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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

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

 

For the year ended December 31, 2023

 

Commission File Number 001-41890

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Cayman Islands

 

N/A

(State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

     

420 Lexington Ave Suite 2446
New York, NY

 

10170

(Address of principal executive offices)   (zip code)

 

(347) 627-0058

(Issuer’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

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

 

Title of Each Class

 

Trading Symbols

 

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Units, each consisting of one ordinary share and one right   BAYAU   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Ordinary Shares, par value $0.0001 per share   BAYA   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Rights, each right entitling the holder thereof to one-tenth of one ordinary share   BAYAR   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirement for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer
Non-accelerated filer Smaller reporting company
    Emerging growth company

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

 

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.

 

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b). ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes No ☐

 

The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s ordinary shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, as of the last day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $0.00. The Registrant’s units began trading on December 15, 2023.

 

As of April 16, 2024, there were 7,732,500 ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 issued and outstanding.

 

 

 

 
 

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This annual report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to our:

 

our ability to complete our Business Combination;

 

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

 

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our Business Combination;

 

our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our Business Combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements;

 

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our Business Combination;

 

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

 

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

 

the lack of a market for our securities;

 

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

 

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

 

our financial performance following our Initial Public Offering (as defined below).

 

The forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section of this Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this annual report. In addition, even if our results or operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this annual report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

 

 
 

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP

 

FORM 10-K

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

    Page
     
PART I   1
Item 1. Business 1
Item 1A. Risk Factors 11
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 71
Item 1C. Cybersecurity 71
Item 2. Property 71
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 71
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 71
     
PART II   72
Item 5. Market For Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 72
Item 6. [Reserved] 73
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 74
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 78
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 78
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. 78
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 78
Item 9B. Other Information 78
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 78
     
PART III   79
Item 10. Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant 79
Item 11. Executive Compensation 86
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters 87
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 88
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services. 90
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statements, And Schedules 91
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 91

 

i
 

 

PART I

 

Item 1.Business

 

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”), references to the “Company” and to “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Bayview Acquisition Corp.

 

General

 

Bayview Acquisition Corp is a blank check company incorporated on February 16, 2023, as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”). We may pursue an acquisition or a business combination with a target in any business or industry that can benefit from the expertise and capabilities of our management team. Our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to a particular geographic region, although we intend to primarily focus on businesses in Asia. We have generated no revenues to date and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues at the earliest until we consummate our Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.

 

On February 23, 2023, Bayview Holding LP and Peace Investment Holdings Limited, our sponsors, acquired an aggregate of 1,437,500 ordinary shares (up to 187,500 shares of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised), of which Bayview Holding LP owns 474,375 ordinary shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited owns 963,125 ordinary shares. On December 14, 2023, the Company issued an additional 287,500 founder shares for consideration of $100, resulting in Bayview Holding LP holding a total of 569,250 founder shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited holding a total of 1,155,750 founder shares as of the date of the Registration Statement. Up to 225,000 founder shares held by the Sponsors were subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment.

 

As of December 31, 2023, and for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering” or “IPO”) and identifying a target for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

 

The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on December 14, 2023 (the “Registration Statement”). Additionally, on December 14, 2023, the Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1MEF adding securities to the Registration Statement. On December 19, 2023 the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 6,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of ordinary shares included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $60,000,000. Unit consists of one ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”) and one right (the “Rights”), with each Right entitling the holder thereof to receive one-tenth of one Ordinary Share. Additionally, on January 28, 2024, the underwriters’ over-allotment option expired and the sponsors forfeited an aggregate of 225,000 founder shares.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of private sale of 232,500 units (the “Private Placement Units”) to Bayview Holding LP and Peace Investment Holdings Limited (the “Sponsors”) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $2,325,000.

 

In addition, concurrent with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold to Chardan Capital Markets, LLC (“Chardan”), for $100, an option to purchase a number of units equal to up to 9% of the public units sold in the Initial Public Offering (an aggregate of up to 540,000 units) (the “UPO”). The UPO is exercisable at any time, in whole or in part, between the close of a Business Combination and the fifth anniversary of the date of closing the Initial Public Offering at a price per unit equal to $11.50 (or 115% of the volume weighted average price of the ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day immediately prior to consummation of an initial Business Combination).

 

1
 

 

Of the proceeds the Company received from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units, $60,000,000 ($10.00 per public share) was deposited into a U.S.-based trust account at Bank of America with Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, acting as trustee, with approximately $370,988 being used to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, including underwriting commissions of $1,200,000, and $566,582 being available for working capital following the Initial Public Offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to the Company to pay its tax obligations, the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units that are deposited in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 9 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination), subject to applicable law.

 

Since our Initial Public Offering, our sole business activity has been identifying and evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates.

 

Our Management Team

 

For more information on the experience and background of our management team, see the section entitled “Management.”

 

Business Strategy

 

We will seek to capitalize on the strength of our management team. Our team consists of experienced financial services, accounting, and legal professionals, and senior operating executives of companies operating in multiple jurisdictions. Collectively, our officers and directors have decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions and operating companies. We believe that their accomplishments, and specifically, their current activities, will be critical in identifying attractive acquisition opportunities. In turn, the businesses that we identify, will be able to benefit from accessing the U.S. capital markets and the expertise and network of our management team. However, there is no assurance that we will complete a business combination. Our officers and directors have no prior experience consummating a business combination for a “blank check” company.

 

There are no restrictions on the geographic location of targets we can pursue, although we intend to initially prioritize Asia. In particular, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination on private companies in Asia that have compelling economics and clear paths to positive operating cash flow, significant assets, and successful management teams that are seeking access to the U.S. public capital markets. However, we will not consummate our initial business combination with an entity or business with China operations consolidated through a VIE structure.

 

As an emerging market, Asia has experienced remarkable growth. Economies in Asia have experienced sustained expansion in recent years. We believe that Asia is entering a new era of economic growth, which we expect will result in attractive initial business combination opportunities for us. We believe that the growth will primarily be driven by private sector expansion, technological innovation, increasing consumption by the middle class, structural economic and policy reforms and demographic changes in Asia.

 

Acquisition Criteria

 

Our management team intends to focus on creating shareholder value by leveraging its experience in the management, operation, and financing of businesses to improve the efficiency of operations while implementing strategies to scale revenue organically and/or through acquisitions. We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines, which we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. While we intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating prospective businesses, we may deviate from these criteria and guidelines should we see justification to do so.

 

2
 

 

Strong Management Team that Can Create Significant Value for Target Business. We will seek to identify companies with strong and experienced management teams that will complement the operating and investment abilities of our management team. We believe that we can provide a platform for the existing management team to leverage the experience of our management team. We also believe that the operating expertise of our management team is well suited to complement many potential targets’ management teams.

 

Revenue and Earnings Growth Potential. We will seek to acquire one or more businesses that have the potential for significant revenue and earnings growth through a combination of both existing and new product development, increased production capacity, expense reduction and synergistic follow-on acquisitions resulting in increased operating leverage.

 

Potential for Strong Free Cash Flow Generation. We will seek to acquire one or more businesses that have the potential to generate strong, stable, and increasing free cash flow, particularly businesses with predictable revenue streams and definable low working capital and capital expenditure requirements. We may also seek to prudently leverage this cash flow in order to enhance shareholder value.

 

Benefit from Being a Public Company. We intend to only acquire a business or businesses that will benefit from being publicly traded and which can effectively utilize access to broader sources of capital and a public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company.

 

These criteria do not intend to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, and criteria that our sponsors and management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into an initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in the Registration Statement, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC.

 

Business Combination

 

We will have up to 9 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 9 months, we may, by resolution of our Board of Directors, if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time we will have to consummate an initial business combination up to three times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering), provided that, pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Equiniti Trust Company, LLC on the date of the Registration Statement, in order for the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination to be extended, our sponsors or their affiliates or designees, upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account $500,000 (or $0.10 per share) for each extension, on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Our public shareholders will not be entitled to vote or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension. In the event that our sponsors elect to extend the time to complete a business combination, pay the additional amounts per each extension, and deposit the applicable amount of money into trust, the sponsors will receive a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note equal to the amount of any such deposit and payment that will not be repaid in the event that we are unable to close a business combination unless there are funds available outside the trust account to do so. In the event that we receive notice from our sponsors five days prior to the applicable deadline of their intent to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsors and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. To the extent that some, but not all, of our sponsor’s affiliates or designees, decide to extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination, such affiliates or designees may deposit the entire amount required. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within such time period, we will, as promptly as possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of our outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, including a pro rata portion of any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders. In the event of our dissolution and liquidation, the Private Placement Units will expire and be worthless.

 

3
 

 

Our 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 Chardan and taxes payable) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. 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 accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such opinion.

 

The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units released to us from the trust account upon the closing of Business Combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our Business Combination. If our 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 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 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 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 Business Combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of the Initial Public Offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our 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 Business Combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our Business Combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our Business Combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, following the Initial Public Offering and prior to the consummation of our Business Combination, we will be 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 memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 9 months from the closing of the IPO (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in the Registration Statement) or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.

 

Our Acquisition Process

 

We will utilize the diligence, rigor, and expertise of our managements’ respective platforms to evaluate potential targets’ strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to identify the relative risk and return profile of any potential target for our Business Combination.

 

We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have not individually selected a target business. Our management team is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) had any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to a Business Combination with us.

 

4
 

 

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities including other special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our management team is continuously made aware of potential investment opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination.

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.

 

Our founders, including Yuk Man Lau, Xin Wang and David Bamper may not become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, before we enter into a binding agreement regarding our Business Combination or we have failed to complete our Business Combination within 9 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in our Registration Statement).

 

Competition

 

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our 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 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 shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our Business Combination and our outstanding rights, 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 420 Lexington Ave, Suite 2446, New York, NY 10170. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we will pay to TenX Global Capital LP for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

 

Employees

 

We currently have two executive officers: Xin Wang and David Bamper. 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 whether a target business has been selected for our Business Combination and 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 registered our units, ordinary shares 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.

 

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We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our Business Combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

 

We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large, accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

 

We filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC on December 15, 2023, to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be 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 are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have received, a tax exemption certificate from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years commencing on March 8, 2023, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

 

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

 

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

 

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our Initial Public Offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700,000,000 as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non- convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

 

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Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700,000,000 as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.

 

Risk Factors Summary

 

We are a newly incorporated company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our Business Combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company.

 

Since we may initiate a business combination with target company operating in China, you may be subject to additional risk factors. These include significant regulatory, liquidity, and enforcement risks. For example, we face risks arising from the legal system in China, including risks and uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and that rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice. In addition, the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time or exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our ordinary shares. Any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. For a detailed description of the risks relating to acquiring and operating a target business in China, see Please see “Risks Related to Our Possible Business Combination in China” and “Risks Related to Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States” for more information.

 

You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K. Such risks include, but are not limited to:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.

 

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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of our IPO (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in the Registration Statement) may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline.

 

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up.

 

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

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares.

 

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 and our rights will expire worthless.

 

We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.

 

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.

 

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

 

Our ability to complete a business combination may be impacted by the fact that a some of our officers and directors are located in or have significant ties to the People’s Republic of China, including, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. This may make us a less attractive partner to potential target companies outside the PRC, thereby limiting our pool of acquisition candidates and making it harder for us to complete an initial business combination with a non-China-based target company. For example, we may not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company since such initial business combination may be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and review by a U.S. government entity, such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), or ultimately prohibited.

 

We may engage our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the IPO, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions and a unit purchase option under certain conditions. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the IPO, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

 

Risks Related to Our Securities

 

We may issue additional ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination, which would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.

 

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

 

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Our unit purchase option and rights may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effect a business combination, and you may experience dilution if such securities are exercised or converted.

 

If our initial business combination involves a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible a 1% U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our ordinary shares after or in connection with such initial business combination.

 

Risks Related to Our Management

 

Our officers and directors may allocate their time to other businesses and may become officers or directors of any other special purpose acquisition companies, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs and whether to present potential target to us instead of to our competitors. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

 

Our founders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

 

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

 

Post Business Combination Risks

 

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

 

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

 

Risks Related to Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States

 

Because of the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, our results of operations may be negatively impacted.

 

Many countries have difficult and unpredictable legal systems and underdeveloped laws and regulations that are unclear and subject to corruption and inexperience, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

 

We may face additional and distinctive risks if we acquire a technology business.

 

If we effect our initial business combination with a business located in PRC, the laws applicable to such business will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

 

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our ability to inject capital in our Chinese subsidiaries and Chinese subsidiaries’ ability to change their registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us or our PRC resident beneficial owners to liability and penalties under PRC laws.

 

Certain existing or future U.S. laws and regulations may restrict or eliminate our ability to complete a business combination with certain companies, particularly those target companies in China.

 

If any dividend is declared in the future and paid in a foreign currency, you may be taxed on a larger amount in U.S.

 

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If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

 

Changes in the policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the PRC government may be quick with little advance notice and could have a significant impact upon our ability to operate profitably in the PRC.

 

The Chinese government may exert substantial interventions and influences over the manner in which our post-combination entity must conduct its business activities that we cannot expect when we enter into a definitive agreement with a target company with major operation in China. If the Chinese government establish some new policies, regulations, rules, or laws in the industries where our post-combination entity is in, our post-combination entity may subject to material change in its operations and the value of our ordinary shares.

 

Chinese government agencies may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers. Additional compliance procedures may be required in connection with our business combination process, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval. As a result, both you and us face uncertainty about future actions by the PRC government that could significantly affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

 

In light of recent events indicating greater oversight by the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) over data security, particularly for companies seeking to list on a foreign exchange, companies with more than one million users’ personal information in China, especially some internet and technology companies, may not be willing to list on a U.S. exchange or enter into a definitive business combination agreement with us. Further, we may also avoid conduct a business combination with a company with more than one million users’ personal information in China due to the limited timeline for us to complete a business combination.

 

Governmental control of currency conversion may affect the value of your investment.

 

The governing PRC laws and regulations are sometimes vague and uncertain, which may result in a material change in our operations and the value of our shares if we complete our business combination with a target in China.

 

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Item 1A.Risk Factors

 

You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Form 10-K in evaluating us and our securities. Any of the following risks, as well as additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, and could, in turn, impact the trading price of our securities.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

As of December 31, 2023, we had a working capital of $340,563. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through the IPO are discussed in the section of this Form 10-K titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this Form 10-K do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate the initial business combination or our inability to continue as a going concern.

 

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

 

We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.

 

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

 

Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares, as well as any public shares purchased during the IPO, in favor of our initial business combination.

 

As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 2,133,751 or 35.6% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in the IPO 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 and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Our founder shares and private shares represent 25% of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of the IPO. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if our founders agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.

 

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

 

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

 

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

 

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, 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. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition, each as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

 

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

 

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our 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 are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of deferred underwriting commissions payable to Chardan will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay deferred underwriting commissions.

 

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

 

If our 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 share in the open market; however, at such time our share may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your share in the open market.

 

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.

 

COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has and may continue to adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we may consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. In addition, countries or supranational organizations in our target markets may develop and implement legislation that makes it more difficult or impossible for entities outside such countries or target markets to acquire or otherwise invest in companies or businesses deemed essential or otherwise vital. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for and ability to consummate a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, and result in protectionist sentiments and legislation in our target markets, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.

 

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

 

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

 

Our sponsors have the right to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination up to 9 months from the closing of the IPO without providing our shareholders with a corresponding redemption right.

 

We will have up to 9 months from the closing of the IPO to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 9 months, we may, by resolution of our Board of Directors, if requested by our sponsors, extend the period of time we will have to consummate an initial business combination up to three times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months from the closing of the IPO), provided that, pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Equiniti Trust Company, LLC on December 14, 2023, in order for the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination to be extended, our sponsors or their affiliates or designees, upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account $500,000 (or $0.10 per share) for each extension, on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Our public shareholders will not be entitled to vote or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension.

 

In the event that our sponsors elect to extend the time to complete a business combination, pay the additional amounts per each extension, and deposit the applicable amount of money into trust, the sponsors will receive a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note equal to the amount of any such deposit and payment that will not be repaid in the event that we are unable to close a business combination unless there are funds available outside the trust account to do so. In the event that we receive notice from our sponsors five days prior to the applicable deadline of their intent to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsors and their affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. To the extent that some, but not all, of our sponsors’ affiliates or designees, decide to extend the period of time to consummate our initial business combination, such affiliates or designees may deposit the entire amount required. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within such time period, we will, as promptly as possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of our outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, including a pro rata portion of any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders. In the event of our dissolution and liquidation, the Private Placement Units and rights will expire and be worthless.

 

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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

 

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO. 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 within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we must complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate our business combination up to three times by an additional three months each time, for a total of up to 18 months (as further described in the Registration Statement). We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, COVID-19 in the U.S. and globally may grow or resurge and while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meeting with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. Additionally, COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time 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 $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share or less in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our founders and their affiliates may elect to purchase ordinary shares or rights from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our ordinary shares or rights.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our founders or their affiliates may purchase ordinary shares or rights, or a combination thereof, 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.

 

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Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsors, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination.

 

The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. The purpose of such purchases could be to increase the likelihood of closing the initial business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of rights could be to reduce the number of rights outstanding. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. 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. To the extent that any such securities are purchased, such public securities will not be voted as required by Tender Offers and Schedules Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations Question 166.01 promulgated by the SEC.

 

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” ordinary shares 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 shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

 

We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer 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. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.

 

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

 

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those public shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in the Registration Statement, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement) for any reason, compliance with Cayman Islands law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing shareholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond the 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, beyond the 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement) before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or rights, potentially at a loss.

 

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

 

Since the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units 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 $5,000,001 upon the successful completion of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units 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 are immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the IPO 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.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO, we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not restrict our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our 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 business combination. 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 share 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 shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.

 

We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, 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.

 

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Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the ordinary shares which our public shareholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This 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 shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.

 

The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of the IPO, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement); 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 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share or less in certain circumstances on the liquidation of our trust account and rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our founders or management team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

 

Of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, only approximately $575,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $550,000 (excluding deferred underwriting discount), we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $550,000 (excluding deferred underwriting discount), the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our founders or their affiliates to operate, or we may be forced to liquidate. None of our founders 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. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our founders or an affiliate of our founders 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 but in the event that we seek loans from any third parties, we will obtain a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. 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 shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

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We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except 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 (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our founders, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

 

If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

 

Our 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 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 for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will 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. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue.

 

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 business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsors have agreed that they will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor 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) $10.00 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 the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect 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. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsors will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsors have sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsors’ only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsors to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsors 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 will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

 

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

 

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsors assert that they are 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 sponsors to enforce its indemnification obligations.

 

While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsors to enforce their 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. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

 

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, 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 we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.

 

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

 

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If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, 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 shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

 

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a 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 shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

 

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

 

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of approximately $18,000 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.

 

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

 

We may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to complete our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our 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 revenues 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 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

 

Past performance by our management team, our advisors and our founders may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.

 

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with our management team and our founders and their affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and our founders is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. A majority of our officers, directors and advisors have not had management experience with special purpose acquisition corporations in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s, our advisors’ or our founders’ respective performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. Furthermore, an investment in us is not an investment in our founders or their affiliates.

 

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We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.

 

We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in the IPO than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in the Registration Statement regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

 

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

 

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.

 

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company such as a pre-revenue entity with a limited operating history, 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 and with limited historical financial data, a lack of revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

 

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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting 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 company from a financial point of view.

 

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

 

Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights 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 shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

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

 

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

 

We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may complete our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to complete 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 may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, 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.

 

Of the net proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, up to $60,000,000 will be available to complete our business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to approximately $2,100,000, for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).

 

We may complete our 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 complete our 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. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in 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 developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our business combination.

 

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Our ability to complete a business combination may be impacted by the fact that some of our officers and directors are located in or have significant ties to the People’s Republic of China, including, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. This may make us a less attractive partner to potential target companies outside the PRC, thereby limiting our pool of acquisition candidates and making it harder for us to complete an initial business combination with a non-China-based target company. For example, we may not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company since such initial business combination may be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and review by a U.S. government entity, such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), or ultimately prohibited.

 

Some of our directors and officers are located in, or have significant ties to, China, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. As a result, we may be a less attractive partner to potential target companies outside the PRC, thereby limiting our pool of acquisition candidates. This would impact our search for a target company and make it harder for us to complete an initial business combination with a non-China-based target company. For example, we may not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company since such initial business combination may be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and review by a U.S. government entity. Certain federally licensed businesses in the United States, such as broadcasters and airlines, may be subject to rules or regulations that limit foreign ownership. 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. We may be considered a “foreign person” under such rules and regulations and 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, determine to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or proceed with the initial business combination without notifying CFIUS and then bear the risk of 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 shareholders. 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 only have 9 months (or 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) to complete our initial business combination, our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may prevent us from completing the transaction and require us to liquidate. If we liquidate, our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share initially, and our rights will expire worthless. Our public shareholders may also lose the potential investment opportunity in a target company and the opportunity of realizing future gains on such investments through any price appreciation in the combined company.

 

We may engage our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the IPO, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions and a unit purchase option under certain conditions. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the IPO, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

 

We may engage our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the IPO, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. Additionally, we have agreed to provide the underwriters with a right of first refusal to provide investment banking services in connection with certain future transactions (which right shall not extend more than three years from the commencement of sales of the offering in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110). We may pay our underwriters or their affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with our underwriters or any of their affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to our underwriters or any of their affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of the Registration Statement, unless the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter compensation in connection with the IPO. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions and the Representative Units that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the IPO, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

 

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Risks Related to Our Securities

 

NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

 

We have been approved to have our units listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after the date of the Registration Statement and our ordinary shares and rights listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to the IPO we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NASDAQ listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on NASDAQ in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NASDAQ prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQ’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQ’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

 

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

 

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

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

 

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

 

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, our ordinary shares and rights are listed on NASDAQ, our units, ordinary shares and rights will be covered securities. Although the states are pre-empted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NASDAQ, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

 

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We may issue additional ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 200,000,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share and 2,000,000 preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after the IPO, there will be 7,732,500 ordinary shares (assuming, in each case, that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option and 225,000 founder shares have been forfeited as a result) issued and outstanding. As a result, there will be 192,267,500 unissued ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the ordinary shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of any outstanding rights. Immediately after the consummation of the IPO, there will be no preferred shares issued and outstanding.

 

We may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with ordinary shareholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital share 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 articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, beyond 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with the approval of our shareholders. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement) or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.

 

The issuance of additional ordinary or preferred shares:

 

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the IPO;

 

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

 

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

 

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or rights.

 

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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and

 

other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

 

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

 

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the IPO, our founders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register their founder shares and Private Placement Units, after those shares convert to our ordinary shares at the closing of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of our Private Placement Units and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Private Placement Units and/or the underlying securities, and holders of units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such units and/or underlying securities. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares and Private Placement Units owned by our founders or holders of our working capital units or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

 

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In order to complete our initial business combination, we may seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or other governing instruments, including our rights agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination but that our shareholders or rights holders may not support.

 

In order to complete a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their rights agreement. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus and, with respect to their rights, amended their rights agreements to require the rights to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or other governing instruments or change our industry focus in order to complete our initial business combination.

 

Our founders contributed an aggregate of approximately $25,100, or approximately $0.02 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our ordinary shares.

 

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the right included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per our ordinary shares after the IPO constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in the IPO. Our founders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of the IPO, and assuming no value is ascribed to the rights included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 107.04% (or $9.73 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $(0.64) and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. In addition, because of the anti-dilution rights of the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our ordinary shares.

 

Our founders paid an aggregate of $25,100 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.02 per founder share. As a result of this low initial price, our founders stand to make a substantial profit even if an initial business combination subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders.

 

As a result of the low acquisition cost of our founder shares, our founders could make a substantial profit even if we select and consummate an initial business combination with an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders. Thus, such parties may have more of an economic incentive for us to enter into an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or financially unstable business, or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, than would be the case if such parties had paid the full offering price for their founder shares.

 

Our Private Placement Units and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to complete our business combination.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we issued 232,500 Private Placement Units to our sponsors. Our founders currently own 1,725,000 founder shares (up to 225,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part). In addition, if our founders or their affiliates make any working capital loans, up to $300,000 of such loans may be converted into working capital units, at the price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such working capital units would be identical to the Private Placement Units sold in the private placement.

 

To the extent we issue ordinary shares to complete a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional ordinary shares upon conversion rights of up to $300,000 working capital loans could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares and reduce the value of the ordinary shares issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our Private Placement Units and founder shares may make it more difficult to complete a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

 

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We may amend the terms of the rights in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public rights with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public rights.

 

Our rights were issued in registered form under a rights agreement and between Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, as rights agent, and us. The rights agreement provides that the terms of the rights may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public rights to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public rights. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public rights in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public rights approve of such amendment.

 

The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of the IPO is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.

 

Prior to the IPO there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the rights were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of the IPO, management held customary organizational meetings with the underwriters with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of the IPO, prices and terms of the units, including the ordinary shares and rights underlying the units, include:

 

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

 

prior offerings of those companies;

 

our prospects for acquiring an operating business;

 

a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;

 

our capital structure;

 

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

 

general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the IPO; and

 

other factors as were deemed relevant.

 

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

 

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

 

There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following the IPO, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

 

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

 

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

 

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An investment in the IPO may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.

 

An investment in the IPO may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in the IPO, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the ordinary shares and the right to receive one-tenth of an ordinary share upon the completion of an initial business combination included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or courts. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.

 

If our initial business combination involves a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible a 1% U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our ordinary shares after or in connection with such initial business combination.

 

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which, among other things, imposes a 1% excise tax on the fair market value of stock repurchased by a publicly traded domestic (i.e., United States) corporation (and certain non-U.S. corporations treated as a “surrogate foreign corporations”) beginning in 2023, with certain exceptions (the “Excise Tax”). The amount of the Excise Tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares of the stock repurchased at the time of the repurchase and will apply to stock repurchases occurring in 2023 and beyond. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of, the excise tax; however, only limited guidance has been issued to date.

 

As an entity incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, the Excise Tax is not expected to apply to redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares (absent any regulations and other additional guidance that may be issued in the future with retroactive effect).

 

However, we may be subject to the Excise Tax if, in connection with an initial business combination and prior to certain redemptions, we domesticate into the United States or if we are considered a surrogate foreign corporation under the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). We will be considered as a surrogate foreign corporation if, after our acquisition of a United States corporation, at least 60% of our stock, by vote or value, is held by former shareholders of the United States corporation by reason of their holding stock in such United States corporation. If we acquire a domestic corporation, or engage in a transaction in which a United States corporation becomes our parent or our affiliate, and because our securities are expected to trade on Nasdaq following the date of the Registration Statement, we may be, or become, a “covered corporation” within the meaning of the Inflation Reduction Act, and while not free from doubt, it is possible that the Excise Tax will apply to redemptions of our ordinary shares in connection with an initial business combination after we become such a “covered corporation” to the extent such redemptions are treated as repurchases for purposes of the Inflation Reduction Act (other than, pursuant to recently issued guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, redemptions in complete liquidation of the company). In all cases, the extent of the excise tax that may be incurred will depend on a number of factors, including the fair market value of our shares redeemed, the extent such redemptions could be treated as dividends and not repurchases, and the content of any regulations and other additional guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that may be issued and applicable to the redemptions.

 

Issuances of stock by a repurchasing corporation in a year in which such corporation repurchases stock may reduce the amount of the Excise Tax imposed with respect to such repurchase. The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not the stockholders from which stock is repurchased. The imposition of the Excise Tax could, however, reduce the amount of cash available to the company (or the cash contribution to the target business in connection with our initial business combination).

 

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For these reasons, the value of your investment in our securities may decrease as a result of the Excise Tax in some circumstances. In addition, the Excise Tax may make a transaction with us less appealing to potential business combination targets, and thus, potentially hinder our ability to enter into and consummate an initial business combination.

 

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

 

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of the Registration Statement captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—General”) of our securities, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of the Registration Statement captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year (and if the start-up exception may be applicable, potentially not until after the two taxable years following). Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. We urge U.S. investors to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed discussion of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of the Registration Statement captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

 

Our unit purchase option and rights may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effect a business combination, and you may experience dilution if such securities are exercised or converted.

 

We issued rights that resulted in the issuance of up to 600,000 ordinary shares as part of the units offered by the Registration Statement and private rights that resulted in the issuance of an additional 23,250 ordinary shares. We issued a unit purchase option to purchase a number of units equal to up to 9% of the public units sold in the IPO (an aggregate of up to 540,000 units) to the representative of the underwriters which, if exercised, will result in the issuance of 540,000 ordinary shares, including 54,000 ordinary shares underlying rights. The potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares upon exercise or conversion of the foregoing securities could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle in the eyes of a target business. Such securities, when exercised or converted, will increase the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares and reduce the value of the shares issued to complete the business combination. Accordingly, these securities may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business. Additionally, the sale, or even the possibility of sale, of the shares underlying these securities could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities or on our ability to obtain future financing. If and to the extent these securities are exercised or converted, you may experience dilution to your holdings.

 

Risks Related to Our Management

 

Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of such people could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

 

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

 

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

 

Members of our management team may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

 

Members of our management team may be able to remain with the Company after the completion of our business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any members of our management team will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any members of our management team will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any members of our management team will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

 

Our officers and directors may allocate their time to other businesses and may become officers or directors of other special purpose acquisition companies, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs and whether to present a target to us instead of our competitors. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

 

Our officers and directors have fiduciary responsibility to dedicate substantially all their business time to their respective affairs and their respective portfolio companies. However, this responsibility does not require any of our officers or directors to commit his or her full time to our affairs in particular, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses, including other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation. Furthermore, our founders, including Yuk Man Lau, Xin Wang and David Bamper may not become an officer or director of another special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act before we enter a binding agreement regarding our initial business combination. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, each of our officers and certain of our directors are employed by or affiliated with our founders, which makes investments in securities or other interests of or relating to companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination. Our independent directors also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs; or if they have fiduciary duty to present a target company to our competitor instead of us, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of the Registration Statement entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”

 

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Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

 

Following the completion of the IPO and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business.

 

Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities in the future to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties, including our founders’ affiliates. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.

 

For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of the Registration Statement entitled “Management — Officers and Directors,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

 

Our founders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

 

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our founders or their respective affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

 

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

 

In light of the involvement of our officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our founders or their respective affiliates. Our officers and directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of the Registration Statement entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our founders are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in the section of the Registration Statement entitled “Proposed Business — Sources of Target Businesses” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our founders or their respective affiliates, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

 

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

 

On February 23, 2023, our sponsor, Bayview Holding LP, purchased 1,437,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 of which Bayview Holding LP owns 474,375 ordinary shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited owns 963,125 ordinary shares. On December 14, 2023, the Company issued an additional 287,500 founder shares for consideration of $100, resulting in Bayview Holding LP holding a total of 569,250 founder shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited holding a total of 1,155,750 founder shares as of the date of the Registration Statement. Up to 225,000 founder shares held by the Sponsors are subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by our sponsors, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 25% of the outstanding shares after the IPO (excluding the private shares and shares underlying the UPO). The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsors have committed to purchase an aggregate of 232,500 Private Placement Units, at $10.00 per unit, for a purchase price of approximately $2,325,000. The founder shares and Private Placement Units will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our initial shareholders have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares or private shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our founders. The personal and financial interests of our founders may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.

 

The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of two-thirds of our ordinary shares, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

 

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the IPO and the private placement of units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of two-thirds of our ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of two-thirds of our ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may be amended by holders representing two-thirds of our outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or in our initial business combination. Our founders, who will collectively beneficially own up to 25% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of the IPO (assuming they do not purchase any units in the IPO), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

 

Our initial shareholders have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (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 within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), or (ii) with respect to any other material provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our founders. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our founders for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

 

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

 

Although we believe that the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (and not previously released to us to pay our taxes) on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

Our founders and other insiders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

 

Upon the closing of the IPO, our founders owned founder shares representing 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private shares and shares underlying the UPO, and assuming they do not purchase any units in the IPO). Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we issued 232,500 Private Placement Units to our sponsors. In addition, if our founders or their designated parties make any working capital loans, up to $300,000 of such loans may be converted into working capital units, at the price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lenders. Such working capital units would be identical to the Private Placement Units sold in the private placement. Accordingly, our founders along with any designated parties may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our founders purchase any units in the IPO or if they purchase any additional ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by certain of our initial shareholders, is and are divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to elect directors. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.

 

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Post Business Combination Risks

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

 

We may face general risks related to our business combination with any company.

 

Any business combination with another company entails special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:

 

an inability to compete effectively in a highly competitive environment with many incumbents having substantially greater resources;

 

an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth;

 

an inability to build strong brand identity and improve subscriber or customer satisfaction and loyalty;

 

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a reliance on proprietary technology to provide services and to manage our operations, and the failure of this technology to operate effectively, or our failure to use such technology effectively;

 

an inability to deal with our subscribers’ or customers’ privacy concerns;

 

an inability to attract and retain subscribers or customers;

 

an inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend;

 

any significant disruption in our computer systems or those of third parties that we would utilize in our operations;

 

an inability by us, or a refusal by third parties, to license content to us upon acceptable terms;

 

potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we may distribute;

 

competition for advertising revenue;

 

competition for the leisure and entertainment time and discretionary spending of subscribers or customers, which may intensify in part due to advances in technology and changes in consumer expectations and behavior;

 

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

 

an inability to obtain necessary hardware, software and operational support; and

 

reliance on third-party vendors or service providers.

 

Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination.

 

Our success will ultimately depend upon market acceptance of our products and services, our ability to develop and commercialize existing and new products and services and generate revenues, and our ability to identify new markets for its technology.

 

Ultimately, our success will depend on the acceptance of our products and services in the target markets. We are faced with the risk that the marketplace will not be receptive to our products and services over competing products and that we will be unable to compete effectively. We will face challenges of developing (or acquiring externally-developed) technology solutions that are adequate and competitive in meeting the requirements of next-generation design challenges.

 

We cannot assure investors that the products and services of the company with which we conduct a business combination, or any future products and services will gain broad market acceptance. If the market for our products and services fails to develop or develops more slowly than expected, or if any of the services and standards supported by us do not achieve or sustain market acceptance, our business and operating results would be materially and adversely affected.

 

If we fail to adapt and respond effectively to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, changing regulations and payment methods, demand for product enhancements, new product features, and changing business needs, requirements or preferences, our products may become less competitive.

 

Regardless of our business combination target’s industry, it will likely be subject to ongoing technological change, evolving industry standards, changing regulations, and changing customer needs, requirements and preferences. The success of our business will depend, in part, on our ability to adapt and respond effectively to these changes on a timely basis, including launching new products and services. The success of any new product and service, or any enhancements, features, or modifications to existing products and services, depends on several factors, including the timely completion, introduction, and market acceptance of such products and services, enhancements, modifications and new product features. If we are unable to enhance our products or develop new products that keep pace with technological and regulatory change and changes in customer preferences and achieve market acceptance, or if new technologies emerge that are able to deliver competitive products and services at lower prices, more efficiently, more conveniently, or more securely than our products, our business, operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected. Furthermore, modifications to our existing platform, products, or technology will increase our research and development expenses. Any failure of our products and services to operate effectively could reduce the demand for our services, result in customer dissatisfaction and adversely affect our business.

 

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Technology platforms may not operate properly or as we expect it to operate.

 

Technology platforms are expensive and complex, their continuous development, maintenance and operation may entail unforeseen difficulties including material performance problems or undetected defects or errors. We may encounter technical obstacles, and it is possible that we may discover additional problems that prevent our technology from operating properly. If our platform does not function reliably, we may not be able to provide any products or services. Errors could also cause customer dissatisfaction with us, which could cause customers to stop purchasing or working with us. Any of these eventualities could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

New or changing technologies, could cause a disruption in our business model, which may materially impact our results of operations and financial condition.

 

If we fail to anticipate the impact on our business of changing technology, our ability to successfully operate may be materially impaired. Our business could also be affected by potential technological changes. Such changes could disrupt the demand for products from current customers, create coverage issues or impact the frequency or severity of losses, or reduce the size of the ultimate market, causing our business to decline. We may not be able to respond effectively to these changes, which could have a material effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Claims by others that we infringe or have infringed their proprietary technology or other intellectual property rights could harm our business.

 

Companies in the technology industries are frequently subject to litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. In addition, certain companies and rights holders seek to enforce and monetize patents or other intellectual property rights they own, have purchased or have otherwise obtained. As we gain an increasingly high public profile, the possibility of intellectual property rights claims against us grows. From time to time, third parties may assert claims of infringement of intellectual property rights against us. Although we may have meritorious defenses, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in defending against these allegations or in reaching a business resolution that is satisfactory to us. Our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than us. In addition, future litigation may involve patent holding companies or other adverse patent owners who have no relevant product or service revenue and against whom our own patents may therefore provide little or no deterrence or protection. Many potential litigants, including competitors and patent-holding companies, have the ability to dedicate substantial resources to the assertion of their intellectual property rights. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim, could distract our management from our business and could require us to cease use of such intellectual property. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, we risk compromising our confidential information during this type of litigation. We may be required to pay substantial damages, royalties or other fees in connection with a claimant securing a judgment against us, we may be subject to an injunction or other restrictions that prevent us from using or distributing our intellectual property, or from operating under our brand, or we may agree to a settlement that prevents us from distributing our offerings or a portion thereof, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

With respect to any intellectual property rights claim, we may have to seek out a license to continue operations found or alleged to violate such rights, which may not be available, or if available, may not be available on favorable or commercially reasonable terms and may significantly increase our operating expenses. Some licenses may be non-exclusive, and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. If a third party does not offer us a license to its intellectual property on reasonable terms, or at all, we may be required to develop alternative, non-infringing technology, which could require significant time (during which we would be unable to continue to offer our affected offerings), effort and expense and may ultimately not be successful. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

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

 

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

 

Risks Related to Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States

 

We may effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States and if we do, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our business operations and financial results.

 

If we consummate a business combination with a target business located outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’ governing jurisdiction, including any of the following:

 

rules and regulations or currency redemption or corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

 

tariffs and trade barriers;

 

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

 

longer payment cycles than in the United States;

 

inflation;

 

economic policies and market conditions;

 

unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;

 

challenges in managing and staffing international operations;

 

tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

 

currency fluctuations;

 

challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

 

cultural and language differences;

 

protection of intellectual property; and

 

employment regulations.

 

We cannot assure you that we would be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.

 

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Because of the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, our results of operations may be negatively impacted.

 

Managing a business, operations, personnel or assets in another country is challenging and costly. Any management that we may have (whether based abroad or in the U.S.) may be inexperienced in cross-border business practices and unaware of significant differences in accounting rules, legal regimes and labor practices. Even with a seasoned and experienced management team, the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, personnel and assets can be significant (and much higher than in a purely domestic business) and may negatively impact our financial and operational performance.

 

If social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, or policy changes or enactments occur in a country in which we may operate after we effect our initial business combination, it may result in a negative impact on our business.

 

Political events in another country may significantly affect our business, assets or operations. Social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, and policy changes or enactments could negatively impact our business in a particular country.

 

Many countries have difficult and unpredictable legal systems and underdeveloped laws and regulations that are unclear and subject to corruption and inexperience, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Our ability to seek and enforce legal protections, including with respect to intellectual property and other property rights, or to defend ourselves with regard to legal actions taken against us in a given country, may be difficult or impossible, which could adversely impact our operations, assets or financial condition.

 

Rules and regulations in many countries are often ambiguous or open to differing interpretation by responsible individuals and agencies at the municipal, state, regional and federal levels. The attitudes and actions of such individuals and agencies are often difficult to predict and inconsistent.

 

Delay with respect to the enforcement of particular rules and regulations, including those relating to customs, tax, environmental and labor, could cause serious disruption to operations abroad and negatively impact our results.

 

If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

 

If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such company operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. We cannot assure you that the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this new jurisdiction. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital. Additionally, if we acquire a company located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers, or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under Federal securities laws.

 

If relations between the United States and foreign governments deteriorate, it could cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive.

 

The relationship between the United States and foreign governments could be subject to sudden fluctuation and periodic tension. For instance, the United States may announce its intention to impose quotas on certain imports. Such import quotas may adversely affect political relations between the two countries and result in retaliatory countermeasures by the foreign government in industries that may affect our ultimate target business. Changes in political conditions in foreign countries and changes in the state of U.S. relations with such countries are difficult to predict and could adversely affect our operations or cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive. Because we are not limited to any specific industry, there is no basis for investors in the IPO to evaluate the possible extent of any impact on our ultimate operations if relations are strained between the United States and a foreign country in which we acquire a target business or move our principal manufacturing or service operations.

 

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If any dividend is declared in the future and paid in a foreign currency, you may be taxed on a larger amount in U.S.

 

If you are a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares, you will be taxed on the U.S. dollar value of your dividends, if any, at the time you receive them, even if you actually receive a smaller amount of U.S. dollars when the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Specifically, if a dividend is declared and paid in a foreign currency, the amount of the dividend distribution that you must include in your income as a U.S. holder will be the U.S. dollar value of the payments made in the foreign currency, determined at the spot rate of the foreign currency to the U.S. dollar on the date the dividend distribution is includible in your income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Thus, if the value of the foreign currency decreases before you actually convert the currency into U.S. dollars, you will be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.

 

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

 

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

 

After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.

 

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

 

Currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.

 

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

 

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Many of the economies in Asia are experiencing substantial inflationary pressures which may prompt the governments to take action to control the growth of the economy and inflation that could lead to a significant decrease in our profitability following our initial business combination.

 

There is no restriction in the geographic location of targets that we can pursue, although we intend to initially prioritize geographic locations in Asia. In the event that our target business is in Asia, while many of the economies in Asia have experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, they currently are experiencing inflationary pressures. As governments take steps to address the current inflationary pressures, there may be significant changes in the availability of bank credits, interest rates, limitations on loans, restrictions on currency conversions and foreign investment. There also may be imposition of price controls. If prices for the products of our ultimate target business rise at a rate that is insufficient to compensate for the rise in the costs of supplies, it may have an adverse effect on our profitability. If these or other similar restrictions are imposed by a government to influence the economy, it may lead to a slowing of economic growth. Because we are not limited to any specific industry, the ultimate industry that we operate in may be affected more severely by such a slowing of economic growth.

 

Many industries in Asia are subject to government regulations that limit or prohibit foreign investments in such industries, which may limit the potential number of acquisition candidates.

 

Governments in many Asian countries have imposed regulations that limit foreign investors’ equity ownership or prohibit foreign investments altogether in companies that operate in certain industries. As a result, the number of potential acquisition candidates available to us may be limited or our ability to grow and sustain the business, which we ultimately acquire will be limited.

 

If a country in Asia enacts regulations in industry segments that forbid or restrict foreign investment, our ability to consummate our initial business combination could be severely impaired.

 

Many of the rules and regulations that companies face concerning foreign ownership are not explicitly communicated. If new laws or regulations forbid or limit foreign investment in industries in which we want to complete our initial business combination, they could severely impair our candidate pool of potential target businesses. Additionally, if the relevant central and local authorities find us or the target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination to be in violation of any existing or future laws or regulations, they would have broad discretion in dealing with such a violation, including, without limitation:

 

levying fines;

 

revoking our business and other licenses;

 

requiring that we restructure our ownership or operations; and

 

requiring that we discontinue any portion or all of our business.

 

Any of the above could have an adverse effect on our company post-business combination and could materially reduce the value of your investment.

 

Corporate governance standards in Asia may not be as strict or developed as in the United States and such weakness may hide issues and operational practices that are detrimental to a target business.

 

General corporate governance standards in some countries are weak in that they do not prevent business practices that cause unfavorable related party transactions, over-leveraging, improper accounting, family company interconnectivity and poor management. Local laws often do not go far enough to prevent improper business practices. Therefore, shareholders may not be treated impartially and equally as a result of poor management practices, asset shifting, conglomerate structures that result in preferential treatment to some parts of the overall company, and cronyism. The lack of transparency and ambiguity in the regulatory process also may result in inadequate credit evaluation and weakness that may precipitate or encourage financial crisis. In our evaluation of a business combination we will have to evaluate the corporate governance of a target and the business environment, and in accordance with United States laws for reporting companies take steps to implement practices that will cause compliance with all applicable rules and accounting practices. Notwithstanding these intended efforts, there may be endemic practices and local laws that could add risk to an investment we ultimately make and that result in an adverse effect on our operations and financial results.

 

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We may face additional and distinctive risks if we acquire a technology business.

 

Business combinations with technology businesses may involve special considerations and risks. If we complete our initial business combination with a technology business, we will be subject to the following risks, any of which could be detrimental to us and the business we acquire:

 

If we are unable to keep pace with evolving technology and changes in the technology services industry, our revenues and future prospects may decline;

 

Any business or company we acquire could be vulnerable to cyberattack or theft of individual identities or personal data;

 

Difficulties with any products or services we provide could damage our reputation and business;

 

A failure to comply with privacy regulations could adversely affect relations with customers and have a negative impact on business;

 

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and we may be subject to infringement claims; and

 

We and any business or company we acquire may not be able to adapt to the complex and evolving regulatory environment for financial technology services.

 

Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to technology businesses. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks will likely not affect us and we will be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, none of which can be presently ascertained.

 

If we effect our initial business combination with a business located in the in the PRC, the laws applicable to such business will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

 

If we effect our initial business combination with a business located in the PRC, the laws of the country in which such business operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations, including any contractual arrangements through which we acquire control of target business as described above. We cannot assure you that we or the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this jurisdiction. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. In addition, the judiciary in the PRC is relatively inexperienced compared to others in enforcing corporate and commercial law, leading to a higher than usual degree of uncertainty as to the outcome of any litigation. In addition, to the extent that our target business’s material agreements are with governmental agencies in the PRC, we may not be able to enforce or obtain a remedy from such agencies due to sovereign immunity, in which the government is deemed to be immune from civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.

 

If we effect our initial business combination with a business located in the PRC, we may be subject to certain risks associated with acquiring and operating businesses in the PRC.

 

We may be subject to certain risks associated with acquiring and operating a business in the PRC in our search for a business combination and operation of any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination.

 

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First, certain rules and regulations concerning mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors in the PRC may make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more complex and time consuming, including, among others:

 

the requirement that the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC (the “MOFCOM”) be notified in certain circumstances in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise or any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered;

 

the authority of certain government agencies to have scrutiny over the economics of an acquisition transaction and requirement for consideration in a transaction to be paid within stated time limits; and

 

the requirement for mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns to be subject to strict review by the MOFCOM.

 

Complying with these and other requirements could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOFCOM or its local counterparts, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to acquire PRC-based businesses. A business combination we propose may not be able to be completed if the terms of the transaction do not satisfy aspects of the approval process and may not be completed, even if approved, if they are not consummated within the time permitted by the approvals granted.

 

In addition, the PRC currently prohibits and/or restricts foreign ownership in certain “important industries,” including telecommunications, food production and heavy equipment. There are uncertainties under certain regulations whether obtaining a majority interest through contractual arrangements will comply with regulations prohibiting or restricting foreign ownership in certain industries. There is no assurance that the PRC government will not apply restrictions in other industries. In addition, there can be restrictions on the foreign ownership of businesses that are determined from time to time to be in “important industries” that may affect the national economic security or those having “famous brand names” or “well-established brand names.” Subject to the review and approval requirements of the relevant agencies and the various percentage ownership limitations that exist from time to time, acquisitions involving foreign investors and parties in the various restricted categories of assets and industries may nonetheless sometimes be consummated using contractual arrangements with permitted local parties. If we choose to effect a business combination that employs the use of these types of control arrangements, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with the same economic benefits, accounting consolidation or control over a target business as would direct ownership due to limited implementation guidance provided with respect to such regulations. If the government of the PRC finds that the agreements we entered into to acquire control of a target business through contractual arrangements with one or more operating businesses do not comply with local governmental restrictions on foreign investment, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to significant penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

 

If we effect our initial business combination with a business located in the PRC, a substantial portion of our operations may be conducted in the PRC, and a significant portion of our net revenues maybe derived from customers where the contracting entity is located in the PRC. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and certain transactions we may undertake may be subject, to a significant extent, to economic, political and governmental and legal developments, laws and regulations in the PRC. For instance, all or most of our material agreements may be governed by PRC law and we may have difficulty in enforcing our legal rights because the system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in PRC may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. In addition, contractual arrangements we enter into with potential future subsidiaries and affiliated entities or acquisitions of offshore entities that conduct operations through affiliates in the PRC may be subject to a high level of scrutiny by the relevant PRC tax authorities. We may also be subject to restrictions on dividend payments after we consummate a business combination and if we rely on dividends and other distributions from our operating company to provide us with cash flow and to meet our other obligations.

 

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Contractual arrangements we enter into with potential future subsidiaries and affiliated entities or acquisitions of offshore entities that conduct operations through affiliates in the PRC may be subject to a high level of scrutiny by the relevant tax authorities.

 

Under the laws of the PRC, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the relevant tax authorities. If any of the transactions we enter into with potential future subsidiaries and affiliated entities are found not to be on an arm’s-length basis, or to result in an unreasonable reduction in tax under local law, the relevant tax authorities may have the authority to disallow any tax savings, adjust the profits and losses of such potential future local entities and assess late payment interest and penalties. A finding by the relevant tax authorities that we are ineligible for any such tax savings, or that any of our possible future affiliated entities are not eligible for tax exemptions, would substantially increase our possible future taxes and thus reduce our net income and the value of a shareholder’s investment. In addition, in the event that in connection with an acquisition of an offshore entity that conducted its operations through affiliates in the PRC, the sellers of such entities failed to pay any taxes required under local law, the relevant tax authorities could require us to withhold and pay the tax, together with late-payment interest and penalties. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a negative impact on our operating results and financial condition.

 

If the government of the PRC finds that the agreements we entered into to acquire control of a target business do not comply with local governmental restrictions on foreign investment, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to significant penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations or we could be unable to assert our contractual control rights over the assets of the post-combination target company, which could cause the value of our ordinary shares depreciate significantly or become worthless.

 

The PRC currently prohibits and/or restricts foreign ownership in certain “important industries,” including telecommunications, food production and heavy equipment. There are uncertainties under certain regulations whether obtaining a majority interest through contractual arrangements will comply with regulations prohibiting or restricting foreign ownership in certain industries. For example, the PRC may apply restrictions in other industries in the future. In addition, there can be restrictions on the foreign ownership of businesses that are determined from time to time to be in “important industries” that may affect the national economic security or those having “famous brand names” or “well-established brand names.”

 

If we or any of our potential future target businesses are found to be in violation of any existing or future local laws or regulations (for example, if we are deemed to be holding equity interests in certain of our affiliated entities in which direct foreign ownership is prohibited), the relevant regulatory authorities might have the discretion to:

 

revoke the business and operating licenses of the potential future target business;

 

confiscate relevant income and impose fines and other penalties;

 

discontinue or restrict the operations of the potential future target business;

 

require us or the potential future target business to restructure the relevant ownership structure or operations;

 

restrict or prohibit our use of the proceeds of the IPO to finance our businesses and operations in the relevant jurisdiction; or

 

impose conditions or requirements with which we or the potential future target business may not be able to comply.

 

If we acquire control of a target business through contractual arrangements with one or more operating businesses in the PRC, such contracts may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership of such business and may be difficult to enforce.

 

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We will only acquire a business or businesses that, upon the consummation of our initial business combination, will be our majority-owned subsidiaries and will be neither investment companies nor companies excluded from the definition of an investment company by Section 3I(1) or I)(7) of the Investment Company Act. However, the PRC has restricted or limited foreign ownership of certain kinds of assets and companies operating in certain industries. The industry groups that are restricted are wide-ranging, including, for example, certain aspects of telecommunications, food production, and heavy equipment manufacturers. In addition, there can be restrictions on the foreign ownership of businesses that are determined from time to time to be in “important industries” that may affect the national economic security or having “famous brand names” or “well-established brand names.” Subject to the review and approval requirements of the relevant agencies for acquisitions of assets and companies in the relevant jurisdictions and subject to the various percentage ownership limitations that exist from time to time, acquisitions involving foreign investors and parties in the various restricted categories of assets and industries may nonetheless sometimes be consummated using contractual arrangements with permitted local parties. To the extent that such agreements are employed, they may be for control of specific assets such as intellectual property or control of blocks of the equity ownership interests of a company which may provide exceptions to the merger and acquisition regulations mentioned above since these types of arrangements typically do not involve a change of equity ownership in the operating company. The agreements would be designed to provide our company with the economic benefits of, and control over, the subject assets or equity interests similar to the rights of full ownership, while leaving the technical ownership in the hands of local parties who would be our nominees and, therefore, may exempt the transaction from certain regulations, including the application process required thereunder.

 

However, since there has been limited implementation guidance provided with respect to such regulations, the relevant government agency might apply them to a business combination effected through contractual arrangements. If such an agency determines or interprets that such an application should have been made or that our potential future target businesses are otherwise in violation of local laws or regulations, consequences may include confiscating relevant income and levying fines and other penalties, revoking business and other licenses, requiring restructure of ownership or operations, requiring discontinuation or restriction of the operations of any portion or all of the acquired business, restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds of the IPO to finance our businesses and operations and imposing conditions or requirements with which we or potential future target businesses may not be able to comply, and we could be unable to assert our contractual control rights over the assets of the post-combination target company, which could cause the value of our ordinary shares may depreciate significantly or become worthless. These agreements likely also would provide for increased ownership or full ownership and control by us when and if permitted under local laws and regulations. If we choose to effect a business combination that employs the use of these types of control arrangements, we may have difficulty in enforcing our rights. Therefore, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with the same economic benefits, accounting consolidation or control over a target business as would direct ownership. For example, if the target business or any other entity fails to perform its obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend substantial resources to enforce such arrangements, and rely on legal remedies under local law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure will be sufficient to offset the cost of enforcement and may adversely affect the benefits we expect to receive from the business combination.

 

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our ability to inject capital in our Chinese subsidiaries and Chinese subsidiaries’ ability to change their registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us or our PRC resident beneficial owners to liability and penalties under PRC laws.

 

In July 2014, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC, or SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents (including PRC individuals and PRC corporate entities as well as foreign individuals that are deemed as PRC residents for foreign exchange administration purpose) to register with SAFE or its local branches in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. SAFE Circular 37 is applicable to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may be applicable to any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future. Under SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who make, or have prior to the implementation of SAFE Circular 37 made, direct or indirect investments in offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, will be required to register such investments with SAFE or its local branches. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of an SPV, is required to update its filed registration with the local branch of SAFE with respect to that SPV, to reflect any material change, including, among other things, any major change of a PRC resident shareholder, name or term of operation of the SPVs, or any increase or reduction of the SPVs’ registered capital, share transfer or swap, merger or division. Moreover, any subsidiary of such SPV in China is required to urge the PRC resident shareholders to update their registration with the local branch of SAFE. If any PRC shareholder of such SPV fails to make the required registration or to update the previously filed registration, the subsidiary of such SPV in China may be prohibited from distributing its profits or the proceeds from any capital reduction, share transfer or liquidation to the SPV, and the SPV may also be prohibited from making additional capital contributions into its subsidiary in China. On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, or SAFE Notice 13, which became effective on June 1, 2015. Under SAFE Notice 13, applications for foreign exchange registration of inbound foreign direct investments and outbound overseas direct investments, including those required under SAFE Circular 37, will be filed with qualified banks instead of SAFE or its branches. The qualified banks will directly examine the applications and accept registrations under the supervision of SAFE.

 

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We cannot provide assurance that our shareholders that are PRC residents comply with all of the requirements under SAFE Circular 37 or other related rules. Failure or inability of our PRC resident shareholders to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may subject us to fines and legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, limit the ability of our wholly foreign-owned subsidiary in China to distribute dividends and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may also be prohibited from injecting additional capital into the subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for circumventing applicable foreign exchange restrictions. As a result, our business operations and our ability to distribute profits to you could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Furthermore, as these foreign exchange regulations are still relatively new and their interpretation and implementation has been constantly evolving, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

 

Compliance with the PRC Antitrust Law may limit our ability to effect our initial business combination.

 

The PRC Antitrust Law became effective on August 1, 2008. The government authorities in charge of antitrust matters in China are the Antitrust Commission and other antitrust authorities under the State Council. The PRC Antitrust Law regulates (1) monopoly agreements, including decisions or actions in concert that preclude or impede competition, entered into by business operators; (2) abuse of dominant market position by business operators; and (3) concentration of business operators that may have the effect of precluding or impeding competition. To implement the Antitrust Law, in 2008, the State Council formulated the regulations that require filing of concentration of business operators, pursuant to which concentration of business operators refers to (1) merger with other business operators; (2) gaining control over other business operators through acquisition of equity interest or assets of other business operators; and (3) gaining control over other business operators through exerting influence on other business operators through contracts or other means. In 2009, the Ministry of Commerce, to which the Antitrust Commission is affiliated, promulgated the Measures for Filing of Concentration of Business Operators (amended by the Guidelines for Filing of Concentration of Business Operators in 2014), which set forth the criteria of concentration and the requirement of miscellaneous documents for the purpose of filing. The business combination we contemplate may be considered the concentration of business operators, and to the extent required by the Antitrust Law and the criteria established by the State Council, we must file with the antitrust authority under the PRC State Council prior to conducting the contemplated business combination. If the antitrust authority decides not to further investigate whether the contemplated business combination has the effect of precluding or impeding competition or fails to make a decision within 30 days from receipt of relevant materials, we may proceed to consummate the contemplated business combination. If antitrust authority decides to prohibit the contemplated business combination after further investigation, we must terminate such business combination and would then be forced to either attempt to complete a new business combination or we would be required to return any amounts which were held in the trust account to our shareholders. When we evaluate a potential business combination, we will consider the need to comply with the Antitrust Law and other relevant regulations which may limit our ability to effect an acquisition or may result in our modifying or not pursuing a particular transaction. Since our business combination period is within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), and the approval process may take a period longer than we expect before we enter into a definitive agreement with a target company, we may be unable to complete a business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement).

 

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Exchange controls that exist in the PRC may restrict or prevent us from using the proceeds of the IPO to acquire a target company in PRC and limit our ability to utilize our cash flow effectively following our initial business combination.

 

SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Administration of Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, effective on June 1, 2015, in replacement of the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 142, the Notice from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses, or Circular 59, and the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account Foreign Exchange Businesses, or Circular 45. According to Circular 19, the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that RMB capital may not be used for the issuance of RMB entrusted loans, the repayment of inter-enterprise loans or the repayment of banks loans that have been transferred to a third party. Although Circular 19 allows RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise to be used for equity investments within the PRC, it also reiterates the principle that RMB converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital of a foreign-invested company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope. Thus, it is unclear whether SAFE will permit such capital to be used for equity investments in the PRC in actual practice. SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Standardizing the Foreign Exchange Settlement Management Policy of Capital Account, or Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which reiterates some of the rules set forth in Circular 19, but changes the prohibition against using RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company to issue RMB entrusted loans to a prohibition against using such capital to issue loans to non-associated enterprises. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 and Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties.

 

As such, Circular 19 and Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer the proceeds of the IPO to a PRC target company and the use of such proceeds by the PRC target company. In addition, following our initial business combination with a PRC target company, we will be subject to the PRC’s rules and regulations on currency conversion. In the PRC, the SAFE regulates the conversion of the Renminbi into foreign currencies. Currently, FIEs are required to apply to the SAFE for “Foreign Exchange Registration Certificates for FIEs.” Following our initial business combination, we will likely be an FIE as a result of our ownership structure. With such registration certificates, which need to be renewed annually, FIEs are allowed to open foreign currency accounts including a “basic account” and “capital account.” Currency conversion within the scope of the “basic account,” such as remittance of foreign currencies for payment of dividends, can be effected without requiring the approval of the SAFE. However, conversion of currency in the “capital account,” including capital items such as direct investment, loans and securities, still require approval of the SAFE.

 

We cannot assure you the PRC regulatory authorities will not impose further restrictions on the convertibility of the Renminbi. Any future restrictions on currency exchanges may limit our ability to use the proceeds of the IPO in an initial business combination with a PRC target company and the use our cash flow for the distribution of dividends to our shareholders or to fund operations we may have outside of the PRC.

 

Our initial business combination may be subject to national security review by the PRC government, and we may have to spend additional resources and incur additional time delays to complete any such business combination or be prevented from pursuing certain investment opportunities.

 

On February 3, 2011, the PRC government issued a Notice Concerning the Establishment of Security Review Procedure on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or Security Review Regulations, which became effective on March 5, 2011. The Security Review Regulations cover acquisitions by foreign investors of a broad range of PRC enterprises if such acquisitions could result in de facto control by foreign investors and the enterprises are relating to military, national defense, important agriculture products, important energy and natural resources, important infrastructures, important transportation services, key technologies and important equipment manufacturing. The scope of the review includes whether the acquisition will impact the national security, economic and social stability, and the research and development capabilities on key national security related technologies. Foreign investors should submit a security review application to the Department of Commerce for its initial review for contemplated acquisition. If the acquisition is considered to be within the scope of the Security Review Regulations, the Department of Commerce will transfer the application to a joint security review committee within five business days for further review. The joint security review committee, consisting of members from various PRC government agencies, will conduct a general review and seek comments from relevant government agencies. The joint security review committee may initiate a further special review and request the termination or restructuring of the contemplated acquisition if it determines that the acquisition will result in significant national security issue.

 

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The Security Review Regulations will potentially subject a large number of mergers and acquisitions transactions by foreign investors in China to an additional layer of regulatory review. Currently, there is significant uncertainty as to the implication of the Security Review Regulations. Neither the Department of Commerce nor other PRC government agencies have issued any detailed rules for the implementation of the Security Review Regulations. If, for example, our potential initial business combination is with a target company operating in the PRC in any of the sensitive sectors identified above, the transaction will be subject to the Security Review Regulations, and we may have to spend additional resources and incur additional time delays to complete any such acquisition. There is no guarantee that we can receive such approval in a timely manner, and we may also be prevented from pursuing certain investment opportunities if the PRC government considers that the potential investments will result in a significant national security issue. If obtained, since our business combination period is 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), and the approval process may take a period longer than we expect before we enter into a definitive agreement with a target company, we may be unable to complete a business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement).

 

Our initial business combination may be subject to a variety of PRC laws and other obligations regarding cybersecurity and data protection, and we may have to spend additional resources and incur additional time delays to complete any such business combination or be prevented from pursuing certain investment opportunities.

 

Our initial business combination may be subject to PRC laws relating to the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, and transfer of confidential and private information, such as personal information and other data. These laws continue to develop, and the PRC government may adopt other rules and restrictions in the future. Non-compliance could result in penalties or other significant legal liabilities.

 

Pursuant to the PRC Cybersecurity Law, which was promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on November 7, 2016 and took effect on June 1, 2017, personal information and important data collected and generated by a critical information infrastructure operator in the course of its operations in China must be stored in China, and if a critical information infrastructure operator purchases internet products and services that affects or may affect national security, it should be subject to cybersecurity review by the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”). Due to the lack of further interpretations, the exact scope of “critical information infrastructure operator” remains unclear.

 

Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions on Severe and Lawful Crackdown on Illegal Securities Activities, which was available to the public on July 6, 2021. These opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies. These opinions proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, to deal with the risks and incidents facing China-based overseas-listed companies and the demand for cybersecurity and data privacy protection. Moreover, the State Internet Information Office issued the Measures of Cybersecurity Review (Revised Draft for Comments, not yet effective) on July 10, 2021, which requires operators with personal information of more than 1 million users who want to list abroad to file a cybersecurity review with the CAC. As these opinions and the draft measurers were recently issued, official guidance and interpretation of these two remain unclear in several respects at this time.

 

If, for example, our potential initial business combination is with a target business operating in the PRC and if the enacted version of the draft measures mandates clearance of cybersecurity review and other specific actions to be completed by the target business, we may face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all, and incur additional time delays to complete any such acquisition. Cybersecurity review could also result in negative publicity with respect to our initial business combination and diversion of our managerial and financial resources. There is no guarantee that we can receive such approval in a timely manner, and we may also be prevented from pursuing certain investment opportunities if the PRC government considers that the potential investments will result in a significant national security issue. If obtained, since our business combination period is 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement), and the approval process may take a period longer than we expect before we enter into a definitive agreement with a target company, we may be unable to complete a business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement).

 

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In light of recent events indicating greater oversight by the CAC over data security, particularly for companies seeking to list on a foreign exchange, companies with more than one million users’ personal information in China, especially some internet and technology companies, may not be willing to list on a U.S. exchange or enter into a definitive business combination agreement with us. Further, we may also avoid conduct a business combination with a company with more than one million users’ personal information in China due to the limited timeline for us to complete a business combination.

 

Companies in China are subject to various risks and costs associated with the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, and transfer of confidential and private information, such as personal information and other data. This data is wide ranging and relates to our investors, employees, contractors and other counterparties and third parties. If we decide to initiate a business combination with a company in China, our compliance obligations include those relating to the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the relevant PRC laws in this regard. These PRC laws apply not only to third-party transactions, but also to transfers of information between a holding company and its subsidiaries. These laws continue to develop, and the PRC government may adopt other rules and restrictions in the future. Non-compliance could result in penalties or other significant legal liabilities.

 

Pursuant to the PRC Cybersecurity Law, which was promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on November 7, 2016 and took effect on June 1, 2017, personal information and important data collected and generated by a critical information infrastructure operator in the course of its operations in China must be stored in China, and if a critical information infrastructure operator purchases internet products and services that affects or may affect national security, it should be subject to cybersecurity review by the CAC. Due to the lack of further interpretations, the exact scope of “critical information infrastructure operator” remains unclear. On July 10, 2021, the CAC publicly issued the Measures for Cybersecurity Censorship (Revised Draft for Comments) aiming to, upon its enactment, replace the existing Measures for Cybersecurity Censorship. The draft measures extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews to data processing operators engaging in data processing activities that affect or may affect national security, including listing in a foreign country. The draft measures require a company holding more than one million personal information to submit its IPO materials prepared for submission for cybersecurity review before listing on a foreign exchange.

 

It is unclear whether the draft measures will apply to a company planning to list on a U.S. exchange by business combination with a special purpose acquisition corporation like us. If cybersecurity review applies to our business combination with a company holding more than one million personal information in China, we cannot guarantee that we will receive such approval in a timely manner. Further, due to limited business combination period that we have, we may avoid searching for a target and completing an initial business combination that will be subject to Chinese cybersecurity review. Therefore, we may avoid searching for a company with one million personal information in China or a company operating critical information infrastructure in China.

 

Furthermore, if we were found to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations in China during such review, we could be subject to administrative penalties, such as warnings, fines, or service suspension. Therefore, cybersecurity review could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

In addition, the PRC Data Security Law, which was promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on June 10, 2021 and takes effect on September 1, 2021, requires data collection to be conducted in a legitimate and proper manner, and stipulates that, for the purpose of data protection, data processing activities must be conducted based on data classification and hierarchical protection system for data security. After the Data Security Law takes effect, if our post-combination entity’s data processing activities were found to be not in compliance with this law, our post-combination entity could be ordered to make corrections, and under certain serious circumstances, such as severe data divulgence, we and post-combination entity could be subject to penalties, including the revocation of our business licenses or other permits. As a result, we and post-combination entity may be required to suspend our relevant businesses, shut down our website, take down our operating applications, or face other penalties, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

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If we make equity compensation grants to persons who are PRC citizens, they may be required to register with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC (“SAFE”). We may also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt equity compensation plans for our directors and employees and other parties under PRC laws.

 

On April 6, 2007, SAFE issued the “Operating Procedures for Administration of Domestic Individuals Participating in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan or Stock Option Plan of An Overseas Listed Company, also known as “Circular 78.” It is not clear whether Circular 78 covers all forms of equity compensation plans or only those which provide for the granting of shares options. For any plans which are so covered and are adopted by a non-PRC listed company, such as our company, after April 6, 2007, Circular 78 requires all participants who are PRC citizens to register with and obtain approvals from SAFE prior to their participation in the plan. In addition, Circular 78 also requires PRC citizens to register with SAFE and make the necessary applications and filings if they participated in an overseas listed company’s covered equity compensation plan prior to April 6, 2007. We believe that the registration and approval requirements contemplated in Circular 78 will be burdensome and time consuming.

 

Upon consummation of business combination with a target business with primary operations in PRC, we may adopt an equity incentive plan and make shares option grants under the plan to our officers, directors and employees, whom may be PRC citizens and be required to register with SAFE. If it is determined that any of our equity compensation plans are subject to Circular 78, failure to comply with such provisions may subject us and participants of our equity incentive plan who are PRC citizens to fines and legal sanctions and prevent us from being able to grant equity compensation to our PRC employees. In that case, our ability to compensate our employees and directors through equity compensation would be hindered and our business operations may be adversely affected.

 

Enhanced scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

 

The PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of certain taxable assets, including, in particular, equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, by a non-resident enterprise by promulgating and implementing SAT Circular 59 and Circular 698, which became effective in January 2008, and a Circular 7 in replacement of some of the existing rules in Circular 698, which became effective in February 2015.

 

Under Circular 698, where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the equity interests of a PRC “resident enterprise” indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, may be subject to PRC corporate income tax, if the indirect transfer is considered to be an abusive use of company structure without reasonable commercial purposes. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of up to 10%. Circular 698 also provides that, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers its equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise to its related parties at a price lower than the fair market value, the relevant tax authority has the power to make a reasonable adjustment to the taxable income of the transaction.

 

In February 2015, the SAT issued Circular 7 to replace the rules relating to indirect transfers in Circular 698. Circular 7 has introduced a new tax regime that is significantly different from that under Circular 698. Circular 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to not only indirect transfers set forth under Circular 698 but also transactions involving transfer of other taxable assets, through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. In addition, Circular 7 provides clearer criteria than Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market. Circular 7 also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of the taxable assets. Where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise being the transferor, or the transferee, or the PRC entity which directly owned the taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC corporate income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise.

 

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We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences on future private equity financing transactions, share exchange or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises. The PRC tax authorities may pursue such non-resident enterprises with respect to a filing or the transferees with respect to withholding obligation, and request our PRC subsidiaries to assist in the filing. As a result, we and non-resident enterprises in such transactions may become at risk of being subject to filing obligations or being taxed, under Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 or to establish that we and our non-resident enterprises should not be taxed under these circulars, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under SAT Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the taxable assets transferred and the cost of investment. Although we currently have no plans to pursue any acquisitions in China or elsewhere in the world, we may pursue acquisitions in the future that may involve complex corporate structures. If we are considered a non-resident enterprise under the PRC corporate income tax law and if the PRC tax authorities make adjustments to the taxable income of the transactions under SAT Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, our income tax costs associated with such potential acquisitions will be increased, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

The Chinese government may exert substantial interventions and influences over the manner in which our post-combination entity must conduct its business activities that we cannot expect when we enter into a definitive agreement with a target company with major operation in China. If the Chinese government establishes some new policies, regulations, rules, or laws in the industries where our post-combination entity is in, our post-combination entity may subject to material change in its operations and the value of our ordinary shares.

 

The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. The Chinese government may intervene or influence the operations of a target business that we acquire at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our securities.

 

Our post-combination entity’s ability to operate in China may also be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. The central or local governments of these jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties.

 

For example, the Chinese cybersecurity regulator announced on July 2, 2021, that it had begun an investigation of Didi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) and two days later ordered that the company’s app be removed from smartphone app stores. On July 24, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly released the Guidelines for Further Easing the Burden of Excessive Homework and Off-campus Tutoring for Students at the Stage of Compulsory Education, pursuant to which foreign investment in such firms via mergers and acquisitions, franchise development, and variable interest entities are banned from this sector.

 

As such, the post-combination entity’s business segments may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in the provinces in which they operate. The post-combination entity could be subject to regulation by various political and regulatory entities, including various local and municipal agencies and government sub-divisions. We and our post-combination entity may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply.

 

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Furthermore, recent statements by the Chinese government have indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or over foreign investment in China-based issuers. Any such action could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. It is uncertain when and whether we and our post-combination entity will be required to obtain permission from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even when such permission is obtained, whether it will be denied or rescinded. Although we are currently not required to obtain permission from any of the PRC federal or local government and have not received any denial to list on the U.S. exchange, our post-combination operations could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future laws and regulations relating to our business or industry.

 

PRC laws and regulations governing our post-combination entity’s business operations are sometimes vague and uncertain, which may result in a material change to our operations and the value of our shares if we complete our business combination with a target in China. Additionally, any changes in such laws and regulations may impair our ability to operate profitably.

 

There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations including, but not limited to, the laws and regulations governing our business and the enforcement and performance of our arrangements with customers in certain circumstances. The laws and regulations are sometimes vague and may be subject to future changes, and their official interpretation and enforcement may involve substantial uncertainty. The effectiveness and interpretation of newly enacted laws or regulations, including amendments to existing laws and regulations, may be delayed, and our business may be affected if we rely on laws and regulations which are subsequently adopted or interpreted in a manner different from our understanding of these laws and regulations. New laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively. We cannot predict what effect the interpretation of existing or new PRC laws or regulations may have on our post-combination entity’s business.

 

The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions under the civil law system may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and the enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties.

 

In 1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past three decades has significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory provisions and contractual terms, it may be difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy. These uncertainties may affect our judgment on the relevance of legal requirements and our ability to enforce our contractual rights or tort claims. In addition, the regulatory uncertainties may be exploited through unmerited or frivolous legal actions or threats in attempts to extract payments or benefits from us.

 

Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all and may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of any of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. In addition, any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

 

From time to time, our post-combination entity may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection our post-combination entity enjoys than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we and our post-combination entity may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to changes in the regulatory environment in China could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our post-combination entity’s ability to continue its operations.

 

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Changes in the policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the PRC government may be quick with little advance notice and could have a significant impact upon our ability to operate profitably in the PRC.

 

Our post-combination entity may conduct most of our operations and most of our revenue is generated in the PRC. Accordingly, economic, political and legal developments in the PRC will significantly affect our post-combination entity’s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the PRC government can have significant effects on economic conditions in the PRC and the ability of businesses to operate profitably. Our post-combination entity’s ability to operate profitably in the PRC may be adversely affected by changes in policies by the PRC government, including changes in laws, regulations or their interpretation, particularly those dealing with the Internet, including censorship and other restriction on material which can be transmitted over the Internet, security, intellectual property, money laundering, taxation and other laws that affect our post-combination entity’s ability to operate its business.

 

China Securities Regulatory Commission and other Chinese government agencies may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers. Additional compliance procedures may be required in connection with the IPO and our business combination process, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval. As a result, both you and us face uncertainty about future actions by the PRC government that could significantly affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

 

On July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued a document to crack down on illegal activities in the securities market and promote the high-quality development of the capital market, which, among other things, requires the relevant governmental authorities to strengthen cross-border oversight of law-enforcement and judicial cooperation, to enhance supervision over China-based companies listed overseas, and to establish and improve the system of extraterritorial application of the PRC securities laws. Since this document is relatively new, uncertainties still exist in relation to how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our future business combination with a company with major operation in China. Therefore, China Securities Regulatory Commission and other Chinese government agencies may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers. Additional compliance procedures may be required in connection with the IPO and our business combination process, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval. As a result, both you and us face uncertainty about future actions by the PRC government that could significantly affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

 

The cash-flow structure of a post-acquisition company based in China or Hong Kong poses additional risks including, but not limited to, restrictions on foreign exchange and restrictions on our ability to transfer cash between entities, across borders, and to U.S. investors.

 

The PRC government also has significant authority to exert restrictions on foreign exchange and our ability to transfer cash between entities, across borders, and to U.S. investors that may apply if we acquire a company that is based in China or Hong Kong in an initial business combination. We will be subject to restrictions on dividend payments as current regulations in China would permit our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends to us only out of its accumulated distributable profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our PRC subsidiary will be required to set aside at least 10% (up to an aggregate amount equal to half of its registered capital) of its accumulated profits each year. See “—If we successfully consummate a business combination with a target business with primary operations in the PRC, we will be subject to restrictions on dividend payments following consummation of our initial business combination.”

 

In addition, we may be subject to restrictions on currency exchange as the PRC government may limit or eliminate our ability to utilize cash generated in Renminbi, or RMB to fund our business activities outside of the PRC or pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our securities, and may limit our ability to obtain foreign currency through debt or equity financing. Should we choose to acquire a company in China, exchange controls that exist in the PRC may restrict or prevent us from using the proceeds of the IPO to acquire a target company in PRC and limit our ability to utilize our cash flow effectively following our initial business combination. If we were to acquire a PRC company, the PRC regulation on loans to, and direct investment in, our PRC subsidiary by offshore holding companies and governmental control in currency conversion may restrict our ability to make loans to or capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

 

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These restrictions will restrict our ability to distribute earnings from our businesses, including subsidiaries, to the parent company and U.S. investors. In addition, fluctuations in exchange rates could result in foreign currency exchange losses to us and may reduce the value of, and amount in U.S. Dollar of dividends payable on, our shares in foreign currency terms.

 

As of the date of the Form 10-K, we have not pursued an initial business combination and there have not been any capital contribution or shareholder loans by us to any PRC entities, we do not yet have any subsidiaries, and (except as described in the Registration Statement), we have not received, declared or made any dividends or distributions.

 

The following illustrative table shows the post-business combination funds flow of the Company to the extent that the Company will acquire a company based in the PRC through direct equity investment. We will not consummate our initial business combination with an entity or business with China operations consolidated through a VIE structure.

 

 

Note:

 

(1)We may transfer funds to the target (PRC-based operations company) through an increase in the registered capital of or a shareholder loan to the target (PRC-based operations company). The target (PRC-based operations company) may in turn make distributions or pay dividends to us.

 

The PRC governmental authorities may take the view now or in the future that an approval from them is required for an overseas offering by a company affiliated with Chinese businesses or persons or a business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China.

 

The M&A Rules include, among other things, provisions that purport to require that an offshore special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of an overseas listing of securities in a PRC company obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published on its official website procedures specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by special purpose vehicles seeking CSRC’s approval of overseas listings. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the scope and applicability of the M&A Rules and the CSRC approval requirement to offshore special purpose vehicles.

 

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Moreover, except for emphasizing the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies, the Opinions, which was made available to the public on July 6, 2021, also provides that the State Council will revise provisions regarding the overseas issuance and listing of shares by companies limited by shares and will clarify the duties of domestic regulatory authorities.

 

On December 24, 2021, the State Council published the draft Administrative Provisions on the Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Administrative Provisions”), and the CSRC published the draft Measures for Record-filings of the Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Administrative Measures”), for public comment. Pursuant to Article 2 of the Administrative Provisions, domestic enterprises that (i) offer shares, depository receipts, convertible notes or other equity securities overseas, or (ii) list securities on an overseas stock exchange, must complete record-filing procedures and report the relevant information to the CSRC. The CSRC shall determine the record-filing method. Pursuant to the Article 2 of the Administrative Measures, domestic enterprises that directly or indirectly offer or list securities on an overseas stock exchange shall file with the CSRC within three business days after submitting their initial public offering and/or listing application documents. The requested filing documents include but are not limited to: (1) a filing report and related undertakings; (2) regulatory opinions, filing or approval documents issued by the relevant authorities (if applicable); (3) security review opinions issued by the relevant authorities, if applicable; (4) a PRC legal opinion; and (5) a prospectus.

 

On December 27, 2021, the NDRC and the MOFCOM jointly promulgated the Special Administrative Measure (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2021 Version), or the Negative List, which became effective on January 1, 2022. According to Article 6 of the Negative List, domestic enterprises engaging in businesses in which foreign investment is prohibited shall obtain approval from the relevant authorities before offering and listing their shares on an overseas stock exchange. In addition, certain foreign investors shall not be involved in the operation or management of the relevant enterprise, and shareholding percentage restrictions under relevant domestic securities investment management regulations shall apply to such foreign investors.

 

Based on our understanding of the current PRC laws and regulations in effect at the time of the Form 10-K, no prior permission is required under the M&A Rules, the Opinions or the Negative List from any PRC governmental authorities (including the CSRC) for consummating the IPO by our company, given that: (a) the CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings like ours under the Registration Statement are subject to the M&A Rules; and (b) our company is a blank check company newly incorporated in Cayman Islands rather than China and currently the company conducts no business in China. However, there remains some uncertainty as to how the M&A Rules, the Opinions, or the Administrative Provisions and the Administrative Measures, if enacted, will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering or if we decide to consummate the business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China. If the CSRC or another PRC governmental authority subsequently determines that its approval is needed for the IPO, or a business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China, we may face approval delays, adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities. In any such event, these governmental authorities may delay the IPO or a potential business combination, impose fines and penalties, limit our operations in China, or take other actions that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our securities.

 

Additionally, on February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, which took effect on March 31, 2023. The Trial Measures supersede the Draft Rules and clarified and emphasized several aspects, which include but are not limited to: (1) comprehensive determination of the “indirect overseas offering and listing by PRC domestic companies” in compliance with the principle of “substance over form” and particularly, an issuer will be required to go through the filing procedures under the Trial Measures if the following criteria are met at the same time: (a) 50% or more of the issuer’s operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent accounting year comes from PRC domestic companies, and (b) the main parts of the issuer’s business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main places of business are located in mainland China, or the senior managers in charge of its business operation and management are mostly Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China; (2) exemptions from immediate filing requirements for issuers that (a) have already been listed or registered but not yet listed in foreign securities markets, including U.S. markets, prior to the effective date of the Trial Measures, (b) are not required to re-perform the regulatory procedures with the relevant overseas regulatory authority or the overseas stock exchange, and (c) whose such overseas securities offering or listing shall be completed before September 30, 2023, provided however that such issuers shall carry out filing procedures as required if they conduct refinancing or are involved in other circumstances that require filing with the CSRC; (3) a negative list of types of issuers banned from listing or offering overseas, such as (a) issuers whose listing or offering overseas has been recognized by the State Council of the PRC as a possible threat to national security, (b) issuers whose affiliates have been recently convicted of bribery and corruption, (c) issuers under ongoing criminal investigations, and (d) issuers under major disputes regarding equity ownership; (4) issuers’ compliance with web security, data security, and other national security laws and regulations; (5) issuers’ filing and reporting obligations, such as the obligation to file with the CSRC after it submits an application for initial public offering to overseas regulators, and the obligation after offering or listing overseas to report to the CSRC material events including a change of control or voluntary or forced delisting of the issuer; and (6) the CSRC’s authority to fine both issuers and their shareholders between 1 and 10 million RMB for failure to comply with the Trial Measures, including failure to comply with filing obligations or committing fraud and misrepresentation.

 

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As of the date of the Form 10-K, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, sanctions or regulatory objection to the IPO from the CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities.

 

Our company is a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We currently do not hold any equity interest in any PRC company or operate any business in China. Therefore, we are not required to obtain any permission from any PRC governmental authorities to operate our business as currently conducted. If we decide to consummate our business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China, the combined company’s business operations in China through its subsidiaries are subject to relevant requirements to obtain applicable licenses from PRC governmental authorities under relevant PRC laws and regulations.

 

If we select a business combination target that operates in the PRC, the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”), the Cybersecurity Review Office (“CRO”), the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and/or other PRC authority may be required for our initial business combination under PRC law.

 

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors (the “M&A Rules”) requires overseas special purpose vehicles that are controlled by PRC companies or individuals formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies using shares of such special purpose vehicles or held by their shareholders as considerations to obtain the approval of the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. However, the application of the M&A Rules remains unclear. If CSRC approval is required for our initial business combination, it is uncertain whether it would be possible for us to obtain the approval. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining CSRC approval for our initial business combination would subject us to sanctions imposed by the CSRC and other PRC regulatory agencies.

 

Additionally, on July 10, 2021, the Cybersecurity Administration of China (“CAC”) released a draft of the revised Cybersecurity Review Measures for public consultation until July 25, 2021 (the “2021 Measures”). The 2021 Measures apply to any business operator that holds the personal information of more than one million users when it intends to seek a foreign listing. Upon receipt of an application, if the CRO decides to conduct a review, the CRO will complete a preliminary review and send recommendations to a designated body of members of the network security review mechanism and certain government departments for further consideration. The CSRC has been added in the 2021 Measures to the list of mainland Chinese authorities that are to be involved in formulating the national network security review mechanism. This means that the CSRC can instruct the CRO to obtain approval from the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission to conduct a cybersecurity review of any proposed foreign public offering of a mainland Chinese operator where the capital markets regulator considers the listing affects or is likely to affect China’s national security. The proposed rules might impact the timetable of our initial business combination and the certainty of our initial business combination, if the target company we have identified is subject to the 2021 Measures or the final Cybersecurity Review Measures.

 

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Further regulations or regulatory actions in the PRC could affect the timetable and closing certainty of the IPO and/or our initial business combination.

 

Further, on July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council of the PRC jointly issued the “Opinion on Strictly Punishing Illegal Securities Activities according to Law” (《关于依法从严打击证券违法活动的意见》) (the “Opinion”). The Opinion specifies the target of upgrading the securities law-enforcement and judicial systems by 2022 and 2025, including effectively curbing the frequent occurrence of major illegal and criminal cases, as well as making notable advances in the transparency, standardization and credibility in the securities law-enforcement and judicial system. In particular, Clause 5 of the Opinion is entitled “Further Enhancing Cross-Border Regulatory Oversight, Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation.” The Opinion may require or facilitate further regulations or regulatory actions applicable to Chinese companies seeking to be listed overseas, including in the U.S., which regulations could be applicable to the IPO, our initial business combination or the target company we identify and impact the timetable and closing certainty of the IPO and/or our initial business combination.

 

The M&A Rules and certain other People’s Republic of China regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue an acquisition in China.

 

The M&A Rules and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the MOFCOM shall be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered. In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOFCOM that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOFCOM, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. In the future, we may acquire a complementary business. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOFCOM or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

 

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact our ability to pursue an acquisition in China.

 

On March 15, 2019, the PRC National People’s Congress approved the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2020 and replaces the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in the PRC, namely, the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-Invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations and become the legal foundation for foreign investment in the PRC. Meanwhile, the Implementation Regulation of the Foreign Investment Law and the Measures for Reporting of Information on Foreign Investment came into effect as of January 1, 2020, which clarified and elaborated the relevant provisions of the Foreign Investment Law.

 

The Foreign Investment Law sets out the basic regulatory framework for foreign investments and proposes to implement a system of pre-entry national treatment with a negative list for foreign investments, pursuant to which (i) foreign entities and individuals are prohibited from investing in the areas that are not open to foreign investments, (ii) foreign investments in the restricted industries must satisfy certain requirements under the law, and (iii) foreign investments in business sectors outside of the negative list will be treated equally with domestic investments. The Foreign Investment Law also sets forth necessary mechanisms to facilitate, protect and manage foreign investments and proposes to establish a foreign investment information reporting system, through which foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises are required to submit initial report, report of changes, report of deregistration and annual report relating to their investments to the Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, or its local branches.

 

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If, after our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets will be located in China and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations there, our results of operations and prospects and trading prices of our securities will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in China as well as litigation and publicity surrounding China-based companies listed in the United States.

 

The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of China could affect our business. The economies in Asia differ from the economies of most developed countries in many respects. For the most part, such economies have grown at a rate in excess of the United States; however, (1) such economic growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and (2) such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.

 

We believe that litigation and negative publicity surrounding companies with operations in China that are listed in the United States have negatively impacted stock prices for these companies. Various equity-based research organizations have published reports on China-based companies after examining their corporate governance practices, related party transactions, sales practices and financial statements, and these reports have led to special investigations and listing suspensions on U.S. national exchanges. Any similar scrutiny of our assets and operation, in China, if any, regardless of its lack of merit, could result in a diversion of management resources and energy, potential costs to defend ourselves against rumors, decreases and volatility in the trading price of our securities, and increased directors and officers insurance premiums and could have an adverse effect upon our business, including our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and prospects.

 

China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

A substantial portion of our operations may be conducted in China, and a significant portion of our net revenues may be derived from customers where the contracting entity is located in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and certain transactions we may undertake may be subject, to a significant extent, to economic, political and legal developments in China.

 

China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past two to three decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. Demand for target services and products depends, in large part, on economic conditions in China. Any slowdown in China’s economic growth may cause our potential customers to delay or cancel their plans to purchase our services and products, which in turn could reduce our net revenues.

 

Although China’s economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market oriented economy since the late 1970s, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling the incurrence and payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Changes in any of these policies, laws and regulations could adversely affect the economy in China and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage foreign investment and sustainable economic growth and to guide the allocation of financial and other resources. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not repeal or alter these measures or introduce new measures that will have a negative effect on us. China’s social and political conditions may change and become unstable. Any sudden changes to China’s political system or the occurrence of widespread social unrest could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

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After we consummate a business combination in China, our operating company in China will be subject to restrictions on dividend payments.

 

After we consummate a business combination, we may rely on dividends and other distributions from our operating company to provide us with cash flow and to meet our other obligations. Current regulations in China would permit our operating company in China to pay dividends to us only out of its accumulated distributable profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our operating company in China will be required to set aside at least 10% (up to an aggregate amount equal to half of its registered capital) of its accumulated profits each year. Such cash reserve may not be distributed as cash dividends. In addition, if our operating company in China incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us.

 

If we merge with a China-based operating company, then PRC regulation on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control in currency conversion may delay or prevent us from making loans to or making additional capital contributions to our PRC entity, if any, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

 

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability structured as a blank check company and may conduct our operations in China through a PRC entity. As permitted under PRC laws and regulations, we may make loans to our PRC entity subject to the approval from governmental authorities and limitation of amount, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC entity. Furthermore, loans by us to our PRC entity to finance its activities cannot exceed the difference between their respective total project investment amount and registered capital or 2.5 times of their net worth and capital contributions to our PRC entity will be subject to the requirement of making necessary filings in the Foreign Investment Comprehensive Management Information System and registration with other governmental authorities in China.

 

The SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Administration of Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, effective on June 1, 2015, in replacement of the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, the Notice from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses, and the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account Foreign Exchange Businesses. According to SAFE Circular 19, the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that RMB capital may not be used for the issuance of RMB entrusted loans, the repayment of inter-enterprise loans or the repayment of bank loans that have been transferred to a third party. Although SAFE Circular 19 allows RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise to be used for equity investments within the PRC, it also reiterates the principle that RMB converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital of a foreign-invested company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope. Thus, it is unclear whether the SAFE will permit such capital to be used for equity investments in the PRC in actual practice. The SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Standardizing the Foreign Exchange Settlement Management Policy of Capital Account, or SAFE Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which reiterates some of the rules set forth in SAFE Circular 19, but changes the prohibition against using RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company to issue RMB entrusted loans to a prohibition against using such capital to grant loans to non-associated enterprises. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer any foreign currency we hold, including the net proceeds from the IPO, to our PRC entity, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in the PRC.

 

In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies, and the fact that the PRC government may at its discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans by us to our PRC entity or with respect to future capital contributions by us to our PRC entity. If we merge with a China-based operating company, and if we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the proceeds from the IPO and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

 

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If we successfully consummate a business combination with a target business with primary operations in the PRC, we will be subject to restrictions on dividend payments following consummation of our initial business combination.

 

After we consummate our initial business combination, we may rely on dividends and other distributions from our operating company to provide us with cash flow and to meet our other obligations. Current regulations in China would permit our operating company in China to pay dividends to us only out of its accumulated distributable profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations.

 

In addition, our operating company in China will be required to set aside at least 10% (up to an aggregate amount equal to half of its registered capital) of its accumulated profits each year. Each of our PRC subsidiaries as a foreign invested enterprise, is also required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to be set aside, if any, is determined at its discretion. Such cash reserve may not be distributed as cash dividends. In addition, if our operating company in China incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us.

 

In addition, the Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC resident enterprises are incorporated.

 

Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenue effectively and affect the value of your investment.

 

Following our initial business combination with a PRC target company, we will be subject to the PRC’s rules and regulations on currency conversion. In the PRC, the SAFE regulates the conversion of the Renminbi into foreign currencies. The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China.

 

Under PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval of SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. Under existing exchange restrictions, without prior approval of SAFE, cash generated from PRC subsidiaries in China may be used to pay dividends.

 

However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may at its discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders.

 

PRC regulatory authorities could impose further restrictions on the convertibility of the Renminbi. Any future restrictions on currency exchanges may limit our ability to use the proceeds of the IPO in an initial business combination with a PRC target company and the use our cash flow for the distribution of dividends to our shareholders or to fund operations we may have outside of the PRC.

 

If we merge with a China-based operating company, then there are significant uncertainties under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law relating to the withholding tax liabilities of the PRC entity, and dividends payable by the PRC entity to our offshore entity may not qualify for certain treaty benefits.

 

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law (“PRC EIT Law”) and its implementation rules, if following our initial business combination we are a non-resident enterprise, that is, an enterprise lawfully incorporated pursuant to the laws of a foreign country (region) that has an office or premises established in China with no actual management functions performed in China, or an enterprise that has income derived from or accruing in China although it does not have an office or premises in China, will be subject to a withholding tax rate of 10%. Under the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues regarding the Administration of the Dividend Provision in Tax Treaties promulgated on February 20, 2009, the taxpayer needs to satisfy certain conditions to utilize the benefits under a tax treaty. These conditions include: (1) the taxpayer must be the beneficial owner of the relevant dividends, and (2) the corporate shareholder to receive dividends from the PRC entity must have continuously met the direct ownership thresholds during the 12 consecutive months preceding the receipt of the dividends. Further, under Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Relating to “Beneficial Owner” in Tax Treaties, which took effect on April 1, 2018, a “Beneficial Owner” shall mean a person who has ownership and control over the income and the rights and property from which the income is derived. To determine the “beneficial owner” status of a resident of the treaty counterparty who needs to take advantage of the tax treaty benefits, a comprehensive analysis shall be carried out, taking into account actual conditions of the specific case.

 

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Entitlement to a lower tax rate on dividends according to tax treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions is subject to Announcement of State Taxation Administration on Promulgation of the Administrative Measures on Non-resident Taxpayers Enjoying Treaty Benefits, or Circular 35. Circular 35 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax. Instead, non-resident enterprises and their withholding agents may, by self-assessment and on confirmation that the prescribed criteria to enjoy the tax treaty benefits are met, directly apply the reduced withholding tax rate, and file necessary forms and supporting documents when performing tax filings, which will be subject to post-tax filing examinations by the relevant tax authorities.

 

In addition, in response to the persistent capital outflow in China and the RMB’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of 2016, the People’s Bank of China and SAFE promulgated a series of capital control measures in early 2017, including stricter vetting procedures for domestic companies to remit foreign currency for overseas investments, dividends payments and shareholder loan repayments. The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls, and more restrictions and substantial vetting process may be put forward by SAFE for cross-border transactions falling under both the current account and the capital account. Any limitation on the ability of us to pay dividends or make other kinds of payments to us following our initial business combination could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

 

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or any future PRC subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into any PRC subsidiaries, limit any PRC subsidiary’s ability to increase its registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.

 

In July 2014, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, to replace the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Residents’ Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 75, which ceased to be effective upon the promulgation of SAFE Circular 37.

 

SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents (including PRC individuals and PRC corporate entities) to register with SAFE or its local branches in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. SAFE Circular 37 applies to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may apply to any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future.

 

Under SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who make, or have prior to the implementation of SAFE Circular 37 made, direct or indirect investments in offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, must register such investments with SAFE or its local branches. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of an SPV must update its filed registration with the local branch of SAFE with respect to that SPV, to reflect any material change.

 

If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities fail to make the required registration or to update the previously filed registration, any PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and any proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to any PRC subsidiaries. On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, or SAFE Notice 13, which became effective on June 1, 2015.

 

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Under SAFE Notice 13, applications for foreign exchange registration of inbound foreign direct investments and outbound overseas direct investments, including those required under SAFE Circular 37, will be filed with qualified banks instead of SAFE. The qualified banks will directly examine the applications and accept registrations under the supervision of SAFE.

 

We have requested PRC residents who we know hold direct or indirect interests in us to make the necessary applications, filings and registrations as required under SAFE Circular 37. We believe that most of these shareholders have completed the initial foreign exchange registrations with relevant banks. However, these individuals may not continue to make required filings or updates in a timely manner, or at all.

 

We may not know the identities of all PRC residents holding direct or indirect interest in our company. Any failure or inability by such individuals to comply with SAFE regulations may subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, and limit any PRC subsidiary’s ability to distribute dividends to us. As a result, our business and our ability to make distributions to you could be materially adversely affected.

 

Furthermore, as these foreign exchange regulations are still relatively new and their interpretation and implementation have been evolving, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

If we acquire a PRC domestic company, we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, may not obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

 

Because a majority of our executive officers and directors are located in or have significant ties to the PRC, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.

 

Our Chairperson of the Board, Yuk Man Lau, is a resident of Hong Kong and one of our directors, Guohan Li, is a resident of mainland China. As a result, legal claims against us or our executive officers and directors may be difficult or impossible for investors to pursue in U.S. courts. Moreover, even if an investor obtains a judgment in a U.S. court against one of our directors or officers, the investor may be unable to enforce such judgment on these directors and officers. It will equally be difficult to effect service of process upon us or those persons inside the PRC. PRC courts may only recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between the PRC and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. This is reflected in a number of bilateral treaties signed by the PRC, which provide that lack of jurisdiction of the judgment court can be a ground for refusal. Further, a foreign judgment cannot be recognized and enforced in the PRC if a Chinese court has rendered a judgment on the same subject matter or recognized and enforced another foreign judgment or arbitral award on the same subject matter. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security, or public interest. The PRC has no treaties or other forms of written arrangement with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or our executive officers or directors who are residents of the PRC, or to enforce judgments in the PRC (including Hong Kong and Macau) that are obtained in U.S. courts against us or such individuals, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof. Even with proper service of process, the enforcement of judgments obtained in U.S. courts or foreign courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws would be extremely difficult given the PRC Civil Procedures Law and the lack of a treaty or principles of reciprocity providing for the recognition and enforcement of U.S. judgments. Furthermore, there would be added costs and issues with bringing an original action in foreign courts to enforce liabilities based on the U.S. federal securities laws against us or our officers and directors, and they still may be fruitless.

 

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The recent joint statement by the SEC and PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the HFCAA all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our offering.

 

On April 21, 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and PCAOB Chairman William D. Duhnke III, along with other senior SEC staff, released a joint statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in companies based in or have substantial operations in emerging markets including China. The joint statement emphasized the risks associated with lack of access for the PCAOB to inspect auditors and audit work papers in emerging markets, including China, and higher risks of fraud in emerging markets.

 

On May 18, 2020, Nasdaq filed three proposals with the SEC to (i) apply minimum offering size requirement for companies primarily operating in “Restrictive Market”, (ii) adopt a new requirement relating to the qualification of management or board of director for Restrictive Market companies, and (iii) apply additional and more stringent criteria to an applicant or listed company based on the qualifications of the company’s auditors.

 

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”) requiring a foreign company to certify it is not owned or controlled by a foreign government if the PCAOB is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a foreign auditor not subject to PCAOB inspection. If the PCAOB is unable to inspect the company’s auditors for three consecutive years, the issuer’s securities are prohibited to trade on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S. On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the HFCAA. On December 18, 2020, the HFCAA was signed into law.

 

On March 24, 2021, the SEC announced that it had adopted interim final amendments to implement congressionally mandated submission and disclosure requirements of the Act. The interim final amendments will apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report on Forms 10-K, 20-F, 40-F or N-CSR with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB has determined it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. The SEC will implement a process for identifying such a registrant and any such identified registrant will be required to submit documentation to the SEC establishing that it is not owned or controlled by a governmental entity in that foreign jurisdiction and will also require disclosure in the registrant’s annual report regarding the audit arrangements of, and governmental influence on, such a registrant.

 

On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two. If our auditor cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the trading of our securities on any U.S. national securities exchanges, as well as any over-the-counter trading in the U.S., will be prohibited.

 

On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.

 

On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.

 

On December 16, 2021, the SEC announced that the PCAOB designated China and Hong Kong as the jurisdictions where the PCAOB is not allowed to conduct full and complete audit inspections as mandated under the HFCAA. The Company’s auditor is based in the United States and therefore is not affected by this mandate by the PCAOB.

 

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On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, taking the first step toward opening access for the PCAOB to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong completely, consistent with U.S. law. The Statement of Protocol gives the PCAOB sole discretion to select the firms, audit engagements and potential violations it inspects and investigates and put in place procedures for PCAOB inspectors and investigators to view complete audit work papers with all information included and for the PCAOB to retain information as needed. In addition, the Statement of Protocol grants the PCAOB direct access to interview and take testimony from all personnel associated with the audits the PCAOB inspects or investigates. While significant, uncertainties still exist as to how the Statement of Protocol will be implemented and whether the applicable parties will comply with the framework.

 

The lack of access to the PCAOB inspection in certain emerging markets prevents the PCAOB from fully evaluating audits and quality control procedures of the auditors based in those emerging markets. As a result, the investors may be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in certain emerging markets makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these accounting firms’ audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of those emerging markets that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause existing and potential investors in our shares to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

 

Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this Form 10-K, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess our auditor’s compliance with the applicable professional standards. Our auditor is subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection report dated June 28, 2021. As such, as of the date of this Form 10-K, our auditor is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. On December 29, 2022, the President Joseph Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which, among other things, amended the HFCAA to reduce the number of consecutive years an issuer can be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer before the SEC must impose an initial trading prohibition on the issuer’s securities from three years to two years. Therefore, once an issuer is identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for two consecutive years, the SEC is required under the HCFAA to prohibit the trading of the issuer’s securities on a national securities exchange and in the over-the-counter market. Our auditor is subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection report dated June 28, 2021. As such, as of the date of this Form 10-K, our auditor is not subject to the determinations announced by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 on December 29, 2022.

 

While the Company’s auditor is based in the U.S. and is registered with the PCAOB and subject to PCAOB inspection, it may later be determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely the Company’s auditor because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction. In addition, if we effect our initial business combination with a business located in the PRC and our new auditor is located in the PRC, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB has been unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, the work of our new auditor as it relates to those operations may not inspected by the PCAOB. In either case, such lack of inspection could cause trading in the Company’s securities to be prohibited under the HFCAA, and ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist the Company’s securities. Furthermore, the recent developments would add uncertainties to our offering and we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements. It remains unclear what the SEC’s implementation process related to the above rules will entail or what further actions the SEC, the PCAOB or Nasdaq will take to address these issues and what impact those actions will have on U.S. companies that have significant operations in certain emerging markets and have securities listed on a U.S. stock exchange (including a national securities exchange or over-the-counter stock market). In addition, the above amendments and any additional actions, proceedings, or new rules resulting from these efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information could create some uncertainty for investors, the market price of our ordinary shares could be adversely affected, and we could be delisted if we and our auditor are unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement or being required to engage a new audit firm, which would require significant expense and management time.

 

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General Risk Factors

 

Unanticipated changes in our effective tax rate or challenges by tax authorities could harm our future results.

 

We may become subject to income taxes in various other jurisdictions in the future. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by changes in the allocation of our pre-tax earnings and losses among countries with differing statutory tax rates, in certain non-deductible expenses as a result of acquisitions, in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or in federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax laws and accounting principles, including increased tax rates, new tax laws or revised interpretations of existing tax laws and precedents. Increases in our effective tax rate would adversely affect our operating results. In addition, we may be subject to income tax audits by various tax jurisdictions throughout the world. The application of tax laws in such jurisdictions may be subject to diverging and sometimes conflicting interpretations by tax authorities in these jurisdictions. Although we believe our income tax liabilities are reasonably estimated and accounted for in accordance with applicable laws and principles, an adverse resolution of one or more uncertain tax positions in any period could have a material impact on the results of operations for that period.

 

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

 

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

 

We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that it is uncertain whether the courts of the Cayman Islands will allow shareholders of our company to originate actions in the Cayman Islands based upon securities laws of the U.S. In addition, there is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law related to whether a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman Islands company, such as our company. As the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on making such a determination in relation to judgments obtained from U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws, it is uncertain whether such judgments would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits of the underlying dispute based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, was not obtained by fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). The courts of the Cayman Islands will apply the rules of Cayman Islands private international law to determine whether the foreign court is a court of competent jurisdiction.

 

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

 

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Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments 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, investments and results of operations.

 

On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued the SPAC Rule Proposals relating, among other items, to disclosures in business combination transactions between SPACs such as us and private operating companies; the condensed financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; the use of projections by SPACs in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, including a proposed rule that would provide SPACs a safe harbor from treatment as an investment company if they satisfy certain conditions that limit a SPAC’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities. The SPAC Proposed Rules have not yet been adopted, and may be adopted in the proposed form or in a different form that could impose additional regulatory requirements on SPACs. Certain of the procedures that we, a Business Combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with the SPAC Rule Proposals, or pursuant to the SEC’s views expressed in the SPAC Rule Proposals, may increase the costs of negotiating and completing a Business Combination and the time required to consummate a transaction, and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete a Business Combination. The need for compliance with the SPAC Proposed Rules may cause us to liquidate the funds in the Trust Account at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose. Were we to liquidate, our shareholders would lose the investment opportunity associated with an investment in the combined company, including any potential price appreciation of our securities.

 

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

 

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

 

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

 

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Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

 

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 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 business combination.
   
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
   
registration as an investment company;
   
adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
   
reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

 

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 total 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. The IPO 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: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify (A) the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO, or if we decide to extend the period of time to consummate our business combination, within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (as further described in the Registration Statement) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.

 

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

 

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2023. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

 

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

 

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

 

We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to elect directors.

 

In accordance with NASDAQ 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. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of our ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.

 

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We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If our remediation of such material weaknesses is not effective, or if we identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to develop and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable laws and regulations could be impaired.

 

In preparing our financial statements for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, as defined in the SEC guidelines for public companies. The material weakness identified relates to ineffective review controls over the financial statement preparation process regarding recording of accrued expenses, including proper cut off procedures. This was identified through errors that were identified and corrected during our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm review of the draft financial statements prior to filing. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.

 

Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY

 

We are a SPAC 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 and have not adopted any cybersecurity risk management program or formal processes for assessing cybersecurity risk. Our board of directors is generally responsible for the oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats, if there is any. We have not encountered any cybersecurity incidents since our IPO.

 

Item 2. Property

 

We currently maintain our executive offices at 420 Lexington Ave Suite 2446, New York, NY 10170. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we will pay to TenX Global Capital LP for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

 

Item 3.Legal Proceedings

 

None.

 

Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures

 

Not applicable.

 

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PART II

 

Item 5.Market For Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

Market Information

 

Our units, ordinary shares, and rights are each traded on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols “BAYAU,” “BAYA,” and “BAYAR,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on December 15, 2023, and our ordinary shares and rights commenced separate trading on December 28, 2023.

 

Holders

 

As of April 16, 2024 we had 3 holders of record of our ordinary shares, 3 holders of record of our units, and 1 holder of record of our rights.

 

Dividends

 

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under Cayman Islands Law. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

 

None.

 

Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities

 

On February 23, 2023, our sponsor, Bayview Holding LP acquired 1,437,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, of which Bayview Holding LP owns 474,375 ordinary shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited owns 963,125 ordinary shares. On December 14, 2023, the Company issued an additional 287,500 founder shares for consideration of $100, resulting in Bayview Holding LP holding a total of 569,250 founder shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited holding a total of 1,155,750 founder shares as of the date of the Registration Statement. Up to 225,000 founder shares held by the Sponsors were subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters did not exercise their over-allotment.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, pursuant to a Private Placement Unit Purchase Agreement, the Company completed the private sale of 232,500 Private Placement Units to the Sponsors at a purchase price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit generating gross proceeds to the Company of $2,325,000. The Private Placement Units are identical to the Units sold in the IPO. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sale. The issuance of the Private Placement Units was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

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Use of Proceeds

 

On December 19, 2023, the Company consummated the initial public offering of 6,000,000 Units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Ordinary shares included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $60,000,000.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we consummated the sale of 232,500 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $2,325,000.

 

On February 23, 2023, we issued an unsecured promissory note to our Sponsors (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which we received proceeds of $300,000 to cover expenses related to the initial public offering. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2023, or (ii) the consummation of the IPO. As of December 19, 2023, there were no amounts outstanding under the Promissory Note and the Promissory Note then expired.

 

Transaction costs related to the issuances described above amounted to $4,341,321, consisting of $1,200,000 of cash underwriting fees, $2,100,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $1,041,321 of other offering costs. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, the total net proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units $60,000,000 (or $10.00 per share sold in the initial public offering) was placed in the Trust Account.

 

Repurchases

 

None.

 

Item 6. [Reserved]

 

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Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Bayview Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Overview

 

We are a blank check company incorporated on February 16, 2023, as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout the Registration Statement as our initial business combination. We have generated no revenues to date, and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues at the earliest until we consummate our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.

 

While we may pursue an acquisition or a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to focus our search on a rapidly-growing and large-scaled target, including but not limited to, targets in the following space: fintech, alternative and clean energy, biotech, logistics, industrial software, artificial intelligence (“AI”) and cloud industry, that can benefit from the expertise and capabilities of our management team. Our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to a particular geographic region, although we intend to focus on businesses in Asia. The issuance of additional shares in a business combination:

 

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the IPO;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our ordinary shares and/or rights.

 

Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or owners of a target, it could result in:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and

 

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

 

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, we had deferred offering costs of $0 and closed to APIC as of December 31, 2023. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.

 

Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

 

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

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, we had net income of $107,055, which primarily consisted of investment income from the trust.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of the IPO through the capital contribution from our sponsor of $25,100 to purchase the founder shares, and up to $300,000 in loans available from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. The promissory note expired after the consummation of the IPO.

 

On December 19, 2023, we consummated our IPO of 6,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $60,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the sale of 232,500 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating total gross proceeds of $2,325,000. Following the closing of the IPO, an amount of $60,000,000 from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the Private Placement was held in a trust account. The funds held in the trust account may be invested in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by us.

 

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

 

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As of December 31, 2023, our cash and cash equivalent balance was $582,308. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.

 

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our founders or an affiliate of our founders may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $300,000 of such loans may be convertible into working capital units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The working capital units would be identical to the Private Placement Units, each consisting of one ordinary share and one right with the same exercise price, exercisability and exercise period, subject to similar limited restrictions as compared to the units sold in the IPO. The terms of such loans by our founders or their affiliates, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our founders or an affiliate of our founders 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, but in the event that we seek loans from any third parties, we will obtain a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

 

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $200,000 in legal, accounting, due diligence and other fees in connection with the business combination; $100,000 in legal and accounting related to regulatory reporting obligations, $120,000 for office space, administrative and support services, $55,000 in NASDAQ continued listing fees and $100,000 for miscellaneous expenses, including director and officer’s liability insurance, general corporate purposes, liquidation obligations and reserves.

 

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

 

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of December 31, 2023, we had a working capital of $340,563. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans.

 

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following the IPO in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed 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. 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. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, following the IPO and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be 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 memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 9 months from the closing of the IPO (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in the Registration Statement) or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.

 

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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. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

 

The net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

 

Related Party Transactions

 

Please refer to Financial Statements Note 5 – Related Parties.

 

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

 

As of December 31, 2023, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in the Registration Statement, as we have conducted no operations to date.

 

JOBS Act

 

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

 

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

 

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Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.

 

Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

 

This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

 

None.

 

Item 9A.Controls and Procedures

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective, due solely to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s lack of qualified SEC reporting professional. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented. Management intends to continue implement remediation steps to improve our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we intend to expand and improve our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We have improved this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.

 

We believe, however, that a controls system, no matter how well designed and operated, cannot provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the controls systems are met, and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud or error, if any, within a company have been detected.

 

Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 9B.Other Information

 

None.

 

Item 9C.Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

 

Not applicable.

 

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PART III

 

Item 10.Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant

 

Directors and Executive Officers

 

Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:

 

Name

 

Age

 

Position

Yuk Man Lau   68   Chairperson
Xin Wang   45   Chief Executive Officer and Director
David Bamper   54   Chief Financial Officer and Director
Wei Lu   61   Director
Guohan Li   42   Director
John DeVito   55   Director

 

Xin Wang, our Chief Executive Officer and director, has served as Venture Partner of Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Management Co., Ltd., since January 2015. Previously, Ms. Wang was an associate at two international law firms. Ms. Wang has also served as a director of Atomic47 since April 2019. Ms. Wang received her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from McGill University and a Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law. Ms. Wang was selected to serve as a director due to her experience in the private equity space and in law.

 

David Bamper, our Chief Financial Officer, has overseen the accounting operations, financial planning and analysis and tax functions at Heya Wellness since January 2024. From January 2016 to December 2023, Mr. Bamper served as the Chief Financial Officer at Lineup Media Group and Atomic 47. Atomic 47 owns and operated ePlata USA, a digital wallet and online payment platform. Lineup Media Group owns Ultimate Gaming Championship, which operates an online platform for eSports. Prior to joining Lineup Media Group, from April 2003 to August 2015, David served as chief financial officer at Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs law firms. David earned his Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville and is a certified public accountant. Mr. Bamper was selected to serve as a director due to his experience in the financial services industry.

 

Yuk Man Lau, our chairperson, has served as Partner at Guoxing Capital Co., Ltd since 2016 and as General Manager of Oriental Infinite Culture Communication Co., Ltd since 2006 to 2016. Ms. Lau previously served as a director of Longevity Acquisition Corp from January 2020 to October 2020. Ms. Lau received her Bachelor’s degree in Japanese from Dalian University. Ms. Lau was selected to serve as a director due to her experience in the private equity industry.

 

Wei Lu, our director, is an established expert in computer systems engineering and development for more than 30 years. He has been the founder and CEO of A&E Systems Consulting since 1999, which develops in-house Relational Database Management System applications for various organizations to manage their daily operations, as well as provides information technology services to many companies supporting their business functions involving internet/intranet, hardware, software, network security, and training. Mr. Lu also served as a partner and managing director of technology from 2005 to 2023 for WiFiche Ltd., which delivers digitized microfiche contents (EPC, electronic part catalog) to independent powersport dealerships/repair shops. He was a vice president of operations for Goldline Software from 1995 to 1999, leading the development of Service Manager, a Windows 32bit business solution for Lawn Care and Pest Controls industry, to manage services, contracts, invoices, routes and schedules using Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, Crystal Reports, Visio, etc. Mr. Lu holds certificates of Microsoft Certified Database Administrator and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer. Mr. Lu was selected to serve as a director due to his experience in the computer science and information technology industry.

 

Guohan Li, our director, is an experienced professional with over ten years of experience in accounting and auditing. Mr. Li has served as Partner of Shenzhen Yida Certified Public Accountants Co., Ltd. And Shenzhen Yida Shanhe Certified Public Tax Agent Co. Ltd. Since 2011. From 2004 to 2011, Mr. Li served as a Senior Manager of Shenzhen Zhengda Huaming Accounting Firm. Mr. Li received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Shenzhen University. Mr. Li is a CICPA charter holder. Mr. Li was selected to serve as a director due to his experience in the public accounting industry.

 

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John DeVito, our director, has served as Proprietary Trader at T3 Trading Group since 2018 where is manages all aspects of multi-strategy long-short, option portfolio using in depth research. Prior to joining T3 Trading Group, Mr. DeVito served as a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management from 2015 to November 2017. Mr. DeVito received his Bachelor’s degree from Saint John’s University. Mr. DeVito was selected to serve as a director due to his experience in the financial services industry.

 

Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

 

We have six directors as of the date of this Form 10-K. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of shareholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of John DeVito, will expire at our first annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Xin Wang, David Bamper and Wei Lu, will expire at the second annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Yuk Man Lau and Guohan Li, will expire at the third annual meeting of shareholders. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to elect directors. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after we consummate our initial business combination.

 

Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that our officers may consist of one or more Chairmen of the Board, one or more Chief Executive Officers, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary, and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

 

Director Independence

 

NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of John DeVito, We Lu, Yuk Man Lau and Guohan Li are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our audit committee will be entirely composed of independent directors meeting NASDAQ’s additional requirements applicable to members of the audit committee. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

 

Officer and Director Compensation

 

None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Other than as described above and elsewhere in Form 10-K, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our founders or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination although we may consider cash or other compensation to officers or advisors we may hire subsequent to the IPO to be paid either prior to or in connection with our initial business combination. In addition, our officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our founders or their affiliates.

 

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

 

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Following a business combination, to the extent 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.

 

Committees of the Board of Directors

 

Our board of directors will have two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NASDAQ and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and the rules of NASDAQ require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.

 

Audit Committee

 

Prior to the consummation of the IPO, we established an audit committee of the board of directors. Wei Lu, John DeVito and Guohan Li serve as members of our audit committee, with Guohan Li serving as the Chairman of the audit committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent, subject to certain phase-in provisions. Each such person meets the independent director standard under NASDAQ listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.

 

Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Guohan Li qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.

 

We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:

 

the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;

 

pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;

 

reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;

 

setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors;

 

setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

 

obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (i) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;

 

reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and

 

reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

 

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Compensation Committee

 

Prior to the consummation of the IPO, we established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Wei Lu, John DeVito and Guohan Li serve as members of our compensation committee, with Wei Lu serving as the chairman of the compensation committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent, subject to certain phase-in provisions. Each such person meets the independent director standard under NASDAQ listing standards applicable to members of the compensation committee.

 

We adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:

 

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;

 

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation of all of our other officers;

 

reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans;

 

implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

 

assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

 

approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;

 

if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

 

reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to complete the consummation of a business combination although we may consider cash or other compensation to officers or advisors we may hire subsequent to the IPO to be paid either prior to or in connection with our initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.

 

The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by NASDAQ and the SEC.

 

Director Nominations

 

We do not have a standing nominating committee. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the NASDAQ Rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.

 

The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

 

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We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders.

 

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

 

None of our officers currently serves, and in the past year have not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.

 

Code of Ethics

 

Prior to the consummation of the IPO, we adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the Registration Statement. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

Except as disclosed herein, we do not believe any conflict currently exists between us and our founders, and affiliates of our founders may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If such entities decide to pursue an opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunity. In addition, investment ideas generated within our founders may be suitable for both us and for an affiliate of founders and may be directed to such entity rather than to us. Neither our founders nor members of our management team who are also employed by or affiliated with our founders will have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member specifically in his or her capacity as an officer or director of the company. Our founders and/or our management team, in their capacities as employees or affiliates of our founders or in their other endeavors, may be required to present potential business combinations to future founders’ affiliates or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.

 

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present business combination opportunities to such entity. Accordingly, in the future, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We do not believe, however, that any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers arising in the future would materially undermine our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.

 

Our founders, including Yuk Man Lau, Xin Wang and David Bamper may not become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act before we enter into a binding agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in the Registration Statement).

 

Our founders and management may also purchase public units or shares during the IPO, including in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. During the offering, if any founders participates in the offering as an anchor investor, they may receive incentives which offer greater economic benefits than those available to public investors in the offering. In addition, in order to incentivize the participation of certain potential anchor investors, our sponsors may offer or share its economics in certain of our securities with such potential anchor investors, the net effect of which could be to provide greater economic benefit to such potential anchor investors than that provided to other investors in the offering.

 

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Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:

 

None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.

 

Our founders, including Yuk Man Lau, Xin Wang and David Bamper may not become an officer or director of any other SPACs before we enter into a binding agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in the Registration Statement); as a result, our officers or directors may present a potential target to our competitor that would had been presented to us or devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

 

In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

 

Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 9 months from the closing of the IPO (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in the Registration Statement). If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the Private Placement Units and underlying securities will be worthless. With certain limited exceptions, 50% of the founder shares and Private Placement Units (and underlying securities) will not be transferable, assignable by our founders until the earlier to occur of: (A) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination, or (B) the date on which the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination and the remaining 50% of the founder shares and Private Placement Units (and underlying securities) may not be transferred, assigned or sold until six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination, or earlier, in either case, if, subsequent to our initial business combination, we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property. Since members of our management may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and rights following the IPO, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to complete our initial business combination.

 

Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

 

Our founders may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our founders or an affiliate of our founders to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $500,000 of such loans may be convertible into working capital units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such working capital units would be identical to the Private Placement Units sold in the private placement.

 

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The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.

 

In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of Cayman Islands are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:

 

the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;

 

the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and

 

it would not be fair to our company and its shareholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.

 

Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.

 

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our founders or any affiliate of them, subject to certain approvals and consents. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

 

In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote any founder shares and private shares held by them and any public shares purchased during the offering in favor of our initial business combination.

 

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

 

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.

 

Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.

 

We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

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Item 11.Executive Compensation

 

Executive Compensation

 

None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Other than as described above and elsewhere in this Form 10-K, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our founders or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination although we may consider cash or other compensation to officers or advisors we may hire subsequent to the IPO to be paid either prior to or in connection with our initial business combination. In addition, our officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our founders or their affiliates.

 

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

 

Following a business combination, to the extent 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.

 

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Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters

 

Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Form 10-K.

 

The following table is based on 7,732,500 ordinary shares outstanding at April 16, 2024. Unless otherwise indicated, it is believed that all persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them.

 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

  Number of Shares Beneficially Owned   Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Share 
Peace Investment Holdings Limited(2)   1,005,000    13.0%
Bayview Holding LP(3)   495,000    6.4%
Xin Wang        
David Bamper        
Wei Lu        
John DeVito        
Guohan Li        
Yuk Man Lau        
All executive officers and directors as a group (8 individuals)   1,500,000    19.4%
First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund (4)   1,134,900    14.7%
Kerry Propper (5)   543,400    7.0%
Antonio Ruiz-Gimenez (5)   543,400    7.0%

 

(1)Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Bayview Acquisition Corp, 420 Lexington Ave, Suite 2446 New York NY 10170.

 

(2)Peace Investment Holdings Limited, one of our two co-Sponsors, is the record holder of the founder shares reported herein. Peace Investment Holdings Limited is wholly owned by Pengfei Zheng, who is, accordingly, deemed to be the beneficial owner of such shares.

 

(3)Bayview Holding LP, one of our two co-Sponsors, is the record holder of the founder shares reported herein. Bayview Holding LP’s dispositive and voting power is held by Bayview Holding Management, LLC, which is in turn wholly owned by Taylor Zhang, who is, accordingly, deemed to be the beneficial owners of such shares.

 

(4)According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2024 by First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund (“VARBX”), First Trust Capital Management L.P. (“FTCM”), First Trust Capital Solutions L.P. (“FTCS”) and FTCS Sub GP LLC (“Sub GP”), as of December 31, 2023, VARBX owned 543,089 shares of the outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Issuer, while FTCM, FTCS and Sub GP collectively owned 591,811 shares of the outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Issuer.

 

(5)The Ordinary Shares of the Issuer, some of which are held in the form of units, are held by private funds managed by registered investment advisers whose managing members are Kerry Propper and Antonio Ruiz-Gimenez.

 

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Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

 

Founder Shares

 

On February 23, 2023, our sponsors acquired an aggregate of 1,437,500 ordinary shares (up to 187,500 shares of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised), of which Bayview Holding LP owns 474,375 ordinary shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited owns 963,125 ordinary shares. On December 14, 2023, the Company issued an additional 287,500 founder shares for consideration of $100, resulting in Bayview Holding LP holding a total of 569,250 founder shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited holding a total of 1,155,750 founder shares as of the date of the Registration Statement. Up to 225,000 founder shares held by the Sponsors were subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters did not exercise their over-allotment. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,100 by our sponsors, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent approximately 25% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our Initial Public Offering (excluding the private shares and shares underlying the UPO).

 

Private Placement

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our sponsors purchased an aggregate of 232,500 Private Placement Units for a purchase price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement. Each Private Placement Unit consists of one ordinary share and one right entitling the holder thereof to receive one-tenth of one ordinary share upon the completion of an initial business combination. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the expected timeframe, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Units will expire worthless.

 

Service Arrangements

 

On December 14, 2023, we entered into an administrative services agreement with TenX Global Capital LP, pursuant to which TenX Global Capital LP agreed to make available to the Company certain general and administrative services, including office space, utilities and administrative services, as the Company may require from time to time. The Company has agreed to pay TenX Global Capital LP $10,000 per month for such administrative services. For the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, the Company recorded an administration fee of $10,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities including other special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our management team is continuously made aware of potential investment opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination.

 

Promissory Note - Related Party

 

On February 23, 2023, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsors (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate of $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2023, or (ii) the consummation of the IPO. On the date of closing of the IPO, no amounts were outstanding under the Promissory Note and the Promissory Note then expired.

 

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Registration Rights

 

The holders of the founder shares, Private Placement Units, securities underlying the UPO, units issuable upon the conversion of certain working capital loans and any underlying securities will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the IPO requiring us to register such securities for resale. 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 and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

Related Party Policy

 

We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions.

 

Prior to the consummation of the IPO, we adopted a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the code of ethics that we adopted prior to the consummation of the IPO is filed as an exhibit to this Form 10-K.

 

In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we adopted prior to the consummation of the IPO, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. A form of the audit committee charter that we adopted prior to the consummation of the IPO is filed as an exhibit to this Form 10-K. We also require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.

 

These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.

 

To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our founders unless we, or a committee of independent directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments will be made to our founders, existing officers, directors or advisors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination although we may consider cash or other compensation to officers or advisors we may hire subsequent to the IPO to be paid either prior to or in connection with our initial business combination. In addition, the following payments will be made to our founders or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of the IPO held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:

 

Repayment to an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor;

 

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

 

Repayment of loans which may be made by our founders or an affiliate of our founders to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $300,000 of such loans may be convertible into working capital units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such working capital units are identical to the Private Placement Units sold in the private placement.

 

Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our founders or their affiliates.

 

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Director Independence

 

NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of John DeVito, Wei Lu, Yuk Man Lau and Guohan Li are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our audit committee is composed of independent directors meeting NASDAQ’s additional requirements applicable to members of the audit committee. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present

 

Item 14.Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

 

The firm of UHY LLP, or UHY, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to UHY for services rendered.

 

Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by UHY in connection with regulatory filings. During the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $85,000 for the services UHY performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering, and the audit of our IPO closing balance sheet.

 

Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” The aggregate fee billed by UHY approximately $82,475 for professional services rendered for the review of our registration statements and other regulatory documents filed with SEC for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023.

 

Tax Fees. We did not pay UHY for tax planning and tax advice for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023.

 

All Other Fees. We did not pay UHY for other services for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023.

 

Pre-Approval Policy

 

Our Audit Committee was formed upon the consummation of our IPO. As a result, the Audit Committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our Audit Committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our Audit Committee, and on a going-forward basis, the Audit Committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the Audit Committee prior to the completion of the audit).

 

90

 

 

Item 15.Exhibits, Financial Statements, And Schedules

 

(a) The following documents are filed as part of this report:

 

Financial Statements: See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein and “Index to Financial Statements” and financial statements incorporated by reference herein commencing below.

 

Exhibit No.

 

Description

1.1   Underwriting Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and between the Company and Chardan Capital Markets, LLC, as representative of the underwriters (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023).
3.1   Memorandum and Articles of Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-275649) filed with the SEC on November 17, 2023).
3.2   Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023).
4.1   Specimen Unit Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-275649) filed with the SEC on November 17, 2023).
4.2  

Specimen Ordinary Share Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-275649) filed with the SEC on November 17, 2023).

4.3   Specimen Rights Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-275649) filed with the SEC on November 17, 2023).
4.4   Unit Purchase Option, dated December 14, 2023, by and between the Company and Chardan Capital Markets, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023)
4.5   Rights Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and between the Company and Equiniti Trust Company, as rights agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023).
4.6*   Description of securities.
10.1   Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and between the Company and Equiniti Trust Company, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023).
10.2   Registration Rights Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and among the Company, Bayview Holding, LP and Peace Investment Holdings Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023)
10.3   Share Escrow Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and among the Company, Equiniti Trust Company and the initial shareholders party thereto ((incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023).
10.4   Private Placement Unit Purchase Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and between the Company, Bayview Holding LP and Peace Investment Holdings Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023).
10.5   Administrative Services Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and between the Company and TenX Global Capital, LP (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023)
10.6   Securities Subscription Agreement, between the Registrant and the Sponsor dated February 23, 2023 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-275649) filed with the SEC on November 17, 2023).
10.7  

Letter Agreement, dated December 14, 2023, by and among the Company, its executive officers, its directors, Bayview Holding LP and Peace Investment Holdings Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023).

10.8   Form of Indemnity Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 19, 2023)
14   Code of Ethics (incorporated by reference to the Company Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-275649) filed with the SEC on November 17, 2023)
97.1*   Bayview Acquisition Corp. Clawback Policy
31.1*   Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2*   Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1**   Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002
32.2**   Certificate of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS*   Inline XBRL Instance Document (The instance document does not appear in the interactive data file because its XBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document)
101.SCH*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CAL*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
101.DEF*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
101.LAB*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
101.PRE*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase
104*   Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)

 

*Filed herewith.

 

**Furnished herewith

 

Item 16.Form 10-K Summary

 

None.

 

91

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the Cayman Islands, on April 16, 2024.

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP  
   
By: /s/ Xin Wang  
Name: Xin Wang  
Title: Chief Executive Officer  

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Annual Report has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature   Position   Date
         

/s/ Yuk Man Lau

Yuk Man Lau

  Chairperson   April 16, 2024
         

/s/ Xin Wang

Xin Wang

  Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
and Director
  April 16, 2024
         

/s/ David Bamper

David Bamper

  Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)
and Director
  April 16, 2024

 

92

 

 

Index to Financial Statements

 

  Page
   
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm(PCAOB #1195) F-2
Financial Statements:  
Balance Sheet F-3
Statement of Operations F-4
Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit F-5
Statement of Cash Flows F-6
Notes to the Financial Statements F-7

 

F-1

 

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

To the Board of Directors and

Shareholders of Bayview Acquisition Corp

 

Opinion on the Financial Statements

 

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Bayview Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) to December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) to December 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

Substantial Doubt about the Company’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern

 

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared to assume the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant professional costs to remain as a publicly traded company and to incur significant transaction costs in the pursuit of a business combination. The Company’s cash and working capital are not sufficient to complete its planned activities one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s evaluation of the events and conditions and management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Note 1 to the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Our opinion is not modified with respect to that matter.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

 

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

/s/ UHY LLP
   
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2023.
   
New York, New York
   
April 16, 2024  

 

F-2

 

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP

BALANCE SHEET

 

   December 31, 2023 
     
ASSETS     
Current assets:     
Cash and cash equivalent  $582,308 
Prepaid expenses   72,014 
Total Current Assets   654,322 
Prepaid expenses – non-current   29,677 
Cash held in trust escrow account   60,107,055 
Total Assets  $60,791,054 
      
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY     
Current Liabilities:     
Accrued offering costs and expenses  $303,759 
Due to a related party   10,000 
Total Current Liabilities   313,759 
Deferred underwriting commission   2,100,000 
Total Liabilities   2,413,759 
      
Commitments and contingencies   - 
      
Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption (6,000,000 shares at $10.00 per share)   60,107,055 
      
Shareholders’ Deficit:     
Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value; 2,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding   - 
Ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 1,725,000 shares issued and outstanding(1)   196 
Additional paid-in capital   - 
Accumulated deficit   (1,729,956)
Total Shareholders’ Deficit   (1,729,760)
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit  $60,791,054 

 

(1) Includes an aggregate of up to 225,000 founder shares subject to forfeiture if the remaining over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters. On December 14, 2023, additional 287,500 shares were issued to the Sponsors for a consideration of $100. On December 26, 2023, the payment of $100 was initiated by the related party to the Company and received on December 27, 2023. The issuance was considered as a nominal issuance, in substance a recapitalization transaction, which was recorded and presented retroactively as of December 19, 2023. (see Note 5 and 7).

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statement.

 

F-3

 

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

 

   FOR THE
PERIOD
FROM
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
(INCEPTION)
THROUGH
DECEMBER 31,
2023
 
Formation and operating costs  $21,539 
Loss from operations   (21,539)
      
Other Income     
Interest and dividend earned on marketable securities held in trust account   107,055 
Total other income   107,055 
      
Net income  $85,516 
      
Basic and diluted weighted average ordinary shares outstanding, redeemable ordinary shares   244,514 
Basic and diluted net income per share, redeemable ordinary shares  $23.63 
Basic and diluted weighted average ordinary shares outstanding, non-redeemable ordinary shares   1,463,197 
Basic and diluted net loss per share, non-redeemable ordinary shares  $(3.89)

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-4

 

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

 

   Shares   Amount   Capital   Deficit)   Equity 
   Ordinary Shares   Additional Paid-in   Retained Earnings (Accumulated   Total Shareholders’ 
   Shares   Amount   Capital   Deficit)   Deficit 
Balance on February 16, 2023 (inception)   -   $-   $-   $-   $- 
Issuance of ordinary shares to Sponsors   1,437,500    144    24,856    -    25,000 
Additional issuances to Sponsors   287,500    29    71    -    100 
Proceeds from sales of public units   6,000,000    600    59,999,400    -    60,000,000 
Proceeds from sales of private placement   232,500    23    2,324,977    -    2,325,000 
Sale of Unit Purchase Option   -    -    283,000    -    283,000 
Underwriter’s commission on sale of Public Units   -    -    (1,200,000)   -    (1,200,000)
Deferred Underwriter’s commissions   -    -    (2,100,000)   -    (2,100,000)
Transfer of other offering costs to APIC   -    -    (1,041,321)   -    (1,041,321)
Initial measurement of Ordinary shares Subject to redemption under ASC 480-10-S99 against additional paid-in capital   (6,000,000)   (600)   (57,539,400)   -    (57,540,000)
Allocation of offering costs to ordinary shares subject to redemption   -    -    4,163,327    -    4,163,327 
Accretion of carrying value of redeemable shares   -    -    (6,623,327)   -    (6,623,327)
Subsequent measurement of Common stock subject to possible redemption (interest earned on trust account)   -    -    1,708,417    (1,815,472)   (107,055)
Net income   -    -    -    85,516    85,516 
Balance as of December 31, 2023   1,957,500   $196   $-   $(1,729,956)  $(1,729,760)

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-5

 

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

  

For the Period from February 16, 2023 (Inception) Through

December 31, 2023

 
Cash flows from operating activities:     
Net income  $85,516 
Adjustment to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities     
Income earned on investment held in Trust Account   (107,055)
Accrued offering costs and expenses   8,488 
Due to related party   8,641 
Net cash used in operating activities   (4,410)
      
Cash flows from investing activities:     
Investment held in Trust Account   (60,000,000)
Net cash used in investing activities   (60,000,000)
      
Cash flows from financing activities:     
Proceeds from initial public offering   60,000,000 
Proceeds from private placement   2,325,000 
Proceeds from unit purchase option   100 
Payments of underwriter’s discount   (1,200,000)
Payments to related party   (112,530)
Payments from related party   100 
Payment of offering costs   (425,952)
Net cash provided by financing activities   60,586,718 
      
Net change in cash   582,308 
Cash at beginning of period   - 
Cash at the end of period  $582,308 
      
Supplemental disclosure of noncash financing activities     
      
Deferred underwriting commission  $2,100,000 
Offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of ordinary shares  $25,100 
Offering costs adjusted from prepaid expenses  $52 
Offering costs charged to Additional Paid-in Capital  $4,341,321 
Reclassification of ordinary shares subject to redemption  $57,540,000 
Allocation of offering costs to ordinary shares subject to redemption  $4,163,327 
Remeasurement adjustment on ordinary shares subject to possible redemption  $6,623,327 
Subsequent measurement of ordinary shares subject to possible redemption (income earned on Trust Account)  $107,055 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-6

 

 

BAYVIEW ACQUISITION CORP

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 1 —ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

 

Organizational and General

 

Bayview Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on February 16, 2023. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”).

 

The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.

 

The Company’s sponsors are Peace Investment Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands company, and Bayview Holding LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Sponsors”). As of December 31, 2023, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“IPO”), which is described below, and following the IPO, the search for a target to consummate a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of an initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest and dividend income from the proceeds derived from the IPO. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

 

The registration statement for the Company’s IPO (the “Registration Statement”) was declared effective on December 14, 2023. Additionally, on December 14, 2023, the Company filed a registration statement adding securities to the Registration Statement. On December 19, 2023, the Company consummated the IPO of 6,000,000 units, (“Units” and, with respect to the ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $60,000,000, which is described in Note 3, and the sale of 232,500 Units (the “Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in private placements to the Sponsors that was closed simultaneously with the IPO, generating gross proceeds of $2,325,000.

 

As of December 31, 2023, transaction costs amounted to $4,341,321, consisting of $1,200,000 of cash underwriting commission, $2,100,000 of deferred underwriting commission and $1,041,321 of other offering costs. These costs were charged to additional paid-in capital or accumulated deficit to the extent additional paid-in capital is fully depleted upon completion of the IPO.

 

The Company will have until 9 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination as described in this prospectus) to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company has not completed a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less certain amount of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish the rights of the Public Shareholders as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining Public Shareholders and its Board of Directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

 

Going Concern Consideration

 

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had cash of $582,308 and a working capital of $340,563. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant professional costs to remain as a public traded company and to incur transaction costs in pursuit of a Business Combination. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management believes that these conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. In addition, if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and such period is not extended, there will be a liquidation and subsequent dissolution. As a result, management has determined that such additional condition also raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of the uncertainty.

 

F-7

 

 

NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

 

Emerging Growth Company

 

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

 

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

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of the financial statement in conformity with US GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statement.

 

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statement, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

 

F-8

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had a cash and cash equivalent balance of $582,308 as of December 31, 2023.

 

Investments Held in Trust Account

 

The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the trust account is comprised of investments in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations and Money Market Fund. The Company’s investments held in the trust account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of investments held in Trust Account are included in interest earned on marketable securities held in trust account in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair value of investments held in the trust account is determined using available market information. As of December 31, 2023, the trust account had balance of $60,107,055. The interests earned from the trust account totaled $107,055 for the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, which were held in the trust account as earned and therefore presented as an adjustment to the operating activities in the Statement of Cash Flows.

 

Offering Costs

 

Offering costs consist of legal, accounting, and other costs (including underwriting discounts and commissions) incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the IPO and that were charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the IPO on December 19, 2023.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

 

ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2023. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals, or material deviation from its position.

 

There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements.

 

Net Income (Loss) per Ordinary Share

 


The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. The statements of operations include a presentation of income (loss) per redeemable share and income (loss) per non-redeemable share following the two-class method of income per share. In order to determine the net income (loss) attributable to both the redeemable shares and non-redeemable shares, the Company first considered the undistributed income (loss) allocable to both the redeemable shares and non-redeemable shares and the undistributed income (loss) is calculated using the total net loss less any dividends paid. The Company then allocated the undistributed income (loss) ratably based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding between the redeemable and non-redeemable shares. Any remeasurement of the accretion to redemption value of the common shares subject to possible redemption was considered to be dividends paid to the public shareholders. As of December 31, 2023, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted income (loss) per share is the same as basic income (loss) per share for the period presented.

 

F-9

 

 

The net income (loss) per share presented in the statements of operations is based on the following:

 

  

For the Period from February 16, 2023 (Inception) Through

December 31, 2023

 
Net income  $85,516 
Interest earned on investment held in Trust Account   (107,055)
Accretion of temporary equity into redemption value   (6,623,327)
Net loss including accretion of common stock to redemption value   (6,644,866)

 

 

Particulars  Shares   Shares 
  

For the Period from February 16, 2023 (Inception) Through

December 31, 2023

 
   Redeemable   Non-Redeemable 
Particulars  Shares   Shares 
Basic and diluted net income/(loss) per share:          
Weighted-average shares outstanding   244,514    1,463,197 
Ownership percentage   14%   86%
Numerators:          
Allocation of net loss including accretion of temporary equity   (951,427)   (5,693,439)
Income earned on Trust Account   107,055     
Accretion of temporary equity to redemption value   6,623,327     
Allocation of net income/(loss)   5,778,955    (5,693,439)
           
Denominators:          
Weighted-average shares outstanding   244,514    1,463,197 
Basic and diluted net income/(loss) per share  $23.63   $(3.89)

 

Concentration of Credit Risk

 

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

 

F-10

 

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.

 

Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

 

The Company accounts for its ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s ordinary shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.

 

At December 31, 2023, the ordinary shares subject to possible redemption reflected in the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:

 

Public offering proceeds  $60,000,000 
Less:     
Proceeds allocated to Public Rights   (2,460,000)
Allocation of offering costs related to redeemable shares   (4,163,327)
Plus:     
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value   6,623,327 
Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption  $60,000,000 
Plus:     
Subsequent measurement of ordinary shares subject to possible redemption (income earned on trust account)   107,055 
Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption  $60,107,055 

 

Recent Accounting Standards

 

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

 

NOTE 3 — INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

 

On December 19, 2023, the Company sold 6,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one ordinary share and one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary share upon the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination. Ten Public Rights will entitle the holder to one ordinary share (see Note 7). The Company will not issue fractional shares and only whole shares will trade, so unless a holder purchased units in multiples of tens, such holder will not be able to receive or trade the fractional shares underlying the rights. The Company also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 900,000 units to cover over-allotments.

 

NOTE 4 — PRIVATE PLACEMENTS

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the private sale of 232,500 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating gross proceeds of $2,325,000. Each Private Placement Unit consists of one ordinary share and one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary share upon the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination. The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units were added to the net proceeds from the IPO held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law). The Private Placement Units (including the underlying securities) will not be transferable, assignable, or salable until the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain exceptions.

 

F-11

 

 

NOTE 5 — RELATED PARTIES

 

Founder Shares

 

On February 23, 2023, our sponsor, Bayview Holding LP, acquired 1,437,500 founder shares for an aggregate price of $25,000. 963,125 founder shares were transferred to our sponsor Peace Investment Holdings Limited on March 14, 2023.

 

On December 14, 2023, the Company issued 287,500 founder shares for a consideration of $100, resulting in Bayview Holding LP holding a total of 569,250 founder shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited holding a total of 1,155,750 founder shares. The payment of $100 was received on December 27, 2023. The issuance was considered as a nominal issuance, in substance a recapitalization transaction, which was recorded and presented retroactively as of December 19, 2023. Up to 225,000 founder shares held by the Sponsors are subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment.

 

On the date of closing of the IPO, the Founder Shares and Private Placement Units were placed into an escrow account maintained by Equiniti Trust Company, LLC acting as escrow agent. The Founder Shares and Private Placement Units (and underlying securities) will not, subject to certain exceptions, be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow in the case of (i) 50% of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Units (and underlying securities) until the earlier to occur of: (A) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination, or (B) the date on which the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination and (ii) the remaining 50% of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Units (and underlying securities) until six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination, or earlier, in either case, if, subsequent to our initial business combination, we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property.

 

Promissory Note — Related Party

 

On February 23, 2023, the Sponsors issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2023, or (ii) the consummation of the IPO. On the date of closing of the IPO, no amounts were outstanding under the Promissory Note and the Promissory Note then expired.

 

Due to Related Party

 

The Sponsors paid certain formation, operating or deferred offering costs on behalf of the Company. These amounts were due on demand and non-interest bearing. During the period from February 16, 2023 (inception) through December 31, 2023, the Sponsors had paid $112,530 on behalf of the Company for expenses related to IPO, which was fully repaid upon closing of the IPO on December 19, 2023 out of the offering proceeds held in escrow account. As of December 31, 2023, the amount due to related party was $10,000 for the administration service fee.

 

F-12

 

 

NOTE 6 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

Registration Rights

 

The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Units, securities underlying the unit purchase option (“UPO”), and Units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and all underlying securities) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement requiring the Company to register such securities for resale. Subject to certain limitations set forth in such agreement, the holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

Underwriting Agreement

 

The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of IPO to purchase up to 900,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, at the IPO price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

The underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $1,200,000 in the aggregate (or $1,380,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the IPO. The cash underwriting discount was paid on December 19, 2023.

 

The underwriters will be entitled to a deferred commission of $0.35 per Unit, or $2,100,000 in the aggregate. The deferred commission will be paid to the underwriters from the amounts held in the escrow trust account solely in the event that the Company completes a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. The deferred underwriting commission was reported as non-current liability on the balance sheet dated December 31, 2023.

 

Unit Purchase Option

 

We have agreed to sell to Chardan and/or its designees, for $100, an option to purchase a total of 540,000 units exercisable, in whole or in part, at $11.50 per unit (or 115% of the volume weighted average price of the ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day immediately prior to consummation of an initial Business Combination), commencing on the consummation of our initial Business Combination, and expires five years from the effective date of this offering. The option and the 540,000 units, as well as the 540,000 Ordinary Shares and the rights to purchase 54,000 Ordinary Shares upon the completion of an initial business combination, have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or the commencement of sales in this offering pursuant to Rule 5110(e)(1) of FINRA’s Rules, during which time the option may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated, or be subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative or put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities, except as permitted under FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2).

 

NOTE 7 — SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

Preferred Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 2,000,000 preferred shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of December 31, 2023, there were no preferred shares issued or outstanding.

 

Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 200,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share.

 

On February 23, 2023, our sponsor, Bayview Holding LP, acquired 1,437,500 founder shares for an aggregate price of $25,000. 963,125 founder shares were transferred to our sponsor Peace Investment Holdings Limited on March 14, 2023.

 

F-13

 

 

On December 14, 2023, the Company issued 287,500 founder shares for a consideration of $100, resulting in Bayview Holding LP holding a total of 569,250 founder shares and Peace Investment Holdings Limited holding a total of 1,155,750 founder shares. The payment of $100 was received on December 27, 2023. The issuance was considered as a nominal issuance, in substance a recapitalization transaction, which was recorded and presented retroactively. Up to 225,000 founder shares held by the Sponsors are subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment.

 

Rights — Except in cases where the Company is not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of the initial Business Combination. The Company will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Cayman law. In the event the Company is not the surviving company upon completion of the initial Business Combination, each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively convert his, her or its rights in order to receive the one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary share underlying each right upon consummation of the business combination. If the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the required time period and the Company will redeem the public shares for the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds for their rights and the rights will expire worthless.

 

NOTE 8 — Fair Value Measurements

 

The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:

 

Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

 

Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.

 

Level 3: Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

 

The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2023 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value.

 

       Quoted   Significant   Significant 
       Prices in   Other   Other 
   As of   Active   Observable   Unobservable 
   December 31,   Markets   Inputs   Inputs 
   2023   (Level 1)   (Level 2)   (Level 3) 
Assets:                    
Investment held in trust account  $60,107,055   $60,107,055   $   $ 

 

NOTE 9 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

 

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based on the review, management identified the following subsequent event that is required disclosure in the financial statements:

 

(1)On January 28, 2024, the underwriter did not exercise their over-allotment option and hence an aggregate of 225,000 Founder Shares were forfeited by the Sponsors.
   
 (2)On March 21, 2024, Mr. Wei Lu was appointed to be the independent director of the Company to replace Mr. Dajiang Guo, who resigned on March 21, 2024.

 

F-14