsilla Capital Limited, Mr. Carr also co-founded two technology companies. Mr. Carr is currently on the Board of Advantek Corp LLC, a data solution company, and the Advisory Board of Amherst Capital, a real estate investment specialist. Mr. Carr graduated from St Pauls College in Dublin, Ireland. Additionally, among the reasons for his appointment as a director, Mr. Carr’s financial, business and operational experience, as well as the experience that he has accumulated through his activities as an executive and investor, add strategic vision to the board of directors to assist with our ultimate business combination transaction.

Michael Gamson will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Mr. Gamson has more than 30 years of experience in the energy and commodity trading business. He served as

 

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Senior Partner/Shareholder and Vice Chairman of the Trading Committee at Vitol Inc. from 1996 to 2010. During that time, Vitol grew into the largest energy trading company in the world, and was ranked the 4th largest privately held company in the world in 2008 by Forbes. Prior to joining Vitol Inc., Mr. Gamson was a partner at Hess Corporation and helped the start-up of their physical and paper trading platform. Mr. Gamson also managed the clean products trading business at Phillip Brothers Inc. from 1986 to 1990. Mr. Gamson currently sits on the Board of Trustees of Yeshiva University and serves as a Trustee of The Washington Institute for Near East Studies. Mr. Gamson also serves as a Trustee of Yes Prep, a public charter school in Houston Texas educating over 15,000 at risk youth. Mr. Gamson graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and received an Honorary Doctorate from Yeshiva University in 2014. Mr. Gamson’s significant experience across the energy and commodity sectors, including his executive experience in these industries, will provide our board of directors with helpful insight when seeking a target business.

Joseph Norville will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Mr. Norville is a former Partner at KPMG. He has more than 35 years of experience in tax planning, reporting and structuring of transactions for public and privately held clients. Mr. Norville served as the Dallas/Denver Business Unit Partner in Charge for Tax for more than ten years and six years as KPMG’s West Region Managing Partner for Tax. In this role, he was responsible for approximately 50% of the U.S. business operations for KPMG’s tax practice. Mr. Norville has participated in over 100 audit committee meetings, helping the audit committees of many public companies understand tax risks and emerging tax laws. He has also addressed tax issues for numerous clients pursuing initial public offerings. Mr. Norville is a past Chairman of the Board for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and of the Childcare Group of Dallas. He has also served on the Board of the Texas 4H Foundation, Family Gateway and the Advisory Board for Baylor’s Accounting Program. Mr. Norville graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and graduated from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business with a Masters of Tax. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas. Mr. Norville’s significant experience serving as a tax expert for companies across many decades in a diverse array of industries will make him a valuable member of our board of directors.

Brett A. Olsher will serve as a member of our board of directors upon completion of this offering. Mr. Olsher is the Founder and Managing Partner of OLEX., a global consulting and impact investment firm focusing on the natural resources and industrial sectors, with a specific commitment to sustainability. Mr. Olsher had an 18 year career as an investment banker. He was a Partner at Goldman Sachs, serving as chairman of the Global Natural Resources Group at Goldman Sachs until 2019. In this role, Mr. Olsher advised on approximately $410 billion of mergers and acquisitions transactions as well as approximately $124 billion of financings. Notable transactions that Mr. Olsher advised on include the merger of BHP and Billiton and Xstrata’s acquisition of Falconbridge. Before his career in investment banking, Mr. Olsher spent 10 years as President of Olsher Metals Corporation, a global commodities trading, processing and logistics firm. From 1983 to 1986, he was a member of the professional staff at Price Waterhouse, where he qualified as a CPA. Mr. Olsher is currently a Senior Advisor to Trafigura and a Member of the Board of Directors of CRU International. He earned a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Politics from Columbia University’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Mr. Olsher’s significant financial experience, particularly in management and senior executive roles at a large financial institution and his managerial experience in the natural resources and industrial sectors make him a valuable member of our board of directors.

Number, Terms of Office and Appointment of Directors and Officers

Our board of directors consists of seven members. Each of our directors will hold office for a two-year term. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and

 

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restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board of directors or by a majority of the holders of our ordinary shares (or, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares).

Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

Director Independence

The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person that, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). We have four “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE rules and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of this offering. Our board of directors has determined that each of John Carr, Michael Gamson, Joseph Norville and Brett A. Olsher is an independent director as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules.

Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Officer and Director Compensation

None of our directors or officers have received from us any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay affiliates of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative and support services. Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.

 

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On February 12, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of John Carr, Michael Gamson, Joseph Norville and Brett A. Olsher at their original per-share purchase price.

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders 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, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.

We are not party to any agreements with our directors and officers that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee; a compensation committee; and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Both our audit committee and our compensation committee are composed solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules, the rules of NYSE 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 NYSE require that the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that has been approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee will be available on our website following the closing of this offering.

Audit Committee

We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. The members of our audit committee are Joseph Norville, John Carr and Brett A. Olsher. Joseph Norville serves as chairman of the audit committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent.

Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Joseph Norville qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.

We have adopted an audit committee charter, which will detail the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:

 

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assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors;

 

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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;

 

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pre-approving all audit and 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;

 

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reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;

 

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setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors;

 

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setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

 

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obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;

 

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meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”;

 

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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

 

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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 have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Brett A. Olsher, Michael Gamson and John Carr. Brett A. Olsher serves as chairman of the compensation committee.

We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:

 

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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;

 

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reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers;

 

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reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;

 

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implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

 

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assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

 

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approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;

 

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producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

 

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reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

 

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The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Michael Gamson and Joseph Norville. Michael Gamson serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, all the directors on the nominating and corporate governance committee must be independent.

We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:

 

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identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board of directors, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;

 

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developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines;

 

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coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and

 

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reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary.

The charter also provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.

We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a code of ethics and business conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at sec.report and our website. In addition, a copy of our Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information.” If we make any amendments to our Code of Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or NYSE rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form S-1 or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.

 

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Conflicts of Interest

Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:

 

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duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;

 

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duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;

 

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duty to not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;

 

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duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;

 

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duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and

 

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duty to exercise independent judgment.

In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care, which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge, skill and experience which that director has.

As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders; provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.

Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to EMG, VBR and to certain companies in which either of them has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. None of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination.

Our management team, in their capacities as members, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. We expect that if an opportunity is presented to one of our officers or directors in his or her capacity as an officer or director of one of those other entities, such opportunity would be presented to such other entity and not to us. Such other entities would include investment funds of EMG or affiliate of VBR.

 

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Each of our directors and officers presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. Our directors and officers are also not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors — Certain of our directors and officers 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 determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”

We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.

Potential investors should also be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:

 

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None of our directors or officers 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.

 

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In the course of their other business activities, our directors and officers may become aware of investment and business opportunities that 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. For a complete description of our management’s other affiliations, see “— Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”

 

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Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial shareholders, directors or officers or any of their respective affiliates acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Pursuant to a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, with certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial shareholders, if any, directors and officers until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at

 

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least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, amalgamation, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and directors and officers may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.

 

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Our initial shareholders, 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, any initial shareholders or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.

 

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Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination.

 

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Our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such directors and officers was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.

Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our directors and officers have now and may have in the future similar legal obligations to other companies that would require them to present business opportunities to these companies. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our directors, officers and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:

 

Individual		Entity(1)		Entity’s Business		Affiliation
John T. Raymond		NGP Midstream & Resources, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		NGP Midstream & Resources Offshore Fund, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund II, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund II Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund II Dutch Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund III, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund III Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund IV, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund IV Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner

 

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Individual		Entity(1)		Entity’s Business		Affiliation
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund V, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund V Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund V Accordion, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund V Accordion Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
John G. Calvert		NGP Midstream & Resources, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		NGP Midstream & Resources Offshore Fund, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund II, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund II Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund II Dutch Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund III, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund III Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund IV, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund IV Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund V, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund V Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund V Accordion, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
		EMG Fund V Accordion Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member and Officer of the General Partner
Jeffrey A. Ball		NGP Midstream & Resources, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member in the General Partner
		NGP Midstream & Resources Offshore Fund, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member in the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund II, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member in the General Partner
		EMG Fund II Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member in the General Partner
		EMG Fund II Dutch Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund III, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
		EMG Fund III Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund IV, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner

 

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Individual		Entity(1)		Entity’s Business		Affiliation
		EMG Fund IV Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund V, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
		EMG Fund V Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
		The Energy & Minerals Group Fund V Accordion, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
		EMG Fund V Accordion Offshore, LP		Private Equity Fund		Member of the General Partner
Sir Michael Davis		Vision Blue Resources, Ltd.		Holding Company		Chairman
Michael Gamson		Freepoint Commodities LLC		Energy Company		Consultant
Brett A. Olsher		OLEX.		Investment Company		Founder & Managing Partner

 

(1)

Includes all portfolio companies of such entities Mr. Raymond, Mr. Calvert and Mr. Ball also serve as a director of holding companies and/or such portfolio companies. Mr. Raymond, Mr. Calvert and Mr. Ball may be obligated to show acquisitions to such companies before we may pursue such acquisitions.

Accordingly, if any of the above directors or officers become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities 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, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on the NYSE, we will also pay our sponsor or an affiliate thereof up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

In addition, our sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the company in connection with the initial business combination, although our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial business combination.

Each of EMG and VBR manages several investments or investment vehicles. VBR, funds managed by EMG or their respective affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these funds decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas

 

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