UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): May 6, 2021

SPARTAN ACQUISITION CORP. II

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

(212) 515-3200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company ☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐ 

Item 4.02.    Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related Audit Report or

       Completed Interim Review.

On April 12, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) released a public statement (the “Public Statement”) informing market participants that warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (“SPAC”) may require classification as a liability of the entity measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings. Spartan Acquisition Corp. II (the “Company”) has previously classified its private placement warrants and public warrants (collectively, the “warrants”) as equity. For a full description of the Company’s warrants, please refer to the Company’s final prospectus filed in connection with its initial public offering on November 30, 2020 (the “Final Prospectus”).

On May 6, 2021, the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”), in consultation with management of the Company and upon the recommendation of the Audit Committee of the Board, determined that the Company’s audited financial statements for the period from August 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (the “Financial Statements”) should no longer be relied upon due to changes required for alignment with the Public Statement. The  Public Statement discussed “certain features of warrants issued in SPAC transactions” that “may be common across many entities.” The Public Statement indicated that when one or more of such features is included in a warrant, the warrant “should be classified as a liability measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.” Following consideration of the guidance in the Public Statement, while the terms and quantum of the warrants as described in the Final Prospectus have not changed, the Company concluded that the warrants do not meet the conditions to be classified in equity and instead, the warrants meet the definition of a derivative under Accounting Standards Codification 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity,” under which the Company should record the warrants as liabilities on the Company’s balance sheet. The Company has discussed this approach with its independent registered public accounting firm, WithumSmith+Brown, PC, and intends to file an amendment to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, originally filed with the SEC on March 11, 2021 (the “Amended 10-K”), reflecting this reclassification of the warrants. The Company engaged an independent valuation expert to value the warrants and is working diligently to file the Amended 10-K as soon as practicable. The adjustments to the Financial Statements will be set forth through expanded disclosure in the financial statements included in the Amended 10-K, including further describing the restatement and its impact on previously reported amounts.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

Dated: May 6, 2021