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AEON US Equity

AEON Biopharma, Inc.Health Care · Pharmaceutical Preparations · CIK 1837607 · FY ends Dec 31
$0.20
-0.05 (-19.02%)
USD · as of 2026-08-19 · marketstack

AEON · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

← all AEON documents
filed 2021-03-31 · EDGAR original ↗

Our rendering of the filing — original pagination and typography are not reproduced, and tables are reduced to their short label cells (the figures live on FA). Nothing is summarized: every line below is the filing's own text.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

An

investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together

with the other information contained in this Annual Report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the

following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that

event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks

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

Our

stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote,

holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even

though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.

We

may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require

stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Except for as required by applicable law or stock

exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will

allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based

on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require

us to seek stockholder approval. Even if we seek stockholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the

vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders

do not approve of the business combination we complete.

If

we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and management team have agreed to

vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.

Our

initial stockholders own 20% of our outstanding common stock. Our initial stockholders and management team also may from time

to time purchase Class A common stock prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation

provides that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved

if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the founder shares. As a result,

in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 10,350,001, or 37.5%, of the 27,600,000 public shares

sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business

combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial

business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination

will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.

Your

only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of

your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.

At

the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our

initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval,

public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder

vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding our initial business combination may be limited

to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender

offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

11

The

ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential

business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

We

may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to

be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention

of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to

meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event

will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. Consequently,

if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or make

us unable to satisfy a minimum cash condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business

combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and,

thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

The

ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us

to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

At

the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise

their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares

that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash

in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve

a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a

larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to

reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party

financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore,

this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock results in the issues

of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock at

the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the

representatives of the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business

combination. The per share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be

reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect

our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete

the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.

The

ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the

probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order

to redeem your shares.

If

our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price,

or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful

is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust

account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares

in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust

account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection

with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

12

The

requirement that we complete our initial business combination by February 11, 2023 may give potential target businesses leverage

over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business

combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our

initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.

Any

potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete

our initial business combination by February 11, 2023. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating

a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business,

we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer

to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial

business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

We

may not be able to complete our initial business combination by February 11, 2023, in which case we would cease all operations

except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.

We

may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by February 11, 2023. Our ability

to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital

and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 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 (which interest shall be net

of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public

shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to

receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject

to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our

obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

If

we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers,

advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a

vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.

If

we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial

business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors

or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior

to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no

limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such

transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, other than as expressly stated herein, 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 or public warrants in such transactions.

Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares,

is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.

In

the event that our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares

in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such

selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases

of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder

approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have

a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such

requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of

public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection

with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business

combination that may not otherwise have been possible. We expect any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and

Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.

13

In

addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number

of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing

or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

If

a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination,

or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

We

will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial

business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender

offer documents, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy

materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our

initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit

public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights,

whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver

their stock certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date

set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up

to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct

redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, we intend to require a public stockholder seeking redemption of its public

shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the

name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other

procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.

You

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

Since

the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete

an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check”

company under the United States securities laws. However, because we had net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the

completion of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K,

including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors

in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules.

Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our

initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule

419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the

funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.

14

If

we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer

rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you

will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.

If

we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial

business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated 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 Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote

all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess

Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material

loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption

distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue

to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in

open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

Because

of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for

us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders

may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders,

and our warrants will expire worthless.

We

expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which

may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing

for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive

experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services

to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more

local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many

of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds

of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition

of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive

limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to

offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in

conjunction with a stockholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available

to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully

negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may

receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders,

and our warrants will expire worthless.

If

the net proceeds of our initial public offering not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for

at least the 24 months following the closing of our initial public offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search

for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor

or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.

Of

the net proceeds of our initial public offering, only $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to

fund our working capital requirements. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient

to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following such closing; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate.

Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with

our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop”

provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping”

around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a

particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter

of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently

required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue

searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.

15

If

we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties

to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under

any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the

trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans

may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the

lender. As of March 19, 2021, we have borrowed an aggregate of $100,00 under this unsecured convertible promissory note. The warrants

would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect

to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing

to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable

to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease

operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share,

or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

If

third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount

received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

Our

placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to

have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities (except for our Independent Registered Public

Accounting Firm) with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind

in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements,

or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but

not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging

the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including

the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held

in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only

enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the

best interests of the company under the circumstances. The underwriters of our initial public offering as well as our registered

independent public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

Examples

of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party

consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants

that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver.

In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of,

or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for

any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed

timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required

to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following

redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per public

share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which

was filed as an exhibit to the registration statement for our initial public offering, our sponsor has agreed that it will be

liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target

business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination

agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual

amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00

per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will

not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies

held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the

underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However,

we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our

sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities

of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our 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 $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination,

and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers

or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target

businesses.

16

Our

directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of

funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.

In

the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount

per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public

share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is

unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent

directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we

currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification

obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary

duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification

obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below

$10.00 per share.

If,

after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary

bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members

of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members

of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.

If,

after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary

bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under

applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.”

As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board

of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, by paying

public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims

of punitive damages.

If,

before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary

bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over

the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with

our liquidation may be reduced.

If,

before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary

bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable

bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the

claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise

be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

17

If

we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance

requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If

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

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

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

registration as an investment company with the SEC;

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

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

In

order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we

must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our

activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting

more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business

will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for

the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to

buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We

do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds

held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section

2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions

under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.

Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment

of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long

term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid

being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our Class A common stock is

not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust

account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business

combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended

and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares

if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 11, 2023; and (iii) absent an initial business combination

by February 11, 2023 or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business

combination activity, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of

the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company

Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would

require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination.

If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata

portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire

worthless.

Changes

in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our

ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We

are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to

comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may

be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from

time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In

addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect

on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

18

Our

stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption

of their shares.

Under

the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received

by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption

of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by February 11, 2023 may be considered a

liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the

DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during

which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any

claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability

of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata

share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the

third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible

following the 24th month from the closing of our initial public offering in the event we do not complete our initial business

combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.

Because

we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us

at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against

us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company,

and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise

would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution

complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited

to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and

any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that

we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be

liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may

extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed

to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination

by February 11, 2023 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed

to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that

are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then

be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.

We

may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay

the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.

In

accordance with Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later

than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however,

required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless

such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect

new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section

211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to

the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to

the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.

19

Because

we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target

businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular

target business’s operations.

Our

efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or

geographic region. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prohibits us from effectuating a business combination

with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected any specific target

business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular

target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent

we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which

we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales

or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development

stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business,

we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate

time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to

control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment

in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available,

in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant

holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant

holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction

was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able

to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable,

relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

Although

we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses,

we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result,

the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with

our general criteria and guidelines.

Although

we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target

business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete

our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be

as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce

a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders

may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business

that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction

is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult

for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria

and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their

pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our

warrants will expire worthless.

We

may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of

revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining

key personnel.

To

the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity

lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the

business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model or with limited historic

financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel.

Some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks

will adversely impact a target business.

20

We

are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently,

you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders

from a financial point of view.

Unless

we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine

the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required

to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from a valuation or appraisal firm

that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders

will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted

by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable,

related to our initial business combination.

Resources

could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent

attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination,

our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution

to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We

anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements,

disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants,

attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point

for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target

business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control.

Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts

to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public

stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution

to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We

may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely

affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.

Although

we have no commitments as of the date of this Annual Report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur

outstanding debt (other than $100,000 we have borrowed under the unsecured convertible promissory note that we issued to our sponsor),

we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we

will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any

kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for

redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

• our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock;

21

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements,

execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We

may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private

placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products

or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.

The

net proceeds from our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants provided us with $266,340,000 that we may

use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $9,660,000 of deferred underwriting commissions

being held in the trust account).

We

may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or

within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target

business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare

and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several

target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a

single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further,

we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike

other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas

of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

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

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

This

lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a

substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

We

may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to

complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations

and profitability.

If

we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers

to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which

may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business

combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations

and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation

of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately

address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

22

We

may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which

may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

In

pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company.

Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether

to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination

with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

We

do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to

complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders or warrant holders do not agree.

Our

amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no

event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In addition,

our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the

target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy

other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority

of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval

of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant

to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors,

advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares

of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant

to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the

business combination or redeem any shares in connection with such initial business combination, all shares of Class A common stock

submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

In

order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various

provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we

Source: SEC EDGAR (public domain) · 10-K for the period ended 2020-12-31, filed 2021-03-31 · accession 0001104659-21-044781

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