Attached files
| file | filename |
|---|---|
| EX-32.2 - CERTIFICATION - Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. | f10k2020a1ex32-2_cohnrobbins.htm |
| EX-32.1 - CERTIFICATION - Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. | f10k2020a1ex32-1_cohnrobbins.htm |
| EX-31.2 - CERTIFICATION - Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. | f10k2020a1ex31-2_cohnrobbins.htm |
| EX-31.1 - CERTIFICATION - Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. | f10k2020a1ex31-1_cohnrobbins.htm |
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K/A
(Amendment No. 1)
(Mark One)
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
Or
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission File No. 001-39454
Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Cayman Islands | 98-1547852 | |
(State
or other jurisdiction of |
(I.R.S.
Employer |
1000
N. West Street, Suite 1200 |
19801 | |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
(302)
295-4937
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant | CRHC.U | New York Stock Exchange | ||
| Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share | CRHC | New York Stock Exchange | ||
| Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 | CRHC WS | New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
| Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ |
| Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes ☒ No ☐
As of June 30, 2020 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), the Registrant’s securities were not publicly traded. The Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange separately from its Units on October 30, 2020. The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, at December 31, 2020, was approximately $861,948,000.
As of March 31, 2021, there were 82,800,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value and 20,700,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.
Cohn
Robbins Holdings Corp.
FORM 10-K FOR THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. (the “Company,” “we”, “our” or “us”) is filing this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A (Amendment No. 1), or this Amendment, to amend our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on March 31, 2021, or the Original Filing, to restate our financial statements as of and for the period ended December 31, 2020. We are also restating the financial statement as of September 11, 2020 and as of and for the period ended September 30, 2020 in the accompanying financial statements included in this Annual Report (collectively, the “Original Financial Statements”).
Restatement Background
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission released a statement on accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (the “Staff Statement”). The Staff Statement highlighted certain financial reporting considerations for special purpose acquisition corporations (“SPACs”) relating to the accounting for warrants. While the specific terms of warrants issued by SPACs can vary, there are certain features of warrants issued in SPAC transactions that are common across many entities. The Staff Statement highlighted that warrants containing these features, which relate to whether the warrants can be indexed to the price of an entity’s shares or settled with assets other than common shares, should be classified as a liability measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported as non-cash changes to earnings. Such period-to-period changes could be significant. Prior to the issuance of this guidance, SPACs generally carried their outstanding private placement warrants and public warrants containing these provisions as equity on their balance sheets without quarterly adjustments.
In light of the Staff Statement, we undertook a process to re-evaluate the equity classification of our outstanding warrants issued in connection with our initial public offering on September 11, 2020, including the 12,373,333 private placement warrants and the 27,600,000 warrants issued as part of the units sold in our initial public offering, each with an exercise price of $11.50 (collectively, the “Warrants”). As a result, management and the Audit Committee determined that the Warrants should have been classified as a liability. Based on Accounting Standards Codification 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity, warrant instruments that do not meet the criteria to be considered indexed to an entity’s own stock shall be initially classified as derivative liabilities at their estimated fair values, regardless of the likelihood that such instruments will ever be settled in cash. In periods subsequent to issuance, changes in the estimated fair value of the derivative instruments should be reported in the statement of operations.
As a result, the Company, together with its advisors, undertook a process to value the liability of its Warrants. Based on this valuation, Company management, together with the Audit Committee, determined, on July 2, 2021, that the Company’s (i) financial statements and other financial data as of and for the period ended December 31, 2020 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2020 and (ii) the financial statements included in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as of and for the period ended September 30, 2020 and (iii) the financial statement included in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on September 17, 2020 (collectively, the “Affected Periods”) contained an error that was quantitatively material and, as a result, should no longer be relied upon. The Audit Committee, together with management, determined that the financial statements in the Affected Periods should be restated to reflect the Warrants as a liability, with subsequent changes in its estimated fair value recorded as non-cash income or expense in each Affected Period. Consequently, the Company has restated the financial statements for the Affected Periods in this Form 10-K/A. All amounts in this Form 10-K/A affected by the restatement adjustments reflect such amounts as restated. These restatements result in non-cash, non-operating financial statement corrections and will have no impact on the Company’s current or previously reported cash position, operating expenses or total operating, investing or financing cash flows.
ii
The Company has not amended its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or its Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on September 17, 2020, for the Affected Periods. The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported for these periods is superseded by the information in this Form 10-K/A, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed reports should no longer be relied upon.
In connection with the restatement, management has re-evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s management has concluded that in light of the classification error described above, a material weakness exists in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. For a discussion of management’s consideration of our disclosure controls and procedures, internal control over financial reporting, and the material weaknesses identified, see Part II, Item 9A, “Controls and Procedures” of this Form 10-K/A.
Items Amended in this Form 10-K/A
This Form 10-K/A presents the Original Report, amended and restated with modifications as necessary to reflect the restatements. The following items have been amended to reflect the restatement:
Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors
Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements
Part II, Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
The following item has been amended to reflect additional corporate governance disclosure required by the rules of the New York Stock Exchange:
Part III, Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance
In addition, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have provided new certifications dated as of the date of this filing in connection with this Form 10-K/A (Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 32.1 and 32.2).
Except as described above, this Form 10-K/A does not amend, update or change any other items or disclosures in the Original Report and does not purport to reflect any information or events subsequent to the filing thereof. As such, this Form 10-K/A speaks only as of the date the Original Report was filed, and we have not undertaken herein to amend, supplement or update any information contained in the Original Report to give effect to any subsequent events. Accordingly, this Form 10-K/A should be read in conjunction with our filings made with the SEC subsequent to the filing of the Original Report, including any amendment to those filings.
iii
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
This Annual Report on Form 10-K/A contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A 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, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:
| ● | our being a company with no operating history and no operating revenues; |
| ● | 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 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; |
| ● | the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| ● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ● | 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 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 (as defined below) 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; and |
| ● | the other risk and uncertainties discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). |
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.
iv
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A (this “Annual Report”) to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” are to Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp., a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Cohn Robbins Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. References to our “initial shareholders” refer to our Sponsor and each of our independent directors.
Overview
We intend to capitalize on the approximately 70 years of combined experience of our co-founders, Gary D. Cohn and Clifton S. Robbins, in investing and managing capital across markets and industries, structuring transactions, and building businesses, and on their respective and complementary vast and unique global networks of relationships to source and diligence transaction opportunities and add post-transaction value. Our founders have enjoyed a longstanding personal and professional relationship spanning more than twenty years and share a common vision for investing and building world class businesses. Our founders bring highly complementary capabilities across private equity, public market investing, hedge funds, investment banking and financial services, venture capital and government. Through their respective careers they have worked with founders, boards and management teams of companies operating across a broad range of industries in various stages of their life cycles and with enterprise values ranging from micro-cap to the largest in the Fortune 500, including particular and sustained focus on middle market companies.
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on July 13, 2020. We were formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “Business Combination”). We may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location. Our sponsor is Cohn Robbins Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (our “Sponsor”).
Our registration statement for our initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on September 8, 2020. On September 11, 2020, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 82,800,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units offered, the “Public Shares”), including 10,800,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $828.0 million, and incurring offering costs of $46,191,135, inclusive of $28,980,000 in deferred underwriting commissions.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 12,373,333 warrants (each a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $18,560,000.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, $828.0 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and invested in United States 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 of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), as determined by us, until the earliest of: (i) the completion of an initial Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to our shareholders, as described below.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The stock exchange listing rules require that the Business Combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted and excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account). We will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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. There is no assurance that we will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
1
We intend to effectuate a Business Combination using the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt. We have not engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until we complete a Business Combination, and we have not generated any operating revenue to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial Business Combination, at the earliest. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. Our entire activity from inception through December 31, 2020 related to our formation, the preparation for the Initial Public Offering, and following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. Based on our business activities, we are a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
We will provide the holders of the Public Shares (the “Public Shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of the Business Combination, either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination (initially $10.00 per Public Share), including any interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to certain limitations. The per-share amount to be distributed to the Public Shareholders who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we pay to the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
We have until September 11, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if we have not completed a Business Combination within the Combination Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements (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 the rights of the Public Shareholders as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining Public 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 a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
Effecting a Business Combination
Our Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial Business Combination with a company that complements the experience of our founders and can benefit from their sourcing, investing, governance and public market and value-enhancement expertise. Our selection process will capitalize on our founders’ vast and unique networks of relationships to both source a transaction as well as implement an operational and growth strategy. These networks have been developed through our founders’ well-established experience across private and public market investing, global financial services and government where they have demonstrated a distinct combination of capabilities including:
| ● | Broad and diverse network of operational, investment and transactional relationships to provide access to unique deal flow as well as experienced operators and management teams; |
| ● | Broad and diverse network at the highest levels of the financial services and asset management industry; |
| ● | Extensive experience identifying, evaluating and executing M&A transactions both through private equity funds as well as through public companies in which he has invested, including sourcing, structuring, diligencing, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses; |
| ● | Extensive experience operating businesses, allocating capital and managing risk across a broad array of markets; |
2
| ● | Track record of applying a private equity approach to public equity investing across multiple industries, working with companies and corporate boards on matters ranging from operational improvements, capital allocation and strategic growth opportunities; |
| ● | Deep understanding and connectivity across the capital markets to position companies and help management teams transition from private to public ownership; |
| ● | Wide-ranging and meaningful relationships with a range of sellers such as private equity firms, entrepreneurs and corporates, active and retired executives and financing providers to source ideas and targets; |
| ● | Unique perspective on private and public sectors and evolving regulatory landscape across the broader business communities; |
| ● | Deep experience as an operator, risk-taker, business builder and manager at a complex and world class global financial institutions; |
| ● | Flexible approach and experience working with companies to develop an appropriate capital structure and ongoing ownership; |
| ● | History of aligning management and shareholder interests through the development of compensation plans that allow management to participate in long term shareholder value creation; |
| ● | Extensive history of serving on public boards and working with public companies to effect change; and |
| ● | Demonstrated background in identifying and implementing material environmental, social and governance frameworks while staying consistent with investment fundamentals to create long-term value. |
Business Combination Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial Business Combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
| ● | Have a strong position within their industry with identified competitive advantages, established customer relationships and barriers to entry; |
| ● | Have a strong management team that can benefit from our founders’ expertise and networks to help source additional deal flow, executives, board members, operators, partners and capital providers; |
| ● | Can benefit from being a public company with access to broader capital markets to help achieve the company’s business strategy and capital structure needs; |
| ● | Are undervalued, with sub-optimal capital structures where our capital and corporate finance expertise can provide a solution to unlock value; |
| ● | Present unique dynamics and needs under current ownership providing an opportunity for our founders to utilize their structuring expertise and investment experience to negotiate an attractive transaction; |
| ● | Are in the midst of undergoing a change in strategy, adapting to evolving industry dynamics or evaluating other transformational initiatives where we believe our expertise and capital can help accelerate execution and result in an attractive risk-adjusted return for our shareholders; |
3
| ● | Illustrate attractive earnings and growth potential and operate in an industry with positive trends and growth dynamics; and |
| ● | Have been able to withstand and adapt to recent economic and market volatility, or have a path to do so. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial Business Combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial Business Combination with a target business that 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 would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.
In addition to any potential business candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other 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.
Additional Disclosures
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. We will also call upon our founders’ networks of relationships with CEOs, board members and members of executive management teams, to provide specialized insights into their areas of expertise, and utilize our operational and capital planning experience.
Each of our directors and officers directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or Private Placement Warrants and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial Business Combination. Further, 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.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, 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, then, subject to such officer’s and director’s fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, 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 to materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 New York Stock Exchange (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). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. 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.
4
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. 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. 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.
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. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for Business Combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing Business Combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and 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.
Employees
Other than Mr. Robbins who intends to devote substantially all of his business time to our company, we 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.
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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 Annual Report, including our financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
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.
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 will 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. 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.
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.
Unlike some other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial Business Combination, 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 31,050,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or 5,175,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 82,800,000 public shares sold in the Initial Public 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.
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.
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.
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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 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. 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. 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 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 the Initial Public Offering. 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. 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.
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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 the Initial Public 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. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow 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 and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire.
If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within such time 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. 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.
Our search for a Business Combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of 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 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 or limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, 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 a Business Combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other 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 and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 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.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their 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 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 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 affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. 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 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.
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 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. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Because we had net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of the Initial Public Offering and sale of the Private Placement Warrants and filed 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 are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial Business Combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the Initial Public Offering was 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.
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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 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 the Initial Public 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.
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 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. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for Business Combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing Business Combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, 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.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies increases, there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial Business Combination. This could increase the costs associated with completing our initial Business Combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target for our initial Business Combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many companies have entered into Business Combinations with special purpose acquisition companies, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial Business Combination, as well as many additional special purpose acquisition companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, effort and resources to identify a suitable target for an initial Business Combination.
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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 a suitable target for and/or complete our initial Business Combination.
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 the Initial Public Offering, 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 the Initial Public Offering, 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 potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in “Item 7. 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.
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 enter 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.
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 and complete an initial Business Combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-Business Combination entity might need to incur greater expense and/or accept less favorable terms. Furthermore, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-Business Combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, after completion of any initial Business Combination, our directors and officers could be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to such initial Business Combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-Business Combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-Business Combination entity and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination on terms favorable to our investors.
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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 registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our public 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 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 registered public accounting firm) 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 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 the Initial Public 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 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 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 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 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.
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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 proceeds held in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations 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 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, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency 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 or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency 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 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 or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency 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 or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency 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.
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.
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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. |
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the Trust Account may be invested by the trustee 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. 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. 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 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 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, our initial Business Combination may be contingent on our ability to comply with certain laws and regulations and any post-Business Combination company may be subject to additional laws and regulations. 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 we have not completed our initial Business Combination within 24 months of the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our Trust Account.
If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we will distribute 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), 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.
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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 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 offense and may be liable for a fine of up to approximately $18,300 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 geography. 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. 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 securities 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.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a Business Combination in industries outside of our management’s areas or 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preferred 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 preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2020, there were 377,226,667 and 29,300,000 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. As of December 31, 2020, there were no preferred shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares, and may issue preferred 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 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 preferred shares:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Initial Public 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 preferred 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 present directors and officers; |
| ● | 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. |
Our initial Business Combination or reincorporation may result in taxes imposed 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 a tax liability for a shareholder or warrant holder in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident (or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity), in which the target company is located, or in which we reincorporate. In the event of a reincorporation pursuant to our initial Business Combination, such tax liability may attach prior to any consummation of redemptions. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to pay such taxes.
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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial Business Combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial Business Combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we 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.
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 board members for other entities, including those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for Business Combination opportunities. 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 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 that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, 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.
Our initial shareholders hold 20,700,000 Founder Shares as of the date of this Annual Report, including 20,540,000 held by our Sponsor. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial Business Combination. In addition, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 12,373,333 Private Placement Warrants, each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, for a purchase price of $18,560,000 in the aggregate, 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 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; (3) our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed 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 the Initial Public 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 the Initial Public Offering (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); (4) 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 (5) 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 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 the Initial Public Offering in favor of our initial Business Combination.
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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 the Initial Public Offering nears, which is the deadline for the completion of our initial Business Combination.
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.
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 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. |
We may be able to complete only one Business Combination with the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
We may effectuate our initial Business Combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial Business Combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial Business Combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory 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:
| ● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| ● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
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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.
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, if at all.
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.
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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 a majority 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 the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then issued and outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public 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 this registration statement, 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 the Initial Public Offering and the sale of 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 a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting). Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares, 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.
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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.
If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants available to us 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.
In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our 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.
Our initial shareholders will control the appointment 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 initial shareholders own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. 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. 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 a majority of 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 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 the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial Business Combination.
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 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 the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), |
| (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 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, |
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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, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices applicable to our warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of 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 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 have issued warrants to purchase 27,600,000 Class A ordinary shares, at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the Units and, simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 12,373,333 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 20,700,000 Class B ordinary shares. 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.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the Units except that, so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except under certain limited exceptions); (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.
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 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.
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 be-ginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. 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.
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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:
| ● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ● | laws governing the manner in which future Business Combinations may be effected; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | longer payment cycles; |
| ● | 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; |
| ● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | employment regulations; |
| ● | energy shortages; |
| ● | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, wars and other forms of social instability; |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States; |
| ● | obligatory military service by personnel; and |
| ● | government appropriation of assets. |
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.
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Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
We may face risks related to companies in the technology industries.
Business Combinations with businesses in the technology 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 certain risks, including:
| ● | an inability to compete effectively in a highly competitive environment with many incumbents having substantially greater resources; |
| ● | an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth; |
| ● | an inability to build strong brand identity and improve subscriber or customer satisfaction and loyalty; |
| ● | a reliance on proprietary technology to provide services and to manage our operations, and the failure of this technology to operate effectively, or our failure to use such technology effectively; |
| ● | an inability to deal with our subscribers’ or customers’ privacy concerns; |
| ● | an inability to attract and retain subscribers or customers; |
| ● | an inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend; |
| ● | any significant disruption in our computer systems or those of third parties that we may utilize or rely on in our operations; |
| ● | an inability by us, or a refusal by third parties, to license content to us upon acceptable terms; |
| ● | potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we may distribute; |
| ● | competition for advertising revenue; |
| ● | competition for the leisure and entertainment time and discretionary spending of subscribers or customers, which may intensify in part due to advances in technology and changes in consumer expectations and behavior; |
| ● | disruption or failure of our 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; |
| ● | an inability to obtain necessary hardware, software and operational support; and |
| ● | reliance on third-party vendors or service providers. |
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a Business Combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the technology industries. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.
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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.
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.
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.
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 management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Risks Relating to Our Management Team
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, Clifton S. Robbins and Gary D. Cohn, our Co-Chairmen and two of our directors. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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.
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Other than Mr. Robbins who intends to devote substantially all of his business time to our company, our directors and officers may 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.
Other than Mr. Robbins who intends to devote substantially all of his business time to our company, our other directors and officers are not expected to commit their full time to our affairs, and Mr. Robbins is not required to devote any specific amount of time to our affairs. This may result in a conflict of interest in some of our directors and officers allocating their time between our operations and our search for a Business Combination and their other businesses. Some of our independent directors and officers are engaged in several other business endeavors for which they may be entitled to compensation and may also serve as officers and 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 “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”
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.
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 not prohibited from sponsoring, or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies prior to us completing our initial Business Combination and any such involvement may result in conflicts of interests as described above. Moreover, entities in which our directors and officers are affiliated with may enter into agreements or other arrangements with businesses, which agreements or arrangements may limit or restrict our ability to enter into a Business Combination with such business.
Our directors and officers also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties or otherwise have an interest in, including any other special purpose acquisition company in which they may become involved with. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to 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
For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance,” “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officer and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13—Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Administrative Services Agreement.”
Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a Business Combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or officers. 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 invested in a diverse set of industries. 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.
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Risk Relating to Our Securities
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 the Initial Public 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 the Initial Public 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.
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 cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the NYSE 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 applicable exchange’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If any of our securities are delisted 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:
| ● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| ● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ● | 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; |
| ● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| ● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our Units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants currently 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 blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on 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.
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You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the issuance of the underlying Class A ordinary shares or certain exemptions are available.
Pursuant to 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 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. 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 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, 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. 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. 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 that were included as part of Units. 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.
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.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 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, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem 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 last reported sale price of 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 the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted). 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.
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). 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. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to a cash redemption described above. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A ordinary shares had your warrants remained outstanding. 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.
Because each unit contains one-third of one 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 warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units, and only whole warrants will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant or a greater fraction of 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 one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share.
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 are 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.
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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.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement do 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 of 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.
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.
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 preferred 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.
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General Risk Factors
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (‘SPACs’)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. As a result of the SEC Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 27,600,000 public warrants and 12,373,333 private placement warrants, and determined to classify the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, which may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations in the event the business combination is not consummated.
The SEC rules define a material weakness as a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a registrant’s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. In connection with an audit of our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, we identified a defined material weakness in our inter-nal control over financial reporting due to a lack of controls to identify and record expenses that require accrual to ensure liabilities in the financial statements are reported completely and accurately.
Additionally, following the issuance of the SEC Statement, on July 2, 2021, after consultation with our independent registered public accounting firm, our management and our audit committee concluded that, in light of the SEC Statement, it was appropriate to restate (i) certain items on our previously issued audited balance sheet as of September 11, 2020, which was related to our Initial Public Offering, (ii) our unaudited quarterly financial statements as of September 30, 2020 and for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through September 30, 2020 and (iii) our audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (collectively, the “Restatement”). See “—Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.” Due solely to the events that led to our Restatement, we have concluded that we have an additional defined material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
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We continue to evaluate steps to enhance our internal controls over financial reporting and remediate the material weaknesses. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that we will be successful in remediating the material weaknesses.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Following the issuance of the SEC Statement, after consultation with our independent registered public accounting firm, our management and our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate (i) certain items on our previously issued audited balance sheet as of September 11, 2020, which was related to our Initial Public Offering, (ii) our unaudited quarterly financial statements as of September 30, 2020 and for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through September 30, 2020 and (iii) our audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. See “—Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.” Due solely to the events that led to our Restatement, we have concluded that we have an additional defined material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
As a result of such material weakness, the Restatement, the change in accounting for the warrants, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the Restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a Business Combination.
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no operating 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. 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 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.
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Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
Information regarding performance by our management team and their affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and their 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 our management 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.
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.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder 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 taxable year ended December 31, 2020, our current taxable year, and our 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. 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 taxable year ended December 31, 2020, our current taxable year, or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, moreover, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. 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.
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 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.
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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 equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or 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.
Item 1.B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 1000 N. West St., Suite 1200, Wilmington, Delaware 19801. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we pay an affiliate of our Sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
None.
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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
(a) Market Information
Our Units began trading on the NYSE on September 9, 2020. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. On October 29, 2020, we announced that holders of the Units may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants included in the Units commencing on October 30 2020. Any Units not separated continue to trade on the NYSE under the symbol “CRHC.U.” Any underlying Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants that were separated trade on the NYSE under the symbols “CRHC” and “CRHC WS,” respectively.
(b) Holders
As of March 31, 2021, there was one holder of record of our Units, one holder of record of our separately traded Class A ordinary share and two holders of record of our redeemable warrants.
(c) Dividends
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.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
(e) Performance Graph
The performance graph has been omitted as permitted under rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.
(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
On July 14, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). In August 2020 and in September 2020, we effected share capitalizations resulting in an aggregate of 20,700,000 Founder Shares outstanding. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 2,700,000 shares that were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised, so that the number of Founder Shares would equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Initial Public Offering. As a result of the underwriter’s election to exercise their over-allotment option in full, 2,700,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
Our Sponsor purchased 12,373,333 Private Placement Warrants, each exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($18.56 million in the aggregate), in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering.
These issuances were made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
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Use of Proceeds
On September 11, 2020, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 82,800,000 Units, including 10,800,000 Over-Allotment Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $828.0 million. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC acted as the sole book-running manager for the Initial Public Offering. The securities sold in the Initial Public Offering were registered under the Securities Act on registration statements on Form S-1 (File Nos. 333-240277 and 333-248671). The SEC declared the registration statements effective on September 8, 2020.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 12,373,333 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $18,560,000.
In connection with the Initial Public Offering, we incurred offering costs of $46,191,135 (including deferred underwriting commissions of $28,980,000). Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of preparation fees related to the Initial Public Offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the initial Business Combination, if consummated) and the Initial Public Offering expenses, $828.0 million of the net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the Private Placement Warrants (or $10.00 per Unit sold in the Initial Public Offering) was placed in the Trust Account. The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants are held in the Trust Account and invested as described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.
There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and sale of the Private Placement Warrants as is described in the Company’s final prospectus related to the Initial Public Offering. For a description of the use of the proceeds generated from the Initial Public Offering, see “Item 1. Business.”
Item 6. Selected Financial Data.
Selected financial data has been omitted as permitted under rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on July 13, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. 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 the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Restatement and Revision of Previously Issued Financial Statements
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations has been amended and restated to give effect to the restatement and revision of our Original Financial Statements. We are restating our historical financial results to reclassify our Warrants as derivative liabilities pursuant to ASC 815-40 rather than as a component of equity as we had previously treated the Warrants. The impact of the restatement is reflected in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations below. Other than as disclosed in the Explanatory Note and with respect to the impact of the restatement, no other information in this Item 7 has been amended and this Item 7 does not reflect any events occurring after the Original Filing. The impact of the restatement is more fully described in Note 2 to our financial statements included in Item 15 of Part IV of this Amendment and Item 9A: Controls and Procedures, both contained herein.
39
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from inception to December 31, 2020 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and, after the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination, at the earliest. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses in connection with completing a Business Combination.
As a result of the restatement described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein, we classify the warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the warrant instrument to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. For the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $48,062,630, which consisted of formation and operating expenses of $481,239, a change in fair value of the warrant liabilities of $46,778,400 and transaction costs allocable to warrants of $1,037,755, offset by interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $234,764.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On September 11, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 82,800,000 Units, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 10,800,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $828,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of an aggregate of 12,373,333 Private Placement Warrants to our Sponsor at a price of $1.50 per warrant, generating gross proceeds of $18,560,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the exercise of the over-allotment option and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $828,000,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $46,191,135 in transaction costs, including $16,560,000 of underwriting fees, $28,980,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $651,135 of other offering costs in connection with the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants.
For the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 net cash used in operating activities was $724,916. Net loss of $48,062,630 was offset by interest earned on marketable securities of $234,764, a non-cash charge for the change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $46,778,400, transaction costs allocable to warrants of $1,037,755 and formation expenses paid by the Sponsor of $5,000. Changes in operating assets and liabilities used $248,677 of cash from operating activities.
At December 31, 2020, we had cash and marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $828,234,764. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less taxes payable (if applicable) and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our Business Combination. To the extent that our shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the post-Business Combination entity, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
At December 31, 2020, we had cash of $643,949 held outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, properties or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants identical to the Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. As of December 31, 2020, there are no loans outstanding.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating and consummating a Business Combination, are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
40
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than as described below.
We entered into an agreement to pay an affiliate of our Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, secretarial and administrative services to the Company. We began incurring these fees on September 8, 2020 and will continue to incur these fees on a monthly basis until the earlier of the completion of the Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation.
We have an agreement to pay the underwriters a deferred fee of $28,980,000 in the aggregate, which will become payable to them from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the period reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Warrant Liabilities
We account for the Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40 under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, we classify the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The Private Placement Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Modified Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model. The Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Modified Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A Ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
Net Income (Loss) per Ordinary Share
We apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class A redeemable ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account by the weighted average number of Class A redeemable ordinary shares outstanding since original issuance. Net loss per ordinary share, basic and diluted for Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the net income (loss), less income attributable to Class A redeemable ordinary shares, by the weighted average number of Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares outstanding for the period presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item
41
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Restatement of Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a public statement entitled Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) (the “Public Statement”) on April 12, 2021, which discusses the accounting for certain warrants as liabilities. The Company previously accounted for its warrants as equity instruments. Management evaluated its warrants against the Public Statement, and determined that the warrants should be accounted for as liabilities. Accordingly, the 2020 financial statements have been restated to correct the accounting and related disclosure for the warrants.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
July 2, 2021
F-2
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(AS RESTATED)
| ASSETS | ||||
| Current assets | ||||
| Cash | $ | 643,949 | ||
| Prepaid expenses | 551,430 | |||
| Total Current Assets | 1,195,379 | |||
| Cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account | 828,234,764 | |||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 829,430,143 | ||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||
| Liabilities | ||||
| Current liabilities - accrued expenses | $ | 302,753 | ||
| Warrant liabilities | 73,684,266 | |||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | 28,980,000 | |||
| Total Liabilities | 102,967,019 | |||
| Commitments and Contingencies | ||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, 72,146,312 shares at $10.00 per share redemption value | 721,463,120 | |||
| Shareholders’ Equity | ||||
| Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding | — | |||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 10,653,688 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 72,146,312 shares subject to possible redemption) | 1,065 | |||
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 20,700,000 shares issued and outstanding | 2,070 | |||
| Additional paid-in capital | 53,059,499 | |||
| Accumulated deficit | (48,062,630 | ) | ||
| Total Shareholders’ Equity | 5,000,004 | |||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY | $ | 829,430,143 | ||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 13, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
(AS RESTATED)
| Formation and operating costs | $ | 481,239 | ||
| Loss from operations | (481,239 | ) | ||
| Other income (expense): | ||||
| Interest earned on cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account | 234,764 | |||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | (46,778,400 | ) | ||
| Transaction costs allocable to warrants | (1,037,755 | ) | ||
| Other expense, net | (47,581,391 | ) | ||
| Net Loss | $ | (48,062,630 | ) | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A redeemable ordinary shares | 82,800,000 | |||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A redeemable ordinary shares | $ | 0.00 | ||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares | 19,752,632 | |||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares | $ | (2.45 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 13, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
(AS RESTATED)
Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares | Additional Paid in | Accumulated | Total Shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — July 13, 2020 (inception) | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor | — | — | 20,700,000 | 2,070 | 22,930 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of 82,800,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts and offering costs | 82,800,000 | 8,280 | — | — | 764,346,340 | — | 764,354,620 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Excess of cash received over fair value of private placement warrants | — | — | — | — | 10,146,134 | — | 10,146,134 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | (72,146,312 | ) | (7,215 | ) | — | — | (721,455,905 | ) | — | (721,463,120 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | (48,062,630 | ) | (48,062,630 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — December 31, 2020 | 10,653,688 | $ | 1,065 | 20,700,000 | $ | 2,070 | $ | 53,059,499 | $ | (48,062,630 | ) | $ | 5,000,004 | |||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 13, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
(AS RESTATED)
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||
| Net loss | $ | (48,062,630 | ) | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||
| Interest earned on cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account | (234,764 | ) | ||
| Payment of formation costs through issuance of Class B ordinary shares | 5,000 | |||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | 46,778,400 | |||
| Transaction costs allocable to warrants | 1,037,755 | |||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
| Prepaid expenses | (551,430 | ) | ||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | 302,753 | |||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (724,916 | ) | ||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||
| Investment of cash in Trust Account | (828,000,000 | ) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (828,000,000 | ) | ||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | 811,440,000 | |||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | 18,560,000 | |||
| Proceeds from promissory note – related party | 202,969 | |||
| Repayment of promissory note – related party | (300,000 | ) | ||
| Payments of offering costs | (534,104 | ) | ||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 829,368,865 | |||
| Net Change in Cash | 643,949 | |||
| Cash – Beginning | — | |||
| Cash – Ending | $ | 643,949 | ||
| Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities: | ||||
| Initial classification of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 768,482,990 | ||
| Change in value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | (47,019,870 | ) | |
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | 28,980,000 | ||
| Offering costs paid directly by Sponsor from proceeds of issuance of Class B ordinary shares | $ | 20,000 | ||
| Offering costs paid through promissory note – related party | $ | 97,031 | ||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
NOTE 1 — DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp. (formerly known as CSR Acquisition Corp.) (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on July 13, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and, subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on September 8, 2020. On September 11, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 82,800,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 10,800,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $828,000,000, which is described in Note 4.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 12,373,333 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per warrant in a private placement to the Company’s sponsor, Cohn Robbins Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $18,560,000, which is described in Note 5.
Transaction costs amounted to $46,191,135, consisting of $16,560,000 of cash underwriting fees, $28,980,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $651,135 of other offering costs in connection with the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on September 11, 2020, an amount of $828,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) which was invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), as determined by the Company, until the earliest of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s shareholders, as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The stock exchange listing rules require that the Business Combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted and excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account). The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
F-7
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
The Company will provide the holders of the public shares (the “Public Shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the Business Combination, either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination (initially $10.00 per Public Share), including any interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to certain limitations as described in the prospectus. The per-share amount to be distributed to the Public Shareholders who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 7). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, it receives an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law approving a Business Combination, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company. If a shareholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 6) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, 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 a Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of the Business Combination and the Company does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
The Company’s initial shareholders have agreed (a) 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 and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public 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.
The Company will have until September 11, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company has not completed a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, 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 the rights of the Public Shareholders as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining Public Shareholders and its Board of Directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s 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 the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
F-8
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
The Company’s initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Company’s initial shareholders or any of their respective affiliates acquire Public Shares, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 7) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, and in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (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 trust assets, in each case net 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 the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
NOTE 2 — RESTATEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company previously accounted for its outstanding Public Warrants (as defined in Note 4) and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) issued in connection with its Initial Public Offering as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities. The warrant agreement governing the Warrants includes a provision that provides for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant. In addition, the warrant agreement includes a provision that in the event of a tender offer or exchange offer made to and accepted by holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a single class of stock, all holders of the Warrants would be entitled to receive cash for their Warrants (the “tender offer provision”).
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement.
In further consideration of the SEC Statement, the Company’s management further evaluated the Warrants under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. ASC Section 815-40 addresses equity versus liability treatment and classification of equity-linked financial instruments, including warrants, and states that a warrant may be classified as a component of equity only if, among other things, the warrant is indexed to the issuer’s ordinary shares. Under ASC Section 815-40, a warrant is not indexed to the issuer’s ordinary shares if the terms of the warrant require an adjustment to the exercise price upon a specified event and that event is not an input to the fair value of the warrant. Based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the Company’s Private Placement Warrants are not indexed to the Company’s ordinary shares in the manner contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-15 because the holder of the instrument is not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on equity shares. In addition, based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the tender offer provision fails the “classified in shareholders’ equity” criteria as contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-25.
As a result of the above, the Company should have classified the Warrants as derivative liabilities in its previously issued financial statements. Under this accounting treatment, the Company is required to measure the fair value of the Warrants at the end of each reporting period and recognize changes in the fair value from the prior period in the Company’s operating results for the current period.
The Company’s accounting for the Warrants as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities did not have any effect on the Company’s previously reported investments held in trust, operating expenses, cash flows or cash.
F-9
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
The table below summarizes the effects of the restatement on the financial statements for all periods being restated:
| As | ||||||||||||
| Previously | As | |||||||||||
| Reported | Adjustments | Restated | ||||||||||
| Balance sheet as of September 11, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Warrant Liabilities | $ | — | 26,905,866 | 26,905,866 | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | 29,032,041 | 26,905,866 | 55,937,907 | |||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption | 795,388,860 | (26,905,870 | ) | 768,482,990 | ||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares | 326 | 269 | 595 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 5,002,609 | 1,037,490 | 6,040,099 | |||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit | (5,000 | ) | (1,037,755 | ) | (1,042,755 | ) | ||||||
| Balance sheet as of September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Warrant Liabilities | $ | — | 23,308,266 | 23,308,266 | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | 29,034,283 | 23,308,266 | 52,342,549 | |||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption | 795,340,660 | (23,308,270 | ) | 772,032,390 | ||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares | 327 | 233 | 560 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 5,050,808 | (2,560,074 | ) | 2,490,734 | ||||||||
| Retained Earnings / (Accumulated Deficit) | (53,202 | ) | 2,559,845 | 2,506,643 | ||||||||
| Balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Warrant Liabilities | $ | — | 73,684,266 | 73,684,266 | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | 29,282,753 | 73,684,266 | 102,967,019 | |||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption | 795,147,380 | (73,684,260 | ) | 721,463,120 | ||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares | 329 | 736 | 1,065 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 5,244,086 | 47,815,413 | 53,059,499 | |||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit | (246,475 | ) | (47,816,155 | ) | (48,062,630 | ) | ||||||
| Total Shareholders’ Equity | 5,000,010 | (6 | ) | 5,000,004 | ||||||||
| Statement of Operations for period from July 13, 2020 (inception) to September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | $ | — | (3,597,600 | ) | (3,597,600 | ) | ||||||
| Transaction costs allocable to warrants | — | (1,037,755 | ) | (1,037,755 | ) | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | (53,202 | ) | 2,559,845 | 2,506,643 | ||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A redeemable ordinary shares | 82,800,000 | — | 82,800,000 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A redeemable ordinary shares | 0.00 | — | 0.00 | |||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares | 20,700,000 | — | 20,700,000 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B non-redeemable shares | (0.00 | ) | 0.12 | 0.12 | ||||||||
| Statement of Operations for period from July 13, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | $ | — | (46,778,400 | ) | (46,778,400 | ) | ||||||
| Transaction costs allocable to warrants | — | (1,037,755 | ) | (1,037,755 | ) | |||||||
| Net loss | (246,475 | ) | (47,816,155 | ) | (48,062,630 | ) | ||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A redeemable ordinary shares | 82,800,000 | — | 82,800,000 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A | 0.00 | — | 0.00 | |||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares | 19,752,632 | — | 19,752,632 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B non-redeemable shares | (0.02 | ) | (2.43 | ) | (2.45 | ) | ||||||
| Statement of Cash Flows for period from July 13, 2020 (inception) to September 30, 2020 (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (53,202 | ) | 2,559,845 | 2,506,643 | |||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | — | (3,597,600 | ) | (3,597,600 | ) | |||||||
| Transaction costs allocable to warrants | — | 1,037,755 | 1,037,755 | |||||||||
| Initial classification of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | 795,388,860 | (26,905,870 | ) | 768,482,990 | ||||||||
| Change in value of ordinary shares subject to redemption | (48,200 | ) | 3,597,600 | 3,549,400 | ||||||||
| Statement of Cash Flows for period from August 20, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (246,475 | ) | (47,816,155 | ) | (48,062,630 | ) | |||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | — | 46,778,400 | 46,778,400 | |||||||||
| Transaction costs associated with IPO | — | 1,037,755 | 1,037,755 | |||||||||
| Initial classification of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | 795,388,860 | (26,905,870 | ) | 768,482,990 | ||||||||
| Change in value of ordinary shares subject to redemption | (241,480 | ) | (46,778,390 | ) | (47,019,870 | ) | ||||||
F-10
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
NOTE 3 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statement 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.
F-11
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liabilities. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had no cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A Ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2020, 72,146,312 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Offering Costs
Offering costs consisted of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs amounted to $46,191,135, of which $45,153,380 were charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering and $1,037,755 were expensed to the statement of operations.
Warrant Liabilities
The Company accounts for the Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, the Company classifies the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the statement of operations. The Private Placement Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Modified Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model. The Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Modified Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
Income Taxes
ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2020, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company's tax provision was zero for the period presented. The Company's management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
F-12
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period. The calculation of diluted income (loss) per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering, (ii) the exercise of the over-allotment option and (iii) Private Placement Warrants since the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive. The warrants are exercisable to purchase 39,973,333 shares of Class A ordinary shares in the aggregate.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income (loss) per share. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted, for Class A redeemable ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, by the weighted average number of Class A redeemable ordinary shares outstanding since original issuance. Net loss per ordinary share, basic and diluted, for Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares is calculated by dividing the net loss, adjusted for income attributable to Class A redeemable ordinary shares, by the weighted average number of Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares includes the Founder Shares as these shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the Trust Account.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
For
the 2020 | ||||
| Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares | ||||
| Numerator: Earnings allocable to Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares | ||||
| Interest Income | $ | 234,764 | ||
| Redeemable Net Earnings | $ | 234,764 | ||
| Denominator: Weighted Average Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares | ||||
| Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares, Basic and Diluted | 82,800,000 | |||
| Earnings/Basic and Diluted Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares | $ | 0.00 | ||
| Non-Redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares | ||||
| Numerator: Net Loss minus Redeemable Net Earnings | ||||
| Net Loss | $ | (48,062,630 | ) | |
| Redeemable Net Earnings | (234,764 | ) | ||
| Non-Redeemable Net Loss | $ | (48,297,394 | ) | |
| Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares | ||||
| Non-Redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares, Basic and Diluted | 19,752,632 | |||
| Loss/Basic and Diluted Non-Redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares | $ | (2.45 | ) | |
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
F-13
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the Company’s balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature, except for the Warrants (see Note 10).
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 4 — INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 82,800,000 Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 10,800,000 Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share (see Note 8).
NOTE 5 — PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 12,373,333 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $18,560,000. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8). A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
NOTE 6 — RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On July 14, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). In August 2020 and in September 2020, the Company effected share capitalizations resulting in an aggregate of 20,700,000 Founder Shares outstanding. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 2,700,000 shares that were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised, so that the number of Founder Shares would equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Initial Public Offering. As a result of the underwriter’s election to fully exercise their over-allotment option, 2,700,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
The Company’s initial shareholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earliest of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company entered into an agreement, commencing on September 8, 2020, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of a Business Combination or its liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred $40,000 in fees for these services, of which such amount is included within accrued expenses on the accompanying balance sheet.
F-14
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
Promissory Note – Related Party
On July 14, 2020, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note (the “Promissory Note”) to the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2020 and (ii) the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Promissory Note of $300,000 was repaid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering on September 11, 2020.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes may be repaid upon completion of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of notes may be converted upon completion of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
NOTE 7 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on September 11, 2020, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters were paid a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $16,560,000 in the aggregate. In addition, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $28,980,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
F-15
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
NOTE 8 — SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At December 31, 2020, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020, there were 10,653,688 Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding, excluding 72,146,312 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption.
Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020, there were 20,700,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders, except as required by law.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of a Business Combination or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of a 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 the Initial Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination.
NOTE 9 — WARRANT LIABILITIES
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination and (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company 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 is available.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the Business Combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, if the 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, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
F-16
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| ● | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| ● | if, and only if, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted); and |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company 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 that number of shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A ordinary shares; |
| ● | if, and only if, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted); and |
| ● | if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted) the Private Placement Warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants. |
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, as described above, its management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the Public Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Public Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the 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 a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of its Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its 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 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 will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
F-17
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable, except as described above, so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 10 — FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
| Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. |
| Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. |
| Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on the assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
The Company classifies its U.S. Treasury and equivalent securities as held-to-maturity in accordance with ASC Topic 320 “Investments - Debt and Equity Securities.” Held-to-maturity securities are those securities which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. Held-to-maturity treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost on the accompanying balance sheet and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.
At December 31, 2020, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $925 in cash and $828,233,839 in U.S. Treasury Bills. During the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company did not withdraw any interest income from the trust account to pay its taxes.
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value. The gross holding gains and fair value of held-to-maturity securities at December 31, 2020 are as follows:
| Held-To-Maturity | Level | Amortized Cost | Gross Holding Gain | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2020 | U.S. Treasury Bills (Mature on 03/11/2021) | 1 | $ | 828,233,839 | $ | 26,868 | $ | 828,260,707 | ||||||||||
The following table presents information about the Company’s liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
F-18
COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
| December 31, | ||||||
| Level | 2020 | |||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||
| Warrant Liabilities – Public Warrants | 1 | $ | 49,680,000 | |||
| Warrant Liabilities – Private Placement Warrants | 3 | $ | 24,004,266 | |||
The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within loss on warrant liabilities in the statement of operations.
The Private Placement Warrants were valued using a Modified Black Scholes Option Pricing Model, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. Inherent in a Black-Scholes model are assumptions related to expected stock-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. However, inherent uncertainties are involved. If factors or assumptions change, the estimated fair values could be materially different. The Modified Black Scholes model’s primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants is the expected volatility of the ordinary shares. The expected volatility as of the Initial Public Offering date was derived from observable public warrant pricing on comparable ‘blank-check’ companies without an identified target. The expected volatility as of subsequent valuation dates was implied from the Company’s own Public Warrant pricing. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants. The expected life of the warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term. The dividend rate is based on the historical rate, which the Company anticipates remaining at zero.
A Modified Monte Carlo simulation methodology was used in estimating the fair value of the Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available, using the same expected volatility as was used in measuring the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the close price of the Public Warrant price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
The following table presents the quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements of the warrant liabilities:
At September 11, 2020 (Initial Measurement) | As of December
31, | |||||||
| Stock price | $ | 10.00 | $ | 10.41 | ||||
| Term (in years) | 5.0 | 5.0 | ||||||
| Volatility | 15.04 | % | 30.0 | % | ||||
| Risk-free rate | 0.26 | % | 0.36 | % | ||||
| Dividend yield | 0.0 | % | 0.0 | % | ||||
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of Level 3 warrant liabilities:
| Private Placement | Public | Warrant Liabilities | ||||||||||
| Fair value as of July 13, 2020 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||
| Initial measurement on September 11, 2020 | 8,413,866 | 18,492,000 | 26,905,866 | |||||||||
| Transfer to Level 1 | — | (18,492,000 | ) | (18,492,000 | ) | |||||||
| Change in fair value | 15,590,400 | — | 15,590,400 | |||||||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2020 | $ | 24,004,266 | $ | — | $ | 24,004,266 | ||||||
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period. The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement during the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 was $18,492,000.
NOTE 11 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than as described in Note 2, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-19
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9.A. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, solely due to the events that led to the Company’s restatement of its financial statements to reclassify the Company’s Warrants as described in the Explanatory Note to this Amendment, as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were not effective.
The SEC rules define a material weakness as a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a registrant’s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Management has concluded the Company has identified material weaknesses in internal controls (1) due to a lack of controls to identify and record expenses that require accrual to ensure liabilities in the financial statements are reported completely and accurately and (2) due solely to the events that led to our restatement of our financial statements related to the accounting for warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering, as described in Note 2 to the Notes to Financial Statements entitled “ Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements”.
In light of these material weaknesses, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that our financial statements and related financial information included in this Annual Report fairly present, in all material respects, our balance sheets, statements of operations, comprehensive loss and cash flows as of and for the periods presented.
Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements
On July 2, 2021, we revised our prior position on accounting for our outstanding warrants and concluded that our previously issued financial statements as of and for the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 should not be relied on because of a misapplication in the guidance on warrant accounting. However, the non-cash adjustments to the financial statements do not impact the amounts previously reported for our cash and cash equivalents, total assets, revenue or cash flows.
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Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Due solely to the events that led to our restatement of our financial statements, management has identified a material weakness in internal controls related to the accounting for warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering, as described in Note 2 to the Notes to our Financial Statements. In light of the restatement of our Original Financial Statements included in this Amendment, we plan to enhance our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K/A does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
During the most recently completed fiscal year, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
None.
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Item 10. Directors, Executive Officer and Corporate Governance.
Our current directors and officers are as follows:
Name |
Age |
Title | ||
| Clifton S. Robbins | 63 | Co-Chairman and Director | ||
| Gary D. Cohn | 60 | Co-Chairman and Director | ||
| Charles S. Kwon | 40 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Kathryn A. Hall | 63 | Director | ||
| C. Robert Kidder | 76 | Director | ||
| Alexander T. Robertson | 41 | Director | ||
| Anne Sheehan | 64 | Director |
Clifton S. Robbins has been a director since July 2020 and our Co-Chairman since August 2020. Mr. Robbins founded Blue Harbour Group, L.P. (“Blue Harbour”) in 2004 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2020, when the firm closed its operations. Mr. Robbins has more than 40 years of experience in the investment management business. Prior to forming Blue Harbour, Mr. Robbins had been a Managing Member of General Atlantic Partners, LLC (“General Atlantic Partners”), a global private equity firm from 2000 through August 2004. Prior to that, Mr. Robbins had been a General Partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (“KKR”) where he worked from 1987 until 2000. At KKR, he played a significant role in many of the firm’s leveraged buyout transactions and financings and was also intimately involved with the firm’s capital markets activities. Mr. Robbins began his career in the Mergers and Acquisitions department of Morgan Stanley & Co. He graduated with an A.B. from Harvard College and received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Mr. Robbins has served on the Board of Directors of more than fifteen public and private companies. He is a member of the Boards of Overseers and Managers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and also serves as Vice Chairman of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council.
We believe Mr. Robbin’s substantial experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and strategic business planning; his track record at Blue Harbour, General Atlantic Partners and KKR in advising and managing multi-national companies and his experience serving as a director for various public and private companies makes him a valuable member of our board of directors.
Gary D. Cohn has been a director and our Co-Chairman since August 2020. Mr. Cohn also serves as Vice Chairman of International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM”) since January 2021, working in partnership with IBM’s Executive Leadership Team on a wide range of business initiatives and external engagement, in areas including business development, client services, public advocacy and client relationship management. Prior to that, Mr. Cohn served as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council from January 2017 until April 2018. Before serving in the White House, Mr. Cohn was President, Chief Operating Officer and a director of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (“Goldman Sachs”) from 2006-2016. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1990 and held a number of other leadership positions, including the Global Co-Head of the Equities and Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division. He also served as Chairman of the Firmwide Client and Business Standards Committee. Mr. Cohn also serves on the boards of nanoPay Holding Inc., Hoyos Integrity Corporation, Infinite Arthroscopy Inc., Limited, Springcoin Inc., and Starling Trust Sciences, LLC and is the Chairman of the Board of Pallas Advisors LLC. Mr. Cohn also serves on the Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee (SRAC) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). He is also member of the Board of Trustees of NYU Langone Health and serves on the Board of Overseers of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. In 2019 Mr. Cohn was a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. Mr. Cohn earned a B.S. in business administration from American University in 1982.
We believe Mr. Cohn’s broad experience on Wall Street, experience investing in and advising leading-edge privately-held technology companies and his positions in Washington, D.C. leading U.S. economic policy makes him a valuable member of our board of directors.
44
Charles S. Kwon has served as our Chief Financial Officer since September 2020. Mr. Kwon served as the Chief Financial Officer at Blue Harbour from 2018 until 2020, when the firm closed its operations. From 2012 to 2018, Mr. Kwon served as Vice President, Tax of Blue Harbour. Mr. Kwon has more than fifteen years of experience working in finance and tax at companies including PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Mr. Kwon graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and philosophy of law. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Virginia.
Kathryn A. Hall has served as a director since September 2020. Ms. Hall is Founder and Co-Chair of Hall Capital Partners LLC, and she is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and Investment Review Committee Ms. Hall also controls and is the sole member of KHALL LLC. Before founding Hall Capital in 1994, Ms. Hall was a General Partner of Laurel Arbitrage Partners, a risk arbitrage investment partnership that she founded in 1989. Prior to that, she was a General Partner of HFS Management Partners (predecessor to Farallon Capital Partners), HFS Partners I, and Hellman & Friedman. Ms. Hall began her career at Morgan Stanley where she worked in both the risk arbitrage and mergers and acquisitions departments. Ms. Hall currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Trustees and the Investment Committee of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), is Chair of the Investment Committee and member of the Finance Committee of the Smithsonian Institution and serves on the Board of Directors of the UCSF Foundation and the UCSF Foundation Investment Company. Ms. Hall also serves on the Board of Directors of the McEvoy Group, Earthquake Holdings LLC and Lipizzaner, Inc. Ms. Hall served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University from 2011 to 2019, and as a trustee from 2002 to 2006 and 2007 to 2019. She also served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Princeton University Investment Company from 2008 to 2011 and as a director from 1998 to 2011. Additionally, Ms. Hall previously served as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s 12th District Economic Advisory Council. Ms. Hall earned a A.B. in economics from Princeton University and received her M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
We believe Ms. Hall’s senior management and leadership experience makes her a valuable member of our board of directors.
C. Robert Kidder has served as a director since September 2020. Mr. Kidder has served on numerous boards of directors including as: director of Merck and Co., Inc. from 2005 to 2017, non-executive Chairman of the Board of Chrysler Group LLC from 2009 to 2011, Chairman of Borden Inc. from 1995 to 2004, Chairman of Duracell International Inc. from 1988 to 1994 and director of Morgan Stanley from 1997 to 2017, including as Lead Director for eight years. Mr. Kidder currently serves as Chairman the board of directors of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc., Microvi Biotech Inc. and Wildcat Discovery Technologies, Inc. He also serves on the board of Andelyn Biosciences and previously served on the board of directors of Schering-Plough Corporation from 2005 to 2009. He co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of 3Stone Advisors LLC, a private investment firm, from 2006 to 2011. Mr. Kidder was a Principal and Partner at Stonehenge Partners, Inc., a private investment firm, from 2004 to 2006. Prior to Stonehenge, Mr. Kidder served as President of Borden Capital, Inc., a company that provided financial and strategic advice to the Borden, Inc.’s family of companies, from 2001 to 2003. He served as Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2002 of Borden Chemical, Inc. (formerly Borden, Inc.), a forest products and industrial chemicals company. Mr. Kidder was also Chief Executive Officer and President of Duracell International Inc. Prior to joining Duracell, Mr. Kidder was Vice President, Planning and Development at Dart Industries Inc., worked as a general management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. Mr. Kidder earned a B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan and a graduate degree in industrial economics from Iowa State University.
We believe Mr. Kidder’s extensive financial and senior executive experience, including in business development, operations and strategic planning and his experience serving as a director for various public and private companies makes him a valuable member of our board of directors.
Alexander T. Robertson has served as a director since September 2020. Mr. Robertson is President and Chief Operating Officer of Tiger Management L.L.C. (Tiger Management), a firm committed to sourcing and developing future leaders in the investment management industry. Prior to joining Tiger Management in 2008, he served as legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole. Mr. Robertson serves as a trustee and board member of the Robertson Foundation, Tiger Foundation, Boys’ Club of New York, Memorial Sloan Kettering Board of Overseers, Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council, East Lake Foundation, and Purpose Built Communities. Mr. Robertson is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
We believe Mr. Robertson’s senior leadership and industry experience makes him a valuable member of our board of directors.
45
Anne Sheehan has served as a director since September 2020. Ms. Sheehan was a member of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee from 2012 to 2020 and served as Chair of the Committee from 2015 to 2018. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors of L Brands Corporation. From 2008 until 2018, Ms. Sheehan served as the Director of Corporate Governance at The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the largest educator-only pension fund in the world and the second largest pension fund in the United States. She previously served as the Chief Deputy Director for Policy at the California Department of Finance from 2004 to 2008 and as Executive Director at the California Building Industry Foundation from 2000 to 2004. Ms. Sheehan is a founder of the Investor Stewardship Group, serves on the Advisory Board of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, is a member of the Advisory Board of Rock Center for Corporate Governance of Stanford Law School and is a Senior Advisor at PJT Camberview. Ms. Sheehan earned a B.A. in political science and history from the University of Colorado.
We believe Ms. Sheehan’s extensive corporate governance experience and her senior management and leadership experience makes her a valuable member of our 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. Our board has determined that each of Kathryn A. Hall, C. Robert Kidder, Alexander T. Robertson and Anne Sheehan is an independent director under applicable SEC and NYSE rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Number, Terms of Office and Appointment of Directors and Officers
Our board of directors consists of six members. 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, 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 restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Each of our directors will hold office for a two-year term. 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 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.
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. Each of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website at www.cohnrobbins.com.
Audit Committee
The members of our audit committee are Kathryn A. Hall, C. Robert Kidder, Alexander T. Robertson and Anne Sheehan. Mr. Kidder serves as chairman of the audit committee.
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Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Ms. Hall and Mr. Kidder each qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ● | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ● | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| ● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| ● | reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| ● | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ● | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| ● | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| ● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Item 7.—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; |
| ● | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| ● | reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
The members of our Compensation Committee are Kathryn A. Hall, C. Robert Kidder, Alexander T. Robertson and Anne Sheehan. Ms. Hall 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:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Co-Chairman’s compensation, evaluating our Co-Chairman’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Co-Chairman 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; |
| ● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| ● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and is 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
The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Kathryn A. Hall, C. Robert Kidder, Alexander T. Robertson and Anne Sheehan. Ms. Sheehan serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| ● | 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 election at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| ● | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ● | 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 |
| ● | 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 is 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.
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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 Code of Ethics as an exhibit to this Annual Report. We have also posted a copy of our Code of Ethics and the charters of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee on our website (www.cohnrobbins.com) under “Investor Relations”. 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 Annual Report. You are able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, our directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
| ● | 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; |
| ● | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
| ● | duty to not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
| ● | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
| ● | 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 |
| ● | 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.
Our management team, in their capacities as directors, 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.
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Our directors and officers presently have, 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:
| ● | 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. |
| ● | 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.” |
| ● | Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed 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 have agreed 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 the Initial Public Offering. However, if our initial shareholders (or any of our directors, officers or 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. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial shareholders 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, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial Business Combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, 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 the Initial Public Offering, our directors and officers 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 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. |
| ● | 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 similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our directors, officers and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
| Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
| Clifton S. Robbins | Blue Harbour Group, L.P. | Investment Management | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | |||
| Gary D. Cohn | nanoPay Holding Inc. | Payments platform | Director | |||
| Infinite Arthroscopy Inc., Limited | Medical technology | Director | ||||
| Abyrx, Inc. | Biomaterial sciences | Director | ||||
| Pallas Advisors LLC | National Security | Chairman | ||||
| Starling Trust Sciences, LLC | Artificial Intelligence | Director | ||||
| International Business Machines Corporation | Technology | Vice Chairman | ||||
| Charles S. Kwon | Blue Harbour Group, L.P. | Investment Management | Chief Financial Officer | |||
| Kathryn A. Hall | Hall Capital Partners LLC | Investment Advisor | Founder and Co-Chair | |||
| K HALL LLC | Investment Advisor | Sole Member | ||||
| C. Robert Kidder | Microvi Biotech Inc. | Biotechnology | ||||
| Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. | Pipe Manufacturer | |||||
| Wildcat Discovery Technologies | Technology | |||||
| Andelyn Biosciences | Biotechnology | |||||
| Alexander T. Robertson | Tiger Management Corp. | Investment Management | President and Chief Operating Officer | |||
| Robertson Foundation | Charitable Foundation | Trustee | ||||
| Tiger Foundation | Charitable Foundation | Co-Chair and Trustee | ||||
| Anne Sheehan | L Brands Corporation | Fashion Retailer | Director |
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.
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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 that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such an initial Business Combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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.
In the event that we submit our initial Business Combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any founder shares (and their permitted transferees will agree) and public shares held by them in favor of our initial Business Combination.
Item 11. Officer and Director Compensation.
None of our directors or officers have received 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 an affiliate of our Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, 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, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates. In July 2020, our Sponsor transferred 40,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors (Kathryn A. Hall, C. Robert Kidder, Alexander T. Robertson and Anne Sheehan) 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. 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.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information available to us at March 31, 2021, by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares; |
| ● | each of our directors and officers that beneficially owns ordinary shares; and |
| ● | all our directors and officers as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the Private Placement Warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2021.
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| Class
A Ordinary Shares | Class
B Ordinary Shares(1) | |||||||||||||||
| Beneficially Owned | Approximate | Beneficially Owned | Approximate | |||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(2) | ||||||||||||||||
| Cohn Robbins Sponsor LLC (our Sponsor)(3) | — | — | 20,540,000 | 19.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Clifton S. Robbins(3) | — | — | 20,540,000 | 19.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Gary D. Cohn(3) | — | — | 20,540,000 | 19.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Charles S. Kwon | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Kathryn A. Hall | — | — | 40,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| C. Robert Kidder | — | — | 40,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| Alexander T. Robertson | — | — | 40,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| Anne Sheehan | — | — | 40,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| Millennium Management LLC(4) | 6,292,199 | 7.6 | % | — | — | |||||||||||
| All directors and officers as a group (7 individuals) | 20,700,000 | 20 | % | |||||||||||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities” in our prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) (File No. 333-240277). |
| (2) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp., 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, Delaware 19801. |
| (3) | Cohn Robbins Sponsor LLC, our Sponsor, is the record holder of the Class B ordinary shares reported herein. Messrs. Robbins and Cohn are co-Managers of our Sponsor and may be deemed to beneficially own shares held by our Sponsor by virtue of their shared control over our Sponsor. |
| (4) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 8, 2021, Millennium Management LLC, Millennium Group Management LLC and Israel A. Englander share voting and dispositive power with regard to 6,292,199 Class A ordinary shares of the Company. The business address for each is 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10103. |
Our initial shareholders beneficially own approximately 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and have the right to elect all of our directors prior to our initial Business Combination as a result of holding all of the Founder Shares. Holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial Business Combination. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions.
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Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.
Founder Shares
On July 14, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 8,625,000 Founder Shares. In August 2020 and in September 2020, we effected share capitalizations resulting in an aggregate of 20,700,000 Founder Shares outstanding. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 2,700,000 shares that were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised, so that the number of Founder Shares would equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Initial Public Offering. As a result of the underwriter’s election to fully exercise their over-allotment option, 2,700,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
Our initial shareholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earliest of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 12,373,333 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $18,560,000. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares, subject to the requirements of applicable law, and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
If we do not complete an Initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, subject to the requirements of applicable law, and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on September 11, 2020, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Related Party Notes
On July 14, 2020, the Company issued the “Promissory Note to the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2020 and (ii) the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Promissory Note of $300,000 was repaid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering on September 11, 2020.
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In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company Working Capital Loans. Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes may be repaid upon completion of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of notes may be converted upon completion of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company entered into an agreement, commencing on September 8, 2020, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of a Business Combination or its liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred $40,000 in fees for these services, of which such amount is included within accrued expenses on the balance sheet.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. During the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $93,730 for the services Withum performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and the audit of our December 31, 2020 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.
Audit-Related Fees. During the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
Tax Fees. During the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
All Other Fees. During the period from July 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
Policy on Board Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of the Independent Auditors
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
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Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A: Financial Statements: See “Item 8. Index to Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A. |
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 11, 2020. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to the Original 10-K filed on March 31, 2021. |
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| COHN ROBBINS HOLDINGS CORP. | ||
| Date: July 2, 2021 | By: | /s/ Clifton S. Robbins |
| Clifton S. Robbins | ||
| Co-Chairman and Director | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| /s/ Clifton S. Robbins | ||
| Name: | Clifton S. Robbins | |
| Title: | Co-Chairman and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | |
| Date: | July 2, 2021 | |
| /s/ Gary D. Cohn | ||
| Name: | Gary D. Cohn | |
| Title: | Co-Chairman and Director | |
| Date: | July 2, 2021 | |
| /s/ Charles S. Kwon | ||
| Name: | Charles S. Kwon | |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |
| Date: | July 2, 2021 | |
| /s/ Kathryn A. Hall | ||
| Name: | Kathryn A. Hall | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | July 2, 2021 | |
| /s/ C. Robert Kidder | ||
| Name: | C. Robert Kidder | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | July 2, 2021 | |
| /s/ Alexander T. Robertson | ||
| Name: | Alexander T. Robertson | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | July 2, 2021 | |
| /s/ Anne Sheehan | ||
| Name: | Anne Sheehan | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | July 2, 2021 | |
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