Thunder Power Holdings, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023
Filed with the SEC on Mar 6, 2024 and accepted by EDGAR at Mar 6, 2024, 21:30 ET.
Business
As filed, 74,981 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
In this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”), references to the “Company” and to “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Feutune Light Acquisition Corporation
Overview
We are a blank check company formed as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this report as our initial business combination. Our efforts to identify a potential target has not been limited to a particular industry. We will not undertake our initial business combination with an entity being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). Our ability to locate a potential target is subject to the uncertainties discussed in the prospectus relating to our initial public offering (the “IPO”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 17, 2022 (File No. 333-264221) (the “Prospectus”).
On June 21, 2022, we consummated the “IPO of 9,775,000 units (the “Units”), which included 1,275,000 units issued upon the full exercise of the over-allotment option of the underwriters of the IPO. Each Unit consists of one share of our Class A common stock (the “Class A Common Stock”), $0.0001 par value per share (the “Public Shares”), one redeemable warrant (the “Warrants”), each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, and one right (the “Rights”), each one Right entitling the holder thereof to exchange for one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A Common Stock upon the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, generating gross proceeds of $97,750,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we completed the private sale (the “Private Placement”) of 498,875 units (the “Private Units”, consisting of one Class A Common Stock, or the “Private Share”, one warrant, or the “Private Warrant”, and one right, or the “Private Right”), including 478,875 units to the Company’s sponsor, Feutune Light Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), and 20,000 units to US Tiger Securities, Inc. (“US Tiger”, together with our Sponsor, directors and officers, the “founders”), the representative of the underwriters of the IPO, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Private Unit, generating gross proceeds of $4,988,750 (including $4,788,750 from Sponsor and $200,000 from US Tiger) (the “Private Placement Proceeds”). The Private Units are identical to the units as part of the Units in the IPO, except that the Private Units are not transferable, assignable or saleable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to our founders, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The proceeds of $99,216,250 ($10.15 per Unit) in the aggregate from the IPO and a portion from the Private Placement (the “Trust Funds”), were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) established for the benefit of the Company’s public stockholders and the underwriters of the IPO with Wilmington Trust, National Association acting as trustee.
The Trust Funds include $3,421,250 payable to the underwriters (the “deferred underwriting compensation”) pursuant to the underwriting agreement dated June 15, 2022, entered among us, US Tiger and EF Hutton, division of Benchmark Investments, LLC, the representatives (the “Representatives”) of the underwriters of the IPO.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the proceeds of the Private Placement that are held out of the Trust Account, although substantially all the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally towards consummating an initial business combination and working capital.
Since our IPO, our sole business activity has been identifying, evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates and preparing for consummation of an initial business combination. We intend to complete our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placements of the private units, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt. We shall not undertake our initial business combination with any company being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). Our certificate of amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, dated June 19, 2023 and filed on June 20, 2023 (the certificate of amendment, together with the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, dated June 14, 2022, the “Current Charter”) prohibits us from undertaking our initial business combination with any company being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
Permission Required from the PRC Authorities for our Business Combination and Relevance of PRC Regulations.
We are a Delaware corporation with no operations in China and all of our officers and directors are U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents, thus we or any of our officers and directors are not required to obtain permission from any Chinese authorities to operate or conduct a business combination. Since we will not undertake our initial business combination with any company being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau), we do not expect that any permission or approval that our officers and directors or us would be required from the Chinese authorities to search for a target company or to consummate our initial business combination.
We are a blank check company with no operation of our own except search for a non-China-based target for our initial business combination. We do not have any subsidiaries and all of our officers and directors are located in the United States. Therefore, we do not consider ourselves a China-based issuer, in particular, as specified in the Trial Administrative Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Trial Measures, and five supporting guidelines promulgated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) on February 17, 2023, which became effective on March 31, 2023. According to the Trial Administration Measures, an issuer is a “domestic [Chinese] company” if the issuer meets both of the following conditions and thus, subject to the requirements for domestic [Chinese] companies seeking to offer or list securities overseas, both directly and indirectly, thereunder: (i) any of the total assets, net assets, revenues or profits of the domestic operating entities of the issuer in the most recent accounting year accounts for more than 50% of the corresponding figure in the issuer’s audited consolidated financial statements for the same period; and (ii) its major operational activities are carried out in China or its main places of business are located in China, or the senior managers in charge of operation and management of the issuer are mostly Chinese citizens or are domiciled in China.
Additionally, as of the date of this report, no transfers, dividends, or distributions have been made by us. We have not adopted or maintained any other cash management policies and procedures and need to comply with applicable law or regulations with respect to transfer of funds, dividends and distributions, if any. Given that we are not a China-based issuer or expect to be a China-based issuer upon the consummation of our initial business combination, we are not subject to or will become subject to the foreign exchange control rules of the PRC.
Certain Potential Restrictions or Negative Impacts
We believe that none of our officers, directors, sponsor and members of our sponsor have significant ties to China except that some of our management members and sponsor members lived in China or Hong Kong more than ten or twenty years ago before they came to the United Stated for advanced education and commenced their professional careers in the United States and certain members of our sponsor including Ms. Sau Fong Yeung (holding approximately 41.3% of equity interest in the sponsor), the manager of the sponsor and Mr. Xianhong Wu (indirectly holding approximately 17.4% of equity interest in the sponsor) are Hong Kong citizens and U.S. permanent residents. As our Certificate of Incorporation prohibits us from undertaking our initial business combination with any company being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau), we do not believe the historical path of some of our management and sponsor members will result in a material change in our search for a target company and the value of the securities that we are registering for sale. However, we cannot predict the perception from potential target companies or the market, it is uncertain whether that would make us a less attractive partner to a non-China or non-Hong Kong-based target company and such perception may potentially limit or negatively impact our search for an initial business combination. See “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” on page 15 of this Annual Report.
Controlling or non-controlling investments in U.S. businesses that produce, design, test, manufacture, fabricate or develop one or more critical technologies in one of 27 identified industries – including aviation, defense, semiconductors, telecommunications and biotechnology – are subject to a mandatory filing with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (“CFIUS”). In addition, CFIUS is an interagency committee authorized to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the United States by foreign persons in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States. Two members of our sponsor are Hong Kong citizen and US permanent residents, any proposed business combination between us and a U.S. business engaged in a regulated industry or which may affect national security could be subject to such foreign ownership restrictions and/or CFIUS review. The scope of CFIUS was expanded by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”) to include certain non-passive, non-controlling investments in sensitive U.S. businesses and certain acquisitions of real estate even with no underlying U.S. business. FIRRMA, and subsequent implementing regulations that are now in force, also subject certain categories of investments to mandatory filings. If our potential initial business combination with a U.S. business falls within the scope of foreign ownership restrictions, we may be unable to consummate a business combination with such business. In addition, if our potential business combination falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may be required to make a mandatory filing or determine to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or to proceed with the initial business combination without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the initial business combination. CFIUS may decide to block or delay our initial business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such initial business combination or order us to divest all or a portion of a U.S. business of the combined company if we had proceeded without first obtaining CFIUS clearance. The foreign ownership limitations, and the potential impact of CFIUS, may limit the attractiveness of a transaction with us or prevent us from pursuing certain initial business combination opportunities that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us and our stockholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete an initial business combination may be limited and we may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have similar foreign ownership issues. Moreover, the process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we have only a limited time to complete our initial business combination our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may require us to liquidate. If we liquidate, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share initially, and our warrants and rights will expire worthless. This will also cause you to lose any potential investment opportunity in a target company and the chance of realizing future gains on your investment through any price appreciation in the combined company. See “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” on page 15 of this Annual Report.
Proposed Business Combination with Thunder Power
As previously disclosed in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 27, 2023, on October 26, 2023, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as the same may be amended, restated or supplemented, the “Merger Agreement”) with Thunder Power Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands company (“Thunder Power” or “TPH”) and Feutune Light Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Thunder Power will be merged with and into Merger Sub (the “Merger”, together will all transaction contemplated in the Merger Agreement, the “Thunder Power Business Combination”), with the Merger Sub surviving the Merger as a direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company after the Merger (the Company surviving the Merger shall be referred as “Surviving Co”).
At the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of the Company, Merger Sub, Thunder Power or the shareholders of Thunder Power immediately prior to the Effective Time (collectively, the “Thunder Power Shareholders”), each Thunder Power Shareholder’s ordinary shares of Thunder Power (“Thunder Power Ordinary Shares”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (excluding dissenting shares and shares held by Thunder Power or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries as of immediately prior to the Effective Time) will be cancelled and automatically converted into (i) the right to receive, without interest, the applicable portion of the Closing Merger Consideration Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement) as set forth in the Closing Consideration Spreadsheet (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and (ii) the contingent right to receive the applicable portion of the Earnout Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement), if, as and when payable in accordance with the earnout provisions described below. For avoidance of any doubt, each Thunder Power Shareholder will cease to have any rights with respect to such Thunder Power Shareholder’s Thunder Power Ordinary Shares, except the right to receive the Closing Per Share Merger Consideration and the Earnout Shares. “Closing Merger Consideration Shares” means 40,000,000 shares of common stock of the Surviving Co, which are equal or equivalent in value to the sum of $400,000,000 divided by $10.00 per share. “Earnout Shares” means 20,000,000 shares of common stock of Surviving Co, which are equal or equivalent in value to the sum of $200,000,000 divided by $10.00 per share, subject to the vesting schedule set forth in the Merger Agreement.
The Thunder Power Business Combination will be submitted to stockholders for approval at a special meeting. The Company has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-275933) relating to the proposed Thunder Power Business Combination, the Merger Agreement and other relevant matters (as amended from time to time, the “Form S-4”).
Thunder Power
Thunder Power is a technology innovator and a manufacturer of premium electric vehicles (“EVs”). Thunder Power has developed several proprietary technologies which are the building blocks of the Thunder Power family of EVs. Thunder Power is a company that was incorporated under the laws and regulations of the British Virgin Islands with limited liability on September 30, 2015. Thunder Power is a parent holding company with no operations.
Extension of the Period of Time to Consummate Initial Business Combination
On March 21, 2023, an aggregate of $977,500 was deposited by the Sponsor into the Trust Account for the public stockholders, representing $0.10 per public share, which enables the Company to extend the period of time it has to consummate its initial business combination by three months from March 21, 2023 to June 21, 2023.
On June 16, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of the stockholders (the “2023 Special Meeting”), where the stockholders of the Company approved the amendment of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to allow the Company until June 21, 2023 to consummate an initial business combination and to elect to extend the period to consummate an initial business combination up to nine times, each by an additional one-month period (each, a “Monthly Extension”), for a total of up to nine months to March 21, 2024, by depositing to the Trust Account, the lesser of (i) $100,000 for all public shares and (ii) $0.04 for each public share for each one-month extension (each, a “Monthly Extension Payment”). On June 20, 2023, the Current Charter was filed with the State of Delaware, effective on the same date. In connection with the votes to approve the amendment, 4,791,507 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock were tendered for redemption.
As of the date hereof, nine Monthly Extension Payments, each in the amount of $100,000, were deposited into the Trust Account, among which, five Monthly Extension Payments were made by Thunder Power pursuant to the Merger Agreement, three were made by the Sponsor and one was made by the management from the working capital of the Company. As a result, the Company currently has sought nine Monthly Extensions to have until March 21, 2024 to complete an initial business combination.
On March 1, 2024, the Company filed a notice of special meeting of stockholders, according to which a special meeting of stockholders is to be held virtually on March 18, 2024 at 11:30 a.m., Eastern Time, where the Company’s stockholders will vote to approve the amendment of the Current Charter to allow the Company until March 21, 2024 to consummate an initial business combination and to elect to extend the period to consummate an initial business combination up to nine times, each by an additional one-month period, for a total of up to nine months to December 21, 2024.
Effecting the Initial Business Combination
Our business strategy is to identify and acquire potential targets in which we believe can materially grow revenue and earnings through the efforts of a combined management team followed by the completion of an initial business combination, but we will not undertake our initial business combination with an entity being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
Initial Business Combination
Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding deferred underwriting commissions payable to our underwriters and taxes payable) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with the initial business combination, but we will not undertake our initial business combination with an entity being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), or an independent valuation or accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our stockholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such opinion.
The Trust Funds released to us from the Trust Account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the Trust Account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our Public Shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the Trust Account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
In addition, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination to be used following the closing for general corporate purposes as described above. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of the IPO. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our founders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. The Current Charter provides that, following the IPO and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we are prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the Trust Account or (ii) vote as a class with our Public Shares (a) on any initial business combination, or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (x) extend the time we have to consummate an initial business combination beyond March 21, 2024 (the “Combination Period”) if we extend the period of time to consummate an initial business combination) or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation) we offer our public stockholders the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares.
The existence of financial and personal interests of one or more of our directors results in conflicts of interest on the part of such director(s) between what he, she or they may believe is in the best interests of us and its stockholders and what he, she or they may believe is best for himself, herself or themselves in determining to recommend that stockholders vote for the proposals. In addition, our officers have interests in the business combination that may conflict with your interests as a stockholder. For more information on the foregoing conflicts of interest and the relevant pre-existing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our management team, see the section titled “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.”
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive initial business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other initial business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of the IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Common Stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Financial Position
With funds in the Trust Account available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $95,795,000, excluding $3,421,250 for the deferred underwriting compensation, before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete initial business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
- subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and
- cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team or of our board, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is presently unknown if any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business. The determination as to whether any members of our board of directors will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following the initial business combination, to the extent that we deem it necessary, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management team of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
| Type of Transaction | Whether Stockholder Approval is Required |
|---|---|
| Purchase of assets | No |
| Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | No |
| Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | No |
| Merger of the company with a target | Yes |
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
- we issue shares of Common Stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Common Stock then outstanding;
- any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of Common Stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or
- the issuance or potential issuance of Common Stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; (ii) the expected cost of holding a stockholder vote; (iii) the risk that the stockholders would fail to approve a proposed initial business combination; (iv) other time and budget constraints of the company; and (v) additional legal complexities of a proposed initial business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to stockholders.
Permitted Purchases of our Securities
In the event we seek stockholder 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 founders, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions.
None of the funds in the Trust Account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. They will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our founders or advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of such purchases would be to (i) vote such shares in favor of our initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination or (ii) 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. 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 Common Stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our founders or advisors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our founders, advisors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our founders, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the Trust Account or vote against our initial business combination. Our founders, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our founders, advisors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our founders, advisors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of Common Stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of the Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Common Stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.15 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting compensation. Our founders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and any Private Shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, if our founders acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the Combination Period.
We will complete our business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for the special meeting for such a vote will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our founders will count toward this quorum and have agreed to vote their Founder Shares, Private Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of our business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of Common Stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. Our founders collectively own 3,002,625 shares of Common Stock (including 2,443,750 Founder Shares, 498,875 Private Shares and 60,000 Representative Shares). As a result, assuming only a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting are present at such meeting and all Founder Shares, Private Shares and Representative Shares vote in favor of the initial business combination, we do not need any additional shares of Common Stock from the public stockholders to vote in favor in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination.
These quorums and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our founders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote, do not vote or abstain, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the business combination, and irrespective of whether they were a public stockholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the business combination.
The Current Charter provides that we will only redeem our Public Shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Common Stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Common Stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Initial Business Combination
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the IPO, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 20% of the shares sold in the IPO, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against, or to abstain from voting on, our business combination.
Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our Public Shares in connection with our business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their Public Shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $100.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their initial business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against an initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After an initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the initial business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our Public Shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of initial business combination.
If our business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the Trust Account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target with the Combination Period.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
The Current Charter allows the Company until June 21, 2023 to consummate an initial business combination and to elect to extend the period to consummate an initial business combination up to nine times, each by an additional one-month period, for a total of up to nine months to March 21, 2024. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination with 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 the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our Warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our business combination with the Combination Period.
Our founders have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares and Private Shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within with the Combination Period. However, if our founders acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination with the Combination Period.
Our founders have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us (filed as an exhibit hereto), that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) that would 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 with the Combination Period, or (ii) with respect to any other material provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Common Stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares. However, we will only redeem our Public Shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of Public Shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above) we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our Public Shares.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $500,000 of proceeds held outside the Trust Account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the Trust Account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the Trust Account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $50,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Shares, other than the Trust Funds, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the Trust Account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.15. The Trust Funds could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.15. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. Our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.15 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, 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 IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims We have not independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.15 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your Public Shares. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the Trust Funds are reduced below (i) $10.15 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and the Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against the Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against the Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.15 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account. The Sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $700,000 from the proceeds of the IPO with which to pay any such potential claims. In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our Trust Account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our Public Shares in the event we do not complete our business combination with the Combination Period may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our Public Shares in the event we do not complete our business combination within the Combination Period if we extend the period of time to consummate an initial business combination), is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our business combination with 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 the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes or for working capital purposes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our Public Shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 18th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the Trust Account is remote. Further, the Sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the Trust Account are not reduced below (i) $10.15 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the Trust Funds could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.15 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our Public Shares if we do not complete an initial business combination with the Combination Period, subject to applicable law, (ii) (a) in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 have not consummated an initial business combination with the Combination Period, or (b) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Public Shares that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in the S-1. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the Trust Account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the Trust Account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting initial business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding Warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 48 Bridge Street Building A, Metuchen, New Jersey 08840.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers including Mr. Xuedong (Tony) Tian, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Lei Xu, Chairwoman and President, and Ms. Yuanmei Ma, Chief Financial Officer. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our Units, Class A Common Stock, Warrants and Rights under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our business combination.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We cannot assure you that any particular target business selected by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
Risk factors
As filed, 871 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to make disclosures under this Item. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in this Annual Report are any of the risks described in the Prospectus, the quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 21, 2023, and the Form S-4. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risk factors not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business or results of operations. As of the date of this Annual Report, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in the Prospectus or the Form S-4, except we may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.
Cybersecurity
As filed, 867 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
We are a special purpose acquisition company with no business operations. Since our IPO, our sole business activity has been identifying and evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates. Therefore, we do not consider that we face significant cybersecurity risk.
We have not adopted any cybersecurity risk management program or formal processes for assessing cybersecurity risk. Our management is generally responsible for assessing and managing any cybersecurity threats. If and when any reportable cybersecurity incident arises, our management shall promptly report such matters to our board of directors for further actions, including regarding the appropriate disclosure, mitigation, or other response or actions that the board deems appropriate to take.
As of the date of this report, we have not encountered any cybersecurity incidents since our IPO.
Properties
As filed, 362 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operations. We maintain our principal executive offices at 48 Bridge Street, Building A, Metuchen, New Jersey 08840. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.
Legal proceedings
As filed, 336 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
We are not currently a party to any material litigation or other legal proceedings brought against us. We are also not aware of any legal proceeding, investigation or claim, or other legal exposure that has a more than remote possibility of having a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Management's discussion and analysis
As filed, 24,226 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination (the “initial business combination”) with one or more businesses. We intend to complete our initial business combination using cash from the IPO, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
We presently have no revenue, have had losses since inception from incurring formation and operating costs and have had no operations other than identifying and evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates. We have relied upon the sale of our securities and loans from the Sponsor to fund our operations.
On June 21, 2022, we consummated our initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 9,775,000 units (the “Units”), which included 1,275,000 units issued upon the full exercise of the over-allotment option of the underwriters of the IPO. Each Unit consists of one share of our Class A common stock (the “Class A Common Stock”), $0.0001 par value per share (the “Public Shares”), one redeemable warrant (the “Warrants”), each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, and one right (the “Rights”), each one Right entitling the holder thereof to exchange for one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A Common Stock upon the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, generating gross proceeds of $97,750,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we completed the private sale (the “Private Placement”) of 498,875 units (the “Private Units”, consisting of one Class A Common Stock, or the “Private Share”, one warrant, or the “Private Warrant”, and one right, or the “Private Right”) , including 478,875 units to the Company’s sponsor, Feutune Light Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), and 20,000 units to US Tiger Securities, Inc. (“US Tiger”, together with our Sponsor, directors and officers, the “founders”), the representative of the underwriters of the IPO, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Private Unit, generating gross proceeds of $4,988,750 (including $4,788,750 from Sponsor and $200,000 from US Tiger) (the “Private Placement Proceeds”). The Private Units are identical to the units as part of the Units in the IPO, except that the Private Units are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to our founders, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The proceeds of $99,216,250 ($10.15 per Unit) in the aggregate from the IPO and a portion from the Private Placement (the “Trust Funds”), were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) established for the benefit of the Company’s public stockholders and the underwriters of the IPO with Wilmington Trust, National Association acting as trustee.
The Trust Funds include $3,421,250 payable to the underwriters (the “deferred underwriting compensation”) pursuant to the underwriting agreement dated June 15, 2022, entered among us, US Tiger and EF Hutton, division of Benchmark Investments, LLC, the representatives (the “Representatives”) of the underwriters of the IPO.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the proceeds of the Private Placement that are held out of the Trust Account, although substantially all the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally towards consummating an initial business combination and working capital.
Extension of the Period of Time to Consummate Initial Business Combination
On March 21, 2023, an aggregate of $977,500 (the “Extension Payment”) was deposited by the Sponsor into the Trust Account for the public stockholders, representing $0.10 per public share, which enables the Company to extend the period of time it has to consummate its initial business combination by three months from March 21, 2023 to June 21, 2023 (the “Extension”).
Among $977,500 Extension Payment, (i) $600,000 were deposited by the Company’s sponsor, Feutune Light Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), and (ii) $377,500 by the Company from the working capital account of the Company in lieu of the Sponsor, pursuant to a non-interest, short-term loan provided by the Company to the Sponsor (the “Short-Term Loan Note”) to the Company, which provides for repayment of the Short-Term Loan on or before March 31, 2023.
From June to September 2023, four $100,000 Monthly Extension Payments were deposited into the Trust Account for the public stockholders, which enabled the Company to extend the period of time it has to consummate its initial business combination by four months from June 21, 2023 to October 21, 2023. Among the four $100,000 Monthly Extension Payments, the $100,000 deposited on July 20, 2023 (the “July Monthly Extension Payment”) was deposited by the Company from its working capital account in lieu of a deposit by the Sponsor. Such advancement was repaid by the Sponsor to the Company in September 2023. From October to February 2024, five Monthly Extension Payments were deposited into the Trust Account by TPH (as defined below) which enabled the Company to extend the date by which it has to consummate its initial business combination by one month from October 21, 2023 to March 21, 2024.
In connection with the Extension Payment, the Company issued four unsecured promissory notes of $100,000 to the Sponsor to evidence the payments made by the Sponsor for the Monthly Extension Payment. In connection with the October to December Monthly Extension Payments, and pursuant to the Merger Agreement (as defined below), the Company issued three unsecured promissory notes of $100,000 each to TPH to evidence the payment made for the October to December Monthly Extension Payments.
The notes bear no interest and are in full upon the earlier to occur of (i) the consummation of the Company’s business combination or (ii) the date of expiry of the term of the Company (the “Maturity Date”). The following shall constitute an event of default: (i) a failure to pay the principal within five business days of the Maturity Date; (ii) the commencement of a voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy action, (iii) the breach of the Company’s obligations thereunder; (iv) any cross defaults; (v) any enforcement proceedings against the Company; and (vi) any unlawfulness and invalidity in connection with the performance of the obligations thereunder, in which case the notes may be accelerated.
The payee of the notes, the Sponsor, has the right, but not the obligation, to convert the notes, in whole or in part, respectively, into Private Units of the Company, that are identical to Public Units of the Company, subject to certain exceptions, as described in the Prospectus, by providing the Company with written notice of the intention to convert at least two business days prior to the closing of the business combination. The number of Private Units to be received by the Sponsor in connection with such conversion shall be an amount determined by dividing (x) the sum of the outstanding principal amount payable to the Sponsor by (y) $10.00.
Business Combination Agreement with Thunder Power Holdings Limited
On October 26, 2023, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Thunder Power Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands company (“TPH” or “Thunder Power”), and Feutune Light Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”).
TPH is a technology innovator and manufacturer of premium electric vehicles (“EVs”). TPH is dedicated to creating electric vehicles that deliver a premium driving experience combined with a high degree of personalization and has developed and is planning to manufacture a family of EVs suited to various stages of life and driving environments.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, TPH will be merged with and into Merger Sub (the “Merger”), with the Merger Sub surviving the Merger as a direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
At the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of the Company, Merger Sub, TPH or the shareholders of TPH immediately prior to the Effective Time (collectively, the “TPH Shareholders”), each TPH Shareholder’s ordinary shares of TPH (“TPH Ordinary Shares”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (excluding dissenting shares and shares held by TPH or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries as of immediately prior to the Effective Time) will be canceled and automatically converted into (i) the right to receive, without interest, the applicable portion of the Closing Merger Consideration Shares (as defined below) as set forth in the Closing Consideration Spreadsheet (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and (ii) the contingent right to receive the applicable portion of the Earnout Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement), if, as and when payable in accordance with the earnout provisions described in the Merger Agreement. For avoidance of any doubt, each TPH Shareholder will cease to have any rights with respect to such TPH Shareholder’s TPH Ordinary Shares, except the right to receive the Closing Per Share Merger Consideration and the Earnout Shares. “Closing Merger Consideration Shares” means 40,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company upon and following the Merger (the “PubCo”), which are equal or equivalent in value to the sum of $400,000,000 divided by $10.00 per share.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, at the Effective Time, an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of common stock of PubCo issued to the TPH Shareholders (the “Earnout Shares”) will be deposited with an escrow agent in a segregated escrow account (the “Earnout Escrow Account”) pursuant to an escrow agreement effective as of the Effective Time and will be released from the Earnout Escrow Account and delivered to the TPH Shareholders after the closing of the Merger as follows:
(a) an aggregate of 5,000,000 Earnout Shares will be vested, if and only if, on the occurrence that the amount of sales/revenues of PubCo for any of the fiscal years (such fiscal year is referred as “Tranche 1 Fiscal Year”) ending from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2025 is no less than $42,200,000 as evidenced by the audited financial statements of PubCo prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for the Tranche 1 Fiscal Year that is contained in an annual report on Form 10-K filed by PubCo with the SEC.
(b) an aggregate of 15,000,000 Earnout Shares will be vested, if and only if, on the occurrence that the amount of sales/revenues of PubCo for any of the fiscal years (such fiscal year is referred as “Tranche 2 Fiscal Year”) ending from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2026 is no less than $415,000,000 as evidenced by the audited financial statements of PubCo prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for the Tranche 2 Fiscal Year that is contained in an annual report on Form 10-K filed by PubCo with the SEC.
Results of Operations
Our entire activity from inception up to date was related to the Company’s formation, the IPO and general and administrative activities. Since the IPO, our activity has been limited to the evaluation of initial business combination candidates, and we will not be generating any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income earned on investment held in the Trust Account. We are incurring expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the year ended December 31, 2023 and period from January 19, 2022 (inception) through December 31, 2022, we had a net income of $1,336,935 and $404,616, respectively, from interest income less formation and operating costs and tax expenses.
Liquidity and Capital Resources and Going Concern
The Company’s liquidity needs up to December 31, 2023 had been satisfied through initial payment from the Sponsor of $25,000 for the insider shares and proceeds from the Private Placement.
On June 21, 2022, we consummated the IPO of 9,775,000 Public Units at a price of $10.00 per unit (including 1,275,000 units issued upon the full exercise of the over-allotment option), generating gross proceeds of $97,750,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO and full exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters, we consummated the sale of 498,875 units as Private Placement Units to the Sponsor (for 478,875 units) and US Tiger (for 20,000 units), one of the representative of the underwriters, with each unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock, one warrant and one right, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $4,988,750. Following the closings of the IPO and the sales of the Private Placement Units on June 21, 2022, a total of $99,216,250 (or $10.15 per share) was placed in the Trust Account.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had cash of $18,330 and a working capital deficit of $2,268,086.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account, excluding deferred underwriting commissions, to complete our business combination. We may withdraw interest from the Trust Account to pay taxes, if any. To the extent that our share capital or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete a business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, 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 the Company completes the initial business combination, it will repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $3,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender.
If our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination, all of which raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
In addition, the Current Charter allows the Company until June 21, 2023 to consummate an initial business combination and to elect to extend the period to consummate an initial business combination up to nine times, each by an additional one-month period, for a total of up to nine months to March 21, 2024. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by March 21, 2024 upon maximum extension, we may seek approval from our stockholders holding no less than 65% or more of the votes to approve to extend the completion period if we fail to obtain approval from our stockholders for such extension or we do not seek such extension, the Company will cease all operations.
As a result, management has determined that there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arraignments
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities that would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2023. 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
As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities.
We are obligated to pay the Representatives the deferred underwriting compensation equal to 3.5% of the IPO Proceeds which amounted to $3,421,250. The deferred underwriting compensation will become payable to the Representatives from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete the business combination.
The holders of the Founder Shares, the Private Placement Units, and any units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any underlying securities) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into in connection with the IPO. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Warrants
We account for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, whether they meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to our own Class A Common Stock and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of our control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of equity at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as liabilities at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations. We determined that upon further review of the proposed form of warrant agreement, management concluded that the warrants included in the units issued in the IPO pursuant to the warrant agreement qualify for equity accounting treatment.
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A Common Stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A Common Stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A Common Stock (including Class A Common Stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A Common Stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Public Shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2023, shares of Class A Common Stock subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value of $10.84 per share as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet. We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable Class A Common Stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of shares of redeemable Class A Common Stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital or accumulated deficit if additional paid in capital equals to zero.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of our assets and liabilities approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
The fair value of our financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that we 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, we seek 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 - inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active market.
- Level 2 - inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the assets or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instruments.
- Level 3 - inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Controls and procedures
As filed, 4,996 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officer concluded that during the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company,
(2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2023. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013), which include 1) inadequate segregation of duties within account processes due to limited personnel and 2) insufficient written policies and procedures for accounting, IT and financial reporting and record keeping. Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that we do not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the year ended December 31, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Figures reported in this filing
Standardized line items from the XBRL in this filing, for the period ended 2023-12-31. Comparative periods it repeats are left out.
| Line item | Period | Value | XBRL concept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | −$1.2m | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss |
| Income tax | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $1.1m | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit |
| Net income | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $1.3m | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss |
| Diluted EPS | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $0.30 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted |
| Basic EPS | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $0.30 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic |
| Diluted shares (weighted) | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | 7,240,883 shares | us-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding |
| Operating cash flow | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | −$2.6m | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities |
| Share repurchases | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $50.2m | us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock |
| Cash and equivalents | At period end2023-12-31 | $18.3k | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue |
| Current assets | At period end2023-12-31 | $64.1k | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent |
| Total assets | At period end2023-12-31 | $54.1m | us-gaap:Assets |
| Current liabilities | At period end2023-12-31 | $2.8m | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent |
| Total liabilities | At period end2023-12-31 | $6.3m | us-gaap:Liabilities |
| Shareholders' equity | At period end2023-12-31 | −$6.1m | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity |
Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0001213900-24-020453. Last ingested by Listed: Oct 24, 2026, 15:16 ET. Listed shows no prices and gives no investment advice.